Faraway Nearby · Addressing Suburbia

Chris Ballantyne · Sheila Pree Bright · Don Lambert · Paho Mann · Matthew Moore · Amy Stein · Greg Stimac · Brian Tolle · Michael Vahrenwald

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Faraway Nearby • Addressing Suburbia features 50 works by nine artists who draw inspiration from – or critique – today’s suburbs. Their works examine the origins, preconceptions, sustainability and social implications of the suburban landscape. “As a contemporary art museum and college located in a major suburban community, it seems especially appropriate for our museum to organize this exhibition,” said Bruce Hartman, executive director of the Nerman Museum.

More Americans now live in suburban areas than in central cities and rural areas combined. However, despite its scale and influence (physically, economically and socially), suburbia is a relatively under-examined power in shaping America’s cultural life.

The suburbs have served as an arena for conjuring images of both the best and the worst of contemporary social life. Alternately stereotyped as either a domestic utopia or a realm of conformity, these stereotypes disguise a more realistic interpretation of contemporary suburbia. Many of the artists in Faraway Nearby address popular, preconceived notions (real or otherwise) to challenge, emphasize or re-invent them.

“The exhibition features artists who have turned their imaginations to suburbia – for inspiration, to provoke discussion, and to acknowledge (both appreciatively and critically) an environment which makes up an ever-increasing portion of our world,” said Hartman.

Artists included in the exhibition:
Chris Ballantyne, b. 1972, Mobile, Ala.; lives and works in New York
Sheila Pree Bright, b. 1967; lives and works in Atlanta
Don Lambert, b. 1972, Cincinnati; lives and works in Miami
Paho Mann, b. 1978, Snowflake, Ariz.; lives and works in Denton, Texas
Matthew Moore, b. 1976, San Jose, Calif.; lives and works in Goodyear, Ariz.
Amy Stein, b. 1970, raised in Washington D.C. and Karachi, Pakistan; lives and works in New York
Greg Stimac, b. 1976, Euclid, Ohio; lives and works in Chicago
Brian Tolle, b. 1964, Queens; lives and works in New York
Michael Vahrenwald, b. 1977, Davenport, Iowa; lives and works in New York