FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 27, 2006

Contact:

Rebecca Lowery 202.315.1310 [email protected]

The Gallery at Flashpoint presents

Axelle Rioult: Non sans émoi (As I Lay Myself…) Curated by Xavier Courouble July 7 – August 19, 2006 Opening reception July 6, 6-8 pm

Axelle Rioult, Untitled video still (jellyfish), 2005.

WASHINGTON, DC – In the site-specific installation Non sans émoi (As I Lay Myself…), French artist Axelle Rioult draws on her personal experience to investigate the nature of self-identity, using photography, video and sculptural installation to create a "psychological self-portrait." Curated by Xavier Courouble, this multi-media exhibition will evolve throughout the course of its presentation, with new elements being added to the installation every two weeks to further engage the complex interactions between all of the aspects of the installation. Non sans émoi is on view in the Gallery at Flashpoint from July 7 – August 16, 2006. The multiple components of Non sans émoi trace Rioult’s examination of the physical aging process and its relation to the numerous roles she plays in her life as artist, mother and lover. From the gallery’s center, Rioult will hang one of her textile works, a gauze drapery that alludes to maternity and that will direct the viewer to a multi-part video projection at the gallery’s rear. This video traces the life cycle of jellyfish, most of whom assume two entirely distinct physical stages during their life spans; the genderdifferentiated roles of jellyfish and their physical transformation as they reach sexual maturity represent important facets of Rioult’s examination of identity. Of the artist’s use of video in this process, Courouble notes, “Contemporary works [like Rioult’s] create a kind of aesthetic, an aesthetic of emotional and psychic intensities. For the artist, the video technology and the computer have allowed for new means to construct images, to create devices that engage the viewer in increasingly imaginative ways.”

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Throughout the project, the artist also alludes to skin in all of its stages of aging, making synecdochic use of it as a stand-in for the process of maturation and eventual decay. A series of photographs of her hands, a body part often considered to be a “tell-tale” indicator of aging, will be directly adhered to the gallery’s walls, forming a skin-like covering that will absorb and reflect the walls’ own textures, its pockmarks and imperfections. Buckets of fresh milk and apples will be arranged throughout the gallery, the milk a signifier of the artist’s relationship to her daughter and the apples referencing romantic relationships. During the course of the exhibition, both will be allowed to naturally decay – the apples’ skin becoming wrinkled and sagging, the milk forming its own skin and curdling below this surface. The artist will continue to add to the installation during its course, creating in addition to this natural change a movement in time in which the viewer must revisit periodically to experience the project’s evolution. ABOUT THE ARTIST Axelle Rioult lives and works in Hérouville Saint Claire, France. She received her formal art education at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts du Havre and has exhibited widely throughout France. She has been a resident artist at the Fonderie Hérouville Saint Clair and took part in Ho[use]-Ho[me], also curated by Xavier Courouble, in the inaugural season of the Gallery at Flashpoint. Non sans émoi is Rioult’s first solo presentation in the United States. The artist’s website is http://a.rioult.free.fr ABOUT FLASHPOINT Flashpoint, a Cultural Development Corporation project, is a non-profit, multi-disciplinary arts space dedicated to nurturing emerging artists and cultural organizations in order to build their professional capacity. Flashpoint provides services and training for cultural organizations to help strengthen their management capacity and offers exhibit and performance spaces that enable arts groups to focus on their artistic goals and expand their visibility. Flashpoint includes a contemporary art gallery, the 75-seat Mead Theatre Lab, the Coors Dance Studio and shared office space. In a typical week, a dramatic reading in the performance space, a rehearsal for a modern dance piece and cutting-edge contemporary installations in the gallery enliven Flashpoint's spaces – actively defining it as a true creative laboratory. Axelle Rioult: Non sans émoi (As I Lay Myself…) Opening Reception: Thursday, July 6, 6-8 pm Exhibition: July 7 – August 19, 2006 Gallery Hours: Tuesday – Saturday 12-6 pm or by appointment For more information: Call 202.315.1310 or visit www.flashpointdc.org The Gallery at Flashpoint • 916 G Street, NW • Washington, DC 20001 A CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION PROJECT General: 202-315-1305 Press: 202-315-1310 Fax: 202-315-1303 E-mail: [email protected]

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