PRESS RELEASE

University Galleries of Illinois State University is pleased to present Denise Treizman: In Between Living from June 3 through July 31, 2022.

Through a practice of searching, gleaning, and repurposing, Miami-based Chilean-Israeli artist Denise Treizman critically examines hyper-consumerism while also carefully participating in it and relying on commercial goods. Having lived in many densely populated cities over the years—London, San Francisco, New York City, Haifa, and now Miami—Treizman’s practice has benefited from throwaway culture. She states, “Working both on the street and in the studio, I examine how worthless fragments can be transformed into unexpected art experiences.” The exhibition title, In Between Living, relates to Treizman’s history of salvaging discarded materials from the street—a repeated practice as she moved from one place to the next. The production and waste of excess goods, “invented necessities” as she likes to call them, has been at the foundation of her work since 2010, when she spent her first summer in New York City. Although she questions who needs vibrantly patterned single-use materials, like pink flamingo-printed duct tape or violet bubble wrap, she finds these playful materials irresistible. By incorporating them into her found-object installations and unconventional weavings, she prompts viewers to reflect on the mass-produced society in which we live.

Treizman was originally scheduled to have an exhibition at University Galleries during summer 2020, but it was postponed due to Coronavirus (COVID 19)-related uncertainty and travel restrictions. Shortly before the pandemic started, the artist acquired a loom to make nontraditional weavings, including foam pool noodles, cellophane, duct tape, and LED string lights. This was a pivotal point in her career as health and safety reasons prompted her to re-examine her previous gathering practice. Having access to her own loom also enabled Treizman to deepen her interest in fiber arts, allowing her to explore the “relationship between the ready-made and artist-made.” A selection of these brightly colored, textural, and sometimes luminescent weavings will be on display for this exhibition.

The exhibition will also include installations made in response to University Galleries’ architecture, including 16-foot-tall walls, high ceilings, and gridded wall of windows. These site-specific gestures will incorporate a variety of objects that Treizman has accumulated over a twelve-year period, many of which have been kept in storage since her 2018 departure from New York City. These materials—including deflated yoga balls, packing foam, tinsel, rope, and more recently, her weavings—have been used in previous exhibitions but will now serve as prompts. Nothing is permanent, everything transforms.

A selection of videos will be released throughout this exhibition including an artist interview with footage of Treizman’s installation process at University Galleries, an art-making demonstration, and an exhibition video tour. These virtual programs will be available via University Galleries’ Vimeo following the exhibition opening.

Denise Treizman: In Between Living is organized by Jessica Bingham, former curator at University Galleries. The exhibition and programming are sponsored in part by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency.

​

Link to press release