A little accident, like any other
Alex Robinson & Michael Kellner
5/24/19 - 7/06/19
Opening Reception: Friday, May 24th, 7-10 p.m.
Gallery Talk: Saturday, May 25th, 1-2 p.m
Join us at MASS gallery for the opening reception of A little accident, like any other, an exhibit celebrating collaborative practice, mail art, drawing, and sound by local artist Alex Robinson and Columbus artist Michael Kellner.
Since 2015, Checks and Balances has been an ongoing, mail art project by Alexandra Robinson (Austin, TX) and Michael Kellner (Columbus, OH). Both Robinson and Kellner are academics, married to people outside academia and the art world, and parents. The project developed as a way to address the multiple roles each play in their respective lives and as a commitment to keep artmaking an active part of their identity.
The mailed works are on paper, each one approximately 8.5 inches by 11 inches. One side of the paper is a drawing while the other, a letter. The drawings address a wide variety of subject matter from abstract minimalism to realistic representations of Barbie dolls. The letters are often personal in nature, addressing the way their different identities cannot be neatly compartmentalized. At times, the works reflect this too, as the drawing bleeds through to the letter side, or the paper is perforated.
The exhibition at MASS in Austin showcases the progress of Checks and Balances to date. Additionally, some individual artworks from Robinson and Kellner are included, connecting the viewer with the reciprocal nature between their group work and individual output.
The title, A little accident, like any other, is borrowed from Kathleen Stewart’s book, Ordinary Affects. In the entitled subsection of the book, Stewart relates the story of a motorcycle rider sharing their experience of an accident on the highway while in a restaurant. The story gets everyone in the place to pause, and then begin to share their own tales of accidents and run-ins on the road. Stewart writes of the brief bond experienced by the restaurant patrons as they become attuned to the different forces at work in their lived experiences. She describes the way these forces can subtly change a person, noting, “[T]he habit of watching for something to happen will grow.”
Robinson and Kellner hope you will join them in this effort.
About the Artists:
Michael Kellner makes drawings and sound pieces by pulling apart the written scores of J.S. Bach and then putting them back together in systematic ways. He is inspired by iterative practices, graphic notation, and contemporary pop and avant-garde music. Additionally, he researches in the areas of care ethics, perception, and creativity, striving to not only think about what it means to bring something new into the world, but under what conditions the new is allowed to flourish. He lives with his wife and two children in Columbus, Ohio and teaches at the Columbus College of Art and Design.
Alexandra Robinson grew up in the military and has lived all over the world. Because of the semi-transient nature of moving every two years she has a longing for place and truth and explores these themes in her work. Robinson grew up with her immediate family; the intersection of her Mexican and Jewish heritages has cultivated a complexity in how she sees and experiences the world. Since 2012, she has been living in Austin, Texas by way of Kansas City, her adopted hometown. She received her MFA from the University of Cincinnati and currently teaches at St. Edward's University in Austin. Robinson has exhibited throughout the country and internationally. This summer she will attend the Tallgrass Artist Residency in Kansas.
