Across the Bering Strait

MARY ANN UNGER at Trans Hudson Gallery

The Trans-Hudson Gallery is pleased to announce a solo exhibition of recent sculpture by Mary Ann Unger which will be open to the public from May 5th through June 5th, 1994.

The reception for the artist will be held on Thursday, May 5th, from 7 to 9 PM. Gallery hours are 2 - 7 PM on Fridays, 11 - 6 PM on Saturdays and Sundays, and by appointment.

"Across the Bering Strait" is an installation of many parts which spans half the gallery's 55' by 33' main room. Its post and lintel elements transform into figures marching across the gallery, carrying elongated bundles, endowing the. work with narrative content. It evokes the great migration out of Asia into the Americas and summons memories of our primeval history, suggesting a continuity between the journeys of our ancestors and our personal journey.

"Vertebrae," is a seven-unit piece, twenty feet long, formed from natural cement over steel armatures. Like a line of dinosaur bones, it forms a spine referring to the seven chakras of Tantric Buddhism. Its calm energy serves as a reminder of our underlying humanity in this society so enamored of technology.

"Guardian of the Uncommitted" and "Guardian of Music II" are reminiscent of Unger's work which was shown at the Klarfeld Perry Gallery in 1992. They are nearly eight feet high, made of cement, pigmented and polished with graphite. Over a dozen small bronze sculptures, figures and abstractions which are studies for the larger works will also be included in this show.·

Unger is a distinguished sculptor. In addition to a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1992, she has received a New York Foundation grant in 1990, a Pollack Krasner grant in 1989, and a New York State Council grant in 1985 as well as numerous other awards. She has ten permanently sited outdoor public sculptures around the country and also created several temporary walk-through environments in Manhattan's public spaces. Her work will be included in a show at the Boise Art Museum, "Fabricated Nature."

Today a large portion of innovative work is produced and shown outside the established Manhattan arena in the warehouse sections of Brooklyn, Long Island City, and Jersey City. Trans Hudson Gallery, located minutes from Lower Manhattan on Jersey's waterfront, is taking the lead in redirecting the current conversation about contemporary art from its present preoccupations to the core issues of artistic excellence.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION contact Joseph Szoecs at the Trans Hudson Gallery, 201-222-3030. Transportation can be provided.