Master Mahan Fyling Before Jehovah’s Curse (After Cormon) / Jason Metcalf / 2010
curated by Jason Metcalf
Central Utah Art Center
86 South Main
Ephraim, UT 84627
(435) 283-5110
Exhibition Dates: June 10 - August 5, 2011
Opening Reception: June 10, 2011 7-10pm
CUAC is pleased to announce the two part exhibition, Sanpete is for Lovers, where Jason Metcalf acts as curator-artist-folklorist in an investigation into superstitions specific to the locale of the Sanpete Valley. In half of the exhibition, Metcalf has conducted research into and gathered evidence of a Sanpete Valley sighting of the forever-traveling figure of Master Mahan - the wandering Biblical Cain who has been cursed to roam the earth until the end of days. The other half of the exhibition examines the formal and theoretical affinities that are had with quilt barn paintings and Modernist geometric abstraction. Metcalf has placed quilt barn paintings within the galleries of CUAC, while simultaneously displaying examples of the latter on the original grain storage building which is situated on the historic pioneer complex of the art center, as well as throughout the Sanpete Valley. Quilt barn paintings are believed to have genesis with Amish hex paintings, which some folklorists think were placed on barns to ward off or hex evil from the lives and property of a given group.
Jason Metcalf is an artist and curator based in Sundance, Utah. He has exhibited his work nationally and locally throughout Utah in venues including the Scope International Art Fair in NY and Miami, The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, The Mesa Arts Center, Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibits, Kayo Gallery, and the Rio Gallery among others. He attended the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and completed a BFA at Brigham Young University. Metcalf co-founded and directed the former Sego Art Center, which was located in Provo, Utah. Additional work can be found at jasonmetcalf.com.
Design for All Hallows Quilt Block Painting Number 1 / Jason Metcalf / 2011
This exhibition is one of many at the CUAC that features highly acclaimed artists from around the United States and Utah. A review of our programming has recently been included in the highly influential international Flash Art magazine published in Milan, Italy. Artists who have shown at the CUAC over the last four years have been included in the Whitney Biennial, the Venice Biennial, collected by Charles Saatchi; they have been exhibited in the Getty Museum, Whitney Museum, Guggenheim Museum, Saatchi Gallery, major museums in Switzerland, Germany, Iceland, Korea, and Spain; They have shown in Deitch Projects, Mary Boone Gallery, Freight and Volume Gallery, the Drawing Center, and many other important New York, Los Angeles, and international venues.
CUAC Mission Statement:
The purpose of the CUAC is to educate Utahns about Contemporary Art through exhibitions of artists from three categories:
- Sanpete artists who demonstrate a high level of professionalism in their art;
- Utah artists who make art in a Contemporary genre who are emerging or well established;
- and artists who are exemplary of important trends in Contemporary Art worldwide.
The CUAC maintains that good education about art starts with strong exhibitions of Contemporary Art that have relevance in content or image to our community. Education also includes outreach to the community in the form of classes for adults and children, lectures and critical dialogue about art, and an inviting, friendly environment that welcomes visitors and encourages questions and strives to provide answers.