December 4th, 2016
18th Street Arts Center
Published in 2016 by 18th Street Arts Center and designed by Jessica Fleischmann, the catalog documents the Forêt Intérieure/Interior Forest, a multi-faceted participatory project organized by Los Angeles-based artist Alexandra Grant in collaboration with the French writer and philosopher Hélène Cixous.
A book launch will be held at 18th Street Arts Center on Sunday, December 4th, 2016, from 2-5pm.
Forêt Intérieure/Interior Forest were two exhibitions that took place in 2013 at 18th Street Arts Center in Santa Monica, CA and Mains d’Œuvres in Saint-Ouen, France. Structured as a residency and an exhibition at each venue, Forêt Intérieure/Interior Forest extended Grant’s studio practice into the arena of public engagement. The exhibitions included public drawing sessions to translate Cixous’s novel “Phillipines” into a large-scale work in each gallery via reading groups, artist collaborations, lectures and performances. The twin exhibitions were co-curated by Pilar Tompkins Rivas, Isabelle Le Normand, and Ann Stouvenel. The Forêt Intérieure/Interior Forest catalog includes essays by Alexandra Grant, Robert Nashak, Pilar Tompkins Rivas, a public conversation by Alexandra Grant and Hélène Cixous, and a letter from Hélène Cixous.
The Forêt Intérieure/Interior Forest catalog is available at Arcana Books.
Michael Barnard’s “Interior Forest by Alexandra Grant” is a 13-minute film that documents the creation of this unusual communal artwork over the period of several months at the 18th Street Arts Center Main Gallery in 2013. The film includes an in-depth interview with Alexandra Grant, the creator and lead artist of the project. It also includes interviews with several of the participating artists, including Steve Roden, Renee Petropoulos, Channing Hansen, and Annelie McKenzie/Tina Linville.
