Alex Czetwertynski @ Mana Contemporary, Jersey City

Alex Czetwertynski: First Light
Mana Contemporary, Jersey City
Through February 1, 2018

ALEX CZETWERTYNSKI

Getting There, 2017

Mana BSMT at Mana Contemporary presents First Light, a solo exhibition by New Media Program resident ALEX CZETWERTYNSKI. Against the backdrop of our media-driven society, the exhibition pays homage to the characters, forces, and energies that come before the digital images that surround us. Featuring six new media and light works, including sculpture and installation, First Light invites us to explore the elemental forces that power our screens and devices. Czetwertynski reformulates familiar objects of contemporary digital culture—TVs, projectors, power strips, cables—to shine light on the primordial role of light itself. The enigmatic dialogue between ordinary physical containers and immaterial emissions enhances the presence of certain elusive powers at play. Light, primary colors, and the geometry of wavelengths are among the elements without which the possibility of an image would disappear. First Light pays tribute to these hidden agents and the conditions of possibilities embedded in their framework.

ALEX CZETWERTYNSKI

Alex Czetwertynski is a digital artist and curator working in the fields of creative technology and interactive and media arts. His practice includes large-scale immersive experiences, for which he designs and engineers interaction, motion, and physical presence. Born in Belgium, he graduated from the University of Paris IV La Sorbonne with a Masters in Philosophy. Alex Czetwertynski is the curator of Day for Night, a new kind of festival that combines headlining musicians with immersive art installations, transforming live music production by introducing new sensory experiences. He has collaborated with artists such as Doug Aitken, Jessica Mitrani, threeASFOUR, and Orlan. His work has been shown at the Jewish Museum and the FIAF in New York; the Centre Georges Pompidou and the Théâtre de la Cité in Paris; the Confort Moderne in Poitiers; Mana Contemporary in New Jersey; the Museum of Literature in Warsaw; and the Museum Ludwig in Budapest. He is currently based in Brooklyn, NY. To learn more, visit www.alexczetwertynski.com.

Mana BSMT New Media Program

Established by BSMT Director Grace Franck, the Mana BSMT New Media Program (NMP) is a community-based residency dedicated to supporting the next generation of new media artists. Through ongoing support in Mana’s two-million square-foot campus, the program aims to foster innovation, collaboration, and entrepreneurship, and present exhibitions and programming at the intersection of art, design, and technology. To learn more, visit manabsmt.com.

First Light is the third exhibition presented by the BSMT New Media Program (NMP), following That’s not it, a group show curated by Alex Czetwertynski featuring twenty-three installations by residents and guest artists throughout the entire basement level of Mana Contemporary.

MANA CONTEMPORARY
888 Newark Avenue - Jersey City, NJ 07306
http://manacontemporary.com