Redux is proud to present Social Velocity, featuring works by Joseph Labate and Ryan Mandell. Each of these artists explore the newly developing suburban society and its commercial influences. The artists similarly focus on, and bring attention to, the structures and environment that inhabits a majority of the United States. Labate’s photographs examine who we are, and how and where we live, while Mandell’s sculptures explore architecture’s influence on civilization.

For the Redux exhibition, Labate will exhibit photographs from the series View From A Mountain. The photographs are made from the top of a mountain in Tucson, AZ. Labate’s photographs are inspired upon the practice of traditional photography and the development of digital technology that has transformed the medium. Labate’s photographs document rural, suburban populations and their intriguing lifestyle. Through digital techniques, Labate blurs the landscapes of his original photo and solely focuses on a singular object of his initial attention; for example, a red semi truck pops out of a vague suburban neighborhood. Labate explores the distinction between the real-world and fabricated world by altering traditional photographs with the newly evolving digital technology.

Mandell ‘s inspiration stems from his belief that, “The psychological state of a society is illuminated by the structures it creates and how those structures are used”. His sculptures observe civilizations by creating streamlined versions of existing structures that have been scaled down and represented in a way that architecture’s social influence becomes more evident. Mandell’s work betrays the ideals of modularity, order, efficiency, and convenience that are desired in today’s structures.

A lecture given by each artist will be held at Redux on Friday, August 5 at 5pm followed by an opening reception from 6-9pm. Social Velocity will be on display at Redux Contemporary Art Center from August 5 – September 17, 2011. Admission is free. The opening reception on Friday, August 5 will be open to the public and will include complimentary beverages and light hors d’oeuvres.

About Joseph Labate

Joseph Labate is a photographer and educator. His work focuses on maintaining a connection between traditional photography and digital technology. He has exhibited his work nationally and internationally. His work can be seen in the collections of the Art Institute of Colorado, Denver, the Center for Creative Photography, Tucson, the Tucson Museum of Art, the SnellWimer Collection, the Streitch Lang Collection, the Weeks Gallery and the Roussenski Lom National Park in Bulgaria. He is a recipient of the Visual Arts Fellowship from the Arizona Commission on the Arts, an Artist’s Grant from the Contemporary Forum of the Phoenix Art Museum, and an Artist’s Grant from Polaroid of Tokyo, Japan. Labate received a BS in engineering from Clarkson University, a BFA in photography from Massachusetts College of Art and Design and an MFA in photography from the University of Arizona. He is currently the Chair of Photography in the School of Art at the University of Arizona, Tucson.

About Ryan Mandell

Ryan Mandell has been the Assistant Professor of Sculpture at Boise State University since 2010. He has previously taught at the University of North Texas in Denton and at Penn State in State College, PA. His work has been featured in numerous group and solo exhibitions including: Fuller Projects, Indiana University, Bloomington; HH4433 Gallery, Ohio State University, Columbus, Eastern Expansion Gallery, Chicago, Takt Kunstprojektraum, Berlin, Germany and Ferencvarosi Gallery, Budapest, Hungary. Mandell has been recognized by such publications as Time Out Chicago Magazine, The Chicago Tribune, and Sculpture Magazine. He received a BFA in Drawing from the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design in 2003 and his MFA in sculpture from Indiana University, Bloomington in 2007.

Read more about the exhibition in this article by the Charleston City Paper!