STRANGE LANDS
Curated by Christopher Daniels

Josh Slater, Richard Colman, Marissa Textor, Matt Craven, Matt Stone, Elias Kafouros, Benjamin Edmiston, Dan Hernandez, Palden Weinreb, Casey Jex Smith, Renato Nicolodi

December 15, 2012 – January 17, 2013

Hold the end of this thread with me. I’ve been following it since it arrived from a distant land with a letter. Its contents said everything I’d ever wanted to hear. It said if I follow the thread to its end, I’ll be in a land where the climate remains undisturbed. The only battles fought there are on the dance floor. And if you can’t dance, guess what, now you can.

I can’t tell you how many days I have been in pursuit of this distant land. I can only measure it by the thread that is wound around my left hand, now a spool. Layers upon layers. I didn’t bother telling my job before I set off; the letter said I would no longer need one. There, you are handsomely rewarded to do exactly what makes your ticker tick. You make beautiful things that arrest the hearts of everyone you admire. In this place your parents say the right things when you need them to, and nothing more. You are emotionally eloquent, and yet everything you wish to convey is already understood.

I am nearly there. My entire palm is now covered in white and the thread is growing taut. Follow this thread with me. I would like your company in Strange Lands.

Cindy Rucker Gallery is pleased to present a new group exhibition, STRANGE LANDS, curated by Christopher Daniels. The show’s concept draws from the legendary myth of Prester John, a 12th-century Christian king believed to have ruled over the pagans and Muslims in Central Asia, a domain they say bordered the Garden of Eden and contained magical creatures. Said to be of the ancient lineage of the Magi, rumors that his massive army would rescue Jerusalem from the Saracens bolstered the hopes of Christian nations. His legend was furthered by his letter, promulgated throughout Europe in various wild interpolations. It led to futile searches for his wondrous kingdom and its seekers deeper into unknown lands. The letter inspired the reinterpretation above by writer Gloria Kim. Whether literary or visually, each of the eleven artists was tasked with responding to the legend.