Liz Rywelski About Liz Rywelski keeps a studio at Space1026 Gallery, in Philadelphia, PA. USA. She has been there since October, 2002, after she held internships with 1026's printmaker Ben Woodward, political artist Jesse Goldstein, and sculptor/painter Max Lawrence. So far, she has curated four shows at SPACE1026 Gallery; Baby Girl, Put It On Me, a tattoo show 6/03; New Money a solo exhibition by Josh O.S. 2/04; Paradise photographs by Lily Frisco 8/04; and Corpororacist, an installation by Albo Jeavons 10/04. Upcoming shows are an installation by Cory Arcangel and BEIGE 11/05, a collection of assignments from the project, Learning To Love You More, by Harrell Fletcher and Miranda July 9/05, and a new body of work by Steven and Billy Dufala 3/06. Liz lives for domestic bliss and love. She believes that art experienced in the outside world is more powerful than art in galleries; it must first take place in the heart, in relationships, and in eye contact with passing strangers. She believes in community, beauty, her cat and she really wants to know what it feels like to be you. Exhibitions 2004 Everybody Rules Everything curated by Thom Lessner Antisocial gallery Vancouver, BC Philadelphia Selections 5 curated by Brian Wallace Goldie Paley Gallery Philadelphia, PA Beaver College group show with Space1026, PaperRad, and The Royal Art Lodge in conjunction with Beautiful Losers, Cincinnati OH The Mockbee Gallery, Ohio Paper Awesome! A drawing show Mimi Barr Gallery San Francisco, CA Works on Paper 2004 curated by Jordan Kantor, MOMA Arcadia University, PA The New Acropolis An invitational exhibition of young Philadelphia artists The Fleisher-Ollman Gallery Philadelphia, PA Man, I Feel Like a Woman curated by Courtney Dailey Space1026 Philadelphia, PA 2002 the Pornography of Emotion a so-low drawing exhibition curated by Crystal Kovaks Repo Records Philadelphia PA the bad touch A Drawing Show Curated by Lump Lipschitz A traveling exhibition Keith Talent Gallery, London, UK The Rose Museum, Boston MA LUMP Gallery, NC The Ukrainian Museum, Chicago IL And more Text Messages Since August of 2003, I have been approaching strangers on the street, coffee shops, in bars and at social gatherings, collecting cell phone numbers from others personal cell phone books. ÒPlease do not give me any names, just numbersÓ, I ask. These numbers without names are saved to my cell phone. I compose short text messages and send them out to the numbers I have collected. The recipient is anywhere, sometimes they write back. I have recorded and not replied to every reply. Examples of some messages are below: I AM THE HAPPIEST PERSON IN THE WORLD BECAUSE I KNOW YOU 10-7-03 4PM YOU LOOK LIKE PARIS, FRANCE EVERYDAY 10-15-03 8AM IT IS TRUE, EVERYONE IS EITHER A FARMER OR A PIRATE. 11-18-03 1AM A ROCK 1.75 BILLION YEARS OLD REMAINS IN THE SAME PLACE. 12-14-03 7PM Studio Drawings The Giveaway The Giveaway a colaboration between Josh O.S, and Liz Rywelski Shopping is a defining characteristic of modern culture; it is a way for people to express themselves as individuals and define distinctions from peers, and members of other classes. The Giveaway is an ongoing project whose aim is to draw attention to the role of shopping in our society, the social and economic machinery which lie behind it, and subcultures cultivated by it. Just as automobile companies continually release new models and constantly update their product lines, The Giveaway will also release a range of products in a series of successive campaigns. These products will not be for sale. They will be left in public as a gratuitous gesture. Beautiful luxury products that you cannot buy, which do not form a direct part of any corporate marketing campaign, are offered for the taking. More importantly, these objects, and abstractions of principles in advertising, form the basis of campaigns, which advertise our ideals. The first of these campaigns, is for the statement, "You Can Have Something Nice Too." Instead of using the tools of advertising, (print ads, commercials, slogans, etc.) to sell products, we are using objects and products to sell ideas and statements. Turning these hollow objects, which symbolize waste, dressing them up as new products of desire, to give away in a gratuitous gesture. The first suite in our series, The Giveaway, was installed on the sidewalks of Center City Philadelphia in September 2002. The installation was photo and video documented. Six carts were installed, some were taken away after 1-2 days, the longest lasted 2 weeks on 16th and Walnut Street. We are currently preparing our next installation for spring 2004 for select parts of Manhattan. Hearts The Red Room K-mart K-Mart They may look like the Olan Mills photographs that hang in homes across America., but these portraits of 24 year-old Elizabeth Rywelski represent a new kind of performance art. Ever since she graduated from Philadelphia's Moore College of Art and Design two years ago, Rywelski has been going to Kmart stores, having the chains employees project their style onto her, then committing those images to film at the in-house Olan Mills portrait studios. The shtick is a tad complex: Rywelski enters Kmart wearing zero makeup. Jeans, and a solid top. Enlisting the help of a (usually female) employee she invents a scenario for having her picture taken (it's for her parents, say, or a fictional husband) and explains that she has just $100, in the form of a Kmart gift card, to buy a special outfit to wear in the photo. Then she asks the sales associate to choose her clothing, accessories, and even makeup. Once the pictures are shot, Rywelski returns the gear and restores the card to it's original balance. The stunt was inspired in part by her own grade-school photos, which she regards "more portraits of my parents, because they had chosen my haircut and my clothes." It was also driven by her interest in artist Cindy Sherman, famous for photographing herself in iconic roles. So far, Rywelski has done 11 shots and shown the work in galleries. Some viewers have accused her of taking advantage of the Kmart staff, but Rywelski sees the women as collaborators; "I could have never these images together in the same way without their help." Still, she admits, "I went through a period of questioning whether I was getting at something or just messing with people." Seems to us great artists do both. -Lynne Palazzi; Budget Living Magazine August/September 2004 Bibliography Complex Magazine Nike Trading Card Illustration October 2003 Work Magazine Issue One, March 2004 "YOU ARE IN OR YOU ARE OUT" Issue Five, June 2004 "TURN UP THE HEAT" www.workmag.net Maybe Magazine Issue #4 April 2004 www.maybemagazine.com The Philadelphia Independent "The SEPTA Letters" Issue 14-21 ROCKPILE Magazine Issue #102 Budget Living Magazine August/September 2004