Ann Tarantino
Topoanalysis

Mixed Greens is thrilled to present a site-specific installation by Pennsylvania-based artist Ann Tarantino. The intricate, laser-cut patterns in Topoanalysis fill the windows, interrupting the colored light emanating from behind the glass.

For the past decade, Tarantino has made works on paper that obliquely and simultaneously reference the language of natural science and that of information visualization. The delicate patterning in her imagery is influenced by her time living in Japan and her deep interest in the human body; the marks conjure the nervous system, tidal pools, sea creatures, electrical impulses, coded communication, underground networks, and aerial maps. To create these fertile abstractions, Tarantino has developed a labor-intensive process involving her own breath. Using ink and a straw, she creates delicate webs that suggest replication and growth, exploring her place in the world and what it looks like to be alive.

In recent years, Tarantino has made works that fully explore the physicality of drawing by using the architecture of her exhibition space as her canvas. Chance phenomena, cracks, curves, and moldings influence her as much as the foliage, social networks, and technology present on the site. The resulting piece is part of the fabric of the building.

In Topoanalysis, Tarantino integrates her drawing into the architecture once again. Responding to the site, she moves away from the hand and employs technology to create laser-cut gestures that veil the Mixed Greens windows. Although this puzzle is ultimately drawn with a machine, she successfully utilizes science to create an organic, unexpected experience on 26th Street. The associations conjured in her hand drawings remain, with the windows simultaneously appearing fractured, overgrown, and teeming with living organisms, all the while filtering a mysterious light from within.

Ann Tarantino lives and works in State College, PA. Since receiving her BA at Brown University and her MFA at the Pennsylvania State University, she has shown widely. Solo exhibition venues include neutron tokyo, Tokyo, Japan; Curator’s Office, Washington, DC; and Kisara-do, Kyoto, Japan. She completed a two-person exhibition at AMOAArthouse in Austin, TX, in early 2013. Group exhibitions
venues include Massachusetts College of Art, Boston, MA; Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts, Grand Rapids, MI; University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI; Lloyd Dobler Gallery, Chicago, IL; Mixed Greens, NYC; University of Richmond Art Museums, Richmond, VA; Galerie Vysehrad, Prague, Czech Republic; and the National Czech and Slovak Museum, Cedar Rapids, IA. She was awarded residencies at Soaring Gardens and the Vermont Studio Center. Her work has been discussed in the Philadelphia Enquirer, Washington City Paper, Austin’s Statesman, Washington Post, and Chicago’s Newcity, among others.

For more information, please visit anntarantino.com


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