TOURISTS OF THE NEW SUBLIME /
Curated by Scotti Hill

Trent Alvey / Andrew Rice

October 5, 2016 – January 27, 2017

In 1757, Edmund Burke famously devoted an entire treatise to the “Sublime,” a philosophy deeply imbedded in Western consciousness. Spanning centuries of insight from philosophers, artists and intellectuals, the definition of the sublime remains fluid-and contextual. The sublime is often defined as an overwhelming sensorial sensation that elicits a tantalizing combination of awe and fear. Furthermore, Romanticism in Europe and America indelibly linked the sublime to nature, the vastness of which has intrigued artists for all of time.

Header image: Wandered In, Andrew Rice

Now, in a modern era replete with technology-the sublime has taken on new mediums-yet failed to lose its art historical relevance. The nuclear age ushered in a new kind of sublime, as technologies of warfare led to a horrific awe canonized in J. Robert Oppenheimer’s chilling quote, “I am become death, the destroyer of worlds.”

It is the decidedly modern connotations of the sublime-that which excites and terrifies us-that serves as the basis for Tourists. As artists, the work of Trent Alvey and Andrew Rice investigate themes of vastness, isolation and mankind’s mark on the landscape. Their investigation of space-both literal and conceptual- informs a series of fascinating inquiries relating to the anxieties of modern existence. Building upon a series of impressive local exhibitions for each artist, Tourists marks the first time the artists have exhibited together.

About the Curator

Scotti Hill is a Salt Lake City based art critic and curator. She currently studies law at the University of Utah’s S.J. Quinney College of Law, where she hopes to practice art law and intellectual property. She has previously taught art history courses at Westminster College, University of Utah and Utah Valley University. In 2011, she received a Master’s Degree in art history and visual studies, specializing in modern and contemporary American art.

About the Artists

Trent Alvey’s work observes and investigates phenomenon — objects, marks, light, sound, color, form and periodicity. She is an installation and 2-D artist encountering questions of science and phenomenon with an interest in how the life and the mind share archetypal ideas that become reality. Alvey’s sculptural work is included in the permanent art collections of University of Utah's Museum of Fine Art and Salt Lake County. She was a recipient of the Salt Lake City Mayor’s Award in 2011 and named one of Utah's Most Influential Artists by Artists of Utah,15 Bytes in 2013. trentalvey.com

Andrew Rice is a native of the Rocky Mountain West. Born in Aspen, CO, he received his BFA in printmaking from the University of Colorado in Boulder and his MFA in Salt Lake City, UT at the University of Utah, where he currently resides. Rice has exhibited his work widely at national and international venues including Krakow Print Triennial, Utah Museum of Fine Art, the Printmaking Center of New Jersey, Losif Iser International Contemporary Print Biennial, Prohova County Art Museum (Romania), and Utah Museum of Contemporary Art. andrewriceart.com