Monday, August 11, 2008

Packard Jennings at Mission 17




Artists:Packard Jennings, Seth Lower, Alice Shaw, and Lee Walton
Gallery:Mission 17
Opening Reception: Thursday, August 14, 2008 from 7-9 p.m.
Exhibition Dates:August 14 - October 31, 2008
Address:8th floor, Suite 838, The Merchant's Exchange, 465 California Street

"Aristotle made a distinction between chance (operates in nature) and luck (operates in the mind), the latter being a phenomena reserved only for man because it requires choice. We credit some events to luck because we have a specific idea of how the world is supposed to work--it is only an outcome because we have created the rules.

"Numbers Game" is an exhibition of works that meditate on chance and luck. Packard Jennings' project "Lottery Tickets" is a series of hand-drawn lottery tickets that were placed in convenient stores around the Bay Area, and instead of big money, the scratch-off reward is an intimate story or perspective on this place and daily life. Seth Lower uses photography, drawings, and text to ambiguously narrate a series of chance encounters, and as a collective whole, the work functions as a chronicle of his life documented through minute incidentals. Similarly, Alice Shaw's series of photographs "People Who Look Like Me" venerate personal coincidences that would otherwise go unnoticed. Lee Walton, in a jovial battle of luck-vs-skill, has produced a new work based on the result of his golf game. He has created a color chart to correspond to each putt, bogie, and par result played through 18 holes. The outcome of the game will yield a custom-mixed gallon of paint that will replace the color on the office walls."

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