Artists Space

Wyn Geleynse film installation

May 24 – June 28, 1986

ARTISTS SPACE is pleased to present five film installations by Wyn Geleynse in the lower gallery.

On the left one can see a bright image of a man standing profile view and on the right appears a photograph of a naked woman shielding her face. Blackness surrounds these two images.
Installation view, Wyn Geleynse film installation, Artists Space, May 24, 1986 - June 28, 1986. [On the left one can see a bright image of a man standing profile view and on the right appears a photograph of a naked woman shielding her face. Blackness surrounds these two images.]

The five works incorporate moving film projections with still photographs and constructed objects. Geleynse is interested in the mechanics of image making and the connections which images can have to the apparatus which create them. He constantly searches for the intimate link between process, image maker and subject. Geleynse's film images, developed into a continuous loop, reflect his interest in repeated, obsessive movements deeply rooted in personal behavior. The sequence of events in the film emphasizes solitary moments of activity, many depicting anxieties of decision making and showing the subject choosing alternative actions which will link one moment or experience to the next. Geleynse also becomes the subject of his work, incorporating the processes of image making with the reality of his life. Through the creation of intimate viewing devices, he allows the viewer to directly and personally experience his work.

The five installations Geleynse will mount include Remembering (1984), in which an empty frame sits o a shelf, in front of a photograph of the reflective surface of a river. A film image of the artist peering into the moving currents is projected into the frame which separates the artist from the water, isolating the image on the shelf. In this piece, the viewer and the artist are liked as they experience a memory from the past.

Geleynse presents work which isolates aspects of human behavior to create separateness and selfishness. In his 1985 Untitled voyeur piece, a photograph of the chaste Victorian model is placed on a shelf covered in velvet, appearing precious as she is consumed by public display. The artist, separated from the model, is projected by film, as he stands continuously adjusting his camera, into an empty roughened glass surface.

Wyn Geleynse is a Canadian artist who lives and works in London, Ontario. He is a recipient of numerous Canadian Council and Ontario Arts Council Grants. His work has been recently exhibited at the London Regional Art Gallery, McIntosh Gallery, University of Western Ontario, and Forest City Gallery, all in London Ontario; Harbourfront Gallery, Toronto, Ontario; and at C.E.P.A. Buffalo, New York.

Wyn Geleynse's project is the second in the series of two individual film installations scheduled in the 1985-86 season. The film projects, which alternate with three video programs, run fro a period of four weeks each and are concurrent with Artists Space's regular exhibitions.

Wyn Geleynse's film installations have been sponsored by a generous grant from the Canadian Consulate General. Artists Space Film and Video Programs have been made possible with grants from the New York State Council on the Arts.

Artists Space activities are made possible by the National Endowment for the Arts, a Federal agency; the New York State Council on the Arts, the Institute for Museum Services, and the New York City Department for Cultural Affairs; Art Matters, Inc., Equitable Real Estate Group, Foundation for Contemporary Performance Arts, Inc., the Jerome Foundation, Leonhardt Foundation, Betty Parsons Foundation, The Reed Foundation, Inc., Mark Rothko Foundation, and The Wallace Funds; the American Express Company, AT&T Communications, Citibank, Consolidated Edison, EXXON, R.H. Macy Company, Mobil Foundation, Morgan Guaranty Trust Company of New York, Paine Webber, and Phillip Morris, as well as numerous friends.

Artists Space is a member of the National Association of Artists Organizations (NAAO).