This fall, Public Space One (PS1) is pleased to present a new multi-site installation art project, Iowa Art Field, directed by Nicholas Cladis, curated by Cladis and Sugimoto Hiroshi, and in partnership with the City of Iowa City and Johnson County.
Nicholas Cladis is now based in Iowa City, but during his time living in Echizen, Japan — a region with over 1,500 years of papermaking history — he was a contributing artist and committee member of Imadate Art Field, a non-profit arts organization that turned historic structures into alternative exhibition spaces for installation art. Visiting curator/artist Sugimoto Hiroshi was one of the founding artists of Imadate Art Field in 1979.
Like Echizen, Iowa City is a community of thoughtful makers and creatives, and Iowa Art Field, similar to the project from which its name is inspired, seeks to highlight some of its remarkable structures and locations through aesthetic, historical, and conceptual engagement by artists.
From October 30 through November 8, these site-responsive art installations will be on view at three locations from 10:00 am - 3:00 pm daily:
- Johnson County Historic Poor Farm (4811 Melrose Ave.)
- City Park log cabins (200 Park Rd.)
- Public Space One's Close House (538 S. Gilbert St.)
The eleven participating artists are: Tony Orrico, Lydia Diemer, Bea Drysdale, John Engelbrecht, Paige Wilkinson, Savannah Bustillo, Matthew “Em” Garcia, Nicholas Cladis, Jeremy Chen, Hannah Givler, and Sugimoto Hiroshi. Orrico and Garcia are former Grant Wood Fellows. The artists' practices range from time-based media to sculpture to print to papermaking, and each is creating one or more new works for this project, in response to sites such as the corn crib at the Johnson County Historic Poor Farm and the winding main stairwell at PS1 Close House.
In addition to the daily viewing hours at each site, the Iowa Art Field team is hosting two community events.
- On Thursday, October 30, opening tours of the installations, followed by a happy hour at PS1 Close House: 12:00 pm at City Park, 2:00 pm at JCHPF, 4:00 pm at Close House – the public is welcome to join one or all of the tours.
- On Saturday, November 1, 5:00-7:00 pm at PS1 Close House, the artists will give brief remarks on the process and themes of their work, followed by a reception.
As a new project, the generous collaboration of artists, organizers, volunteers, and community partners has been crucial to making Iowa Art Field possible.
“With the help of Iowa City, Johnson County, and our partners, artists from across the area have brought fresh perspectives and creative energy to these sites. It’s been inspiring to see how deeply our community values the artistic activation of these remarkable, storied structures,” said Cladis.
Iowa Art Field is hosted by Public Space One, funded by the City of Iowa City Public Art Matching Grant, and produced in collaboration with the staff at the Johnson County Historic Poor Farm and Iowa City Parks & Recreation Department. Nicholas Cladis’ participation is additionally supported by the Iowa Artist Fellowship.
Contact:
Nicholas Cladis, Iowa Art Field Director/Co-curator
319-531-6925
Kalmia Strong, Public Space One Program Director
319-855-4365
