FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact Vicki Brodnax 407.646.1595 or vbrodnax@rollins.edu November 30, 2007

CORNELL MUSEUM SHOWCASES TWO NEW YORK-BASED

CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS: ORLY GENGER AND GANDALF GAVAN

WINTER PARK, FL - The Cornell Fine Arts Museum at Rollins College will be the site of two extraordinary, room-sized, sculptural installations created by the New York-based artists Orly Genger (b. 1979) and Gandalf Gavan (b. 1975). Both Genger and Gavan will be given galleries which they will transform with their site-specific works, open to the public on January 19, 2008.

Orly Genger, a native New Yorker, graduated from Brown University and The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Her work is characterized as an extension of the 1960s, groundbreaking art of the internationally recognized Eva Hesse (1936-70). Genger weaves thick strands of rope, elastic strapping, yarn, and metallic ribbon with her fingers and piles, folds, and overlays the soft sculpture into temporary installation sites. Being hand-crafted, per se, the resultant objects are traces of her unique process and directly convey the painstaking work that goes into their creation. Her technique, which dispenses with needles altogether, deliberately narrows the distance between the original idea and the final object. In 2007, Genger was given a solo exhibition at the prestigious Larissa Goldston Gallery, New York where MASSPEAK, a sculpture comprised of over 200,000 feet of nylon climbing rope - enough to encircle the island of Manhattan twice – filled the gallery. The artist’s installation at The Cornell at Rollins will be comprised of thousands of feet of black, nylon rope - typically used by rock climbers – which she will reconfigure in the Jack and June Nelson Tower in the museum.

Gandalf Gavan was born in Berlin and lives and works in Brooklyn. He received an M.F.A. from Columbia University where he has also taught printmaking. Gavan is well known for his hand-blown glass and mixed-media installations wherein he recreates molecular forms from trellises and mirrors and incorporates flowers, feathers, dolls, and patterned objects into the environmental mix. In his sculptures and drawings, Gavan seems to seek a synthesis of popular imagery with natural forms through constant pairing. His works have been presented in Switzerland, Mexico, Austria, Germany, Spain, and throughout the United States. In the last three years, he has gradually taken his outdoor installations to indoor spaces, while focusing increasingly on site-specific elements. The recipient of numerous awards and honors, P.S.1/ MoMA (New York) featured Gavan’s work in the exhibition “Infinite Affinities.” Where his work was described as “sculptural installations that combine uniform modules associated with Minimalism and gestural movement associated with Abstract Expressionism.” Gandalf Gavan at the Cornell Museum at Rollins College will be installed in the William F. Yust Gallery through April 13, 2008.

In bringing the work of Orly Genger and Gandalf Gavan to Rollins College’s Cornell Fine Arts Museum, CFAM continues its commitment to provide the central Florida audience with opportunities to view the very best in contemporary art. Gallery hours: Tues – Sat 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. Sunday 1:00 – 5:00 pm.  Admission: $5 for adults.  Free to CFAM members, Rollins College faculty, staff, and all students with current ID, and children. For additional information please call 407-646-2526 or www.rollins.edu/cfam.