Exhibitions
CORRESPONDENT
Dadu / 1203B Forrest Ave. February 9, 2018 - February 16, 2018
John Ros, Jodi Hays
Dadu is pleased to present the collaborative work of John Ros and Jodi Hays in an project titled, Correspondent, from February 9-16, 2018. A variety of programs will be included within this exhibit; potlucks, house shows, happy hours, critiques, studio visits and sketchbook breaks. The queue of events will be made available on our website once programming is finalized.
Regardless of where you may fall on the political spectrum, there is one thing we can agree on: these are difficult times. The ability to converse with someone you disagree with in a cordial and productive way has been lost in the technological age. We might think the information age has made us smarter or more involved, in some ways, it has. But we are also more isolated and insular as algorithms provide us with desirable information while we hide behind screens and comment anonymously on the world. In a world of over-saturated sound-bites, instant likes or dislikes, faceless bullying and finger-pointing, how can we come together to face the larger issues at hand affecting us all?
Artists have always used a variety of tools to define the cultural milieu. As we build further into our contemporary visual vernacular and participate using seemingly more exposure, what is our true mark? And how will our contributions hold up against time?
An exciting collaboration between artists John Ros and Jodi Hays has occurred over the past ten years through galleryELL in New York City and more recently Dadu. The two regularly discussed art-making and brought a variety of events and exhibitions to the artist-run, DIY art space when it was in its relative (contemporary) infancy. Prompted by the current political and cultural climate, Ros and Hays decided to work together using simple physical materials and the United States Postal Service. The back and forth not only confronts the immediacy of our contemporary moment, but it brings the conversation back to the physically-tangible. The resulting pieces are only part of the work. Much of the interactions between the two artists, the receiving, working on, and shipping of the work, becomes an important part of the collaboration.
John Ros (b. 1978, New York, New York) currently lives and works in New York City and Harrisonburg, Virginia. He received an MFA from Brooklyn College, City University of New York and a BFA from the State University of New York at Binghamton. John is an Assistant Professor of Art at James Madison University’s School of Art, Design and Art History, where he also serves as the Director and Chief Curator of the Duke Hall Gallery of Fine Art. John is also the founder and director of studioELL.
Jodi Hays (b. 1976, Hot Springs, Arkansas) lives and works in Nashville, Tennessee. Her work is part of numerous private and public collections including the J. Crew Company (NY), Music City Center and the Tennessee State Museum. She is the recipient of the 2012 Artist Fellowship for the state of Tennessee. She received an MFA from Vermont College and a BFA from the University of Tennessee. After Before moving to Nashville in 2005, she lived in Boston for eight years where she began curating and working in arts administration. She was a founding member of Coop Gallery (Nashville) and is represented by Red Arrow Gallery (TN) and Show and Tell Art and Design (SC).
Dadu, founded in 2015, is an artist-run space that is both rooted in contemporary art concerns and our immediate neighborhood of East Nashville. Curatorial programming reflects a deep respect for and interest in intersectional living and how art can connect communities. At Dadu, we privilege diversity, collaboration and community. Past exhibiting artists include Christopher Roberson, Erika Ranee and third graders at our local public school, Nashville Classical. Programming is understood as a means by which we walk out our beliefs in and commitment to listening and excellence.
Gallery hours are by appointment from Feb 10-15, 2018.
