Maps; from Rand McNally to TomTom, they give peace of mind when setting out into unfamiliar terrain. This fall, let your GPS guide you to 134 Jay Street where the Katonah Museum of Art presents Mapping: Memory and Motion in Contemporary Art. On view from October 3, 2010 through January 9, 2011, this moving exhibition expands the boundaries of mapping as a practical means for way-finding, transcending the physical act of travelling from points A to Z. For more information about the Museum, call (914) 232-9555, ext. 0 or visit www.katonahmuseum.org.

Commenting on the upcoming exhibition Neil Watson, Executive Director of the KMA said, “With Mapping: Memory and Motion in Contemporary Art, curator Sarah Tanguy has organized a vibrant up-to-the minute exhibition that digs into the Zeitgeist of many contemporary artists - those who dig into and reveal the multiple meanings, issues, and relevance of mapping and its influences on our contemporary life.”

Mapping: Memory and Motion in Contemporary Art examines current map-based works that represent real and imagined locations by 38 artists including Susan Stockwell, Josh Dorman, Marla Brill, Nina Katchadourian, Matthew Cusick, Robert Green, and the collaborative team of Robin Hewlett and Ben Kinsley. Encompassing the stars, the body, the land, and the built environment, the exhibition explores various strategies that artists use to track their subjects, distilling them into art objects and activities that choreograph location through time and space. Works include paintings, works on paper, sculpture, video, and a live web broadcast.

“I think this exhibition is really going to resonate with our audiences.  Mapping is part of our everyday lives, especially in today’s world with available technologies such as GPS and Google Maps – so visually the material is immediately accessible.  A closer look reveals how artists are constructing and deconstructing actual maps and mapping strategies to address some of the most basic and universal issues of contemporary life,” said Nancy Wallach, Director of Curatorial Affairs at the Museum.

Mapping: Memory and Motion in Contemporary Art is curated by Sarah Tanguy, an independent curator and critic based in Washington, DC. She is the adjunct curator for International Arts & Artists (www.artsandartists.org) as well as a curator in the ART in Embassies Program (http://aiep.state.gov). Tanguy has developed over a hundred exhibitions since 1983 and has written for The Washington Times, Sculpture, New Art Examiner, Glass, American Craft, Metalsmith, Hand Print Workshop International, Turning Points, Mid-Atlantic Country, Baltimore, and Readers Digest.

“In researching the exhibition, what surprised me the most was the personal connection all of the artists felt to maps, and the rich variety of aesthetic approaches they inspired. In their hands, mapping transcends individual discovery and becomes an effective means of engaging the social, cultural and political issues of our times.” Tanguy explained.