Sample press release for exhibition opening at Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design.

1. MEDIA CONTACT:
Rick Dailey
rdailey@rmcad.edu
303.753.6040 ext.22753
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 24, 2017
ROCKY MOUNTAIN COLLEGE OF ART + DESIGN PRESENTS AN OCEAN WITHOUT WATER
EXHIBITION BY ARTIST KATIE TORN
DENVER, Colo.– Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design (RMCAD) presents a special exhibition featuring
distinguished NYC-based artist Katie Torn. The opening reception of An Ocean Without Water will take place
Thursday, May 25, 2017 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Philip J. Steele’s East Gallery on RMCAD’s campus. The
exhibition will run from May 25 – July 16, 2017. Torn’s work will be unveiled in conjunction with the opening of
Julie Malen’s NEO AIR exhibition in the Philip J. Steele’s West Gallery. The exhibitions will be the first of the
Gallery’s yearlong visiting artist gallery series.
About the Exhibition
An Ocean Without Water is an immersive video installation that wades through manic representations of popular
culture debris in order to contemplate subjects such as: hyper-capitalism; the female body; and the thin veneer of
identity used to defend the status quo. Using 3D animation composited with video, Torn pairs the visuals of
consumer waste with imagery of her childhood. Old toys, GIFs and screen savers mix together with plastic detritus
and toxic fluids to create a lively landscape that are visual sentiments of impending doom. The videos in An Ocean
Without Water will be projected on walls and displayed on HD LED TVs. Torn’s work will cover several themes: the
blending of 80s and 90s nostalgia; imagined ocean floors constructed from discarded Internet and consumer
culture; and an Instagram human/avatar-conflated identity that performs for a social network.
About the Artist
Katie Torn holds an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (2012) and BA from Hunter College
(2007). Through her practice, Katie Torn integrates 3D computer graphics and video to model virtually simulated
scenes out of the detritus of internet and consumer culture. Collecting discarded products and elements available
online, Torn’s digital assemblages carry traces of former consumer eras and web browsing histories. Katie Torn has
exhibited and screened her work at national and international locations including the Center for Contemporary Art,
Tel Aviv (2015); XPO Gallery, Paris (2015); Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin (2105); Art in General, New York (2015);
Postmasters, New York (2014); Upfor Gallery, Portland (2014); MOMA PS1, New York (2014); and MOCA, Los Angeles
(2013). Torn was a 2013 Fellow at the Eyebeam Art & Technology Center and a 2014 Artist in Residence at Alfred
University. She is currently a resident at Lower Manhattan Cultural Council’s Process Space.
Attendance
All RMCAD Gallery exhibitions are free and open to the public.
About the Gallery
The Philip J. Steele Gallery is the largest dedicated gallery space on RMCAD’s campus. The Gallery exhibits
student, alumni and faculty work in addition to nationally and internationally renowned visiting artist, scholars and
designers. The Gallery mission is to create a space for dialogue, using contemporary art as a vehicle for critical
discourse. Gallery hours are Monday – Saturday, 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
About Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design
A premier arts school in the Denver area, Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design is an innovative, rigorous, and
community-oriented global learning environment that inspires passion for critical thinking and prepares learners to
be forces of change in the creative industries, our communities, and the world. Find more information at
www.RMCAD.edu or by calling 800.888.ARTS.
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