J. Kyle Daevel, Detroit Alphabet, 2007, birch plywood, dimensions variable
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – An exhibition that explores the potential of multi-dimensional typography opens Jan. 9 and runs through Feb.. 7 at I space, the Chicago gallery of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign:
“Dimension and Typography: A Survey of Letterforms in Space and Time” features recent work in print, video, sculpture and installation by an international group of artists, designers and programmers.
According to co-curator Jimmy Luu, a professor of graphic design at Illinois, the exhibitors have a shared interest in “investigating the potential of letters that exist beyond the flatness of two dimensions.” Work included in the survey, he said, hints at how the field of typography may evolve “when letters are freed from their two-dimensional traditions.”
“Up until the past decade, letters have mainly been presented as flat shapes in printed form,” said Luu, who is curating the exhibition with Ryan Molloy, a professor of graphic design at Eastern Michigan University. “While the notion of giving dimension to letterforms has existed for centuries within the field of typography as smaller pockets of activity, recent advances in digital technology has provided designers greater freedom and ease with which to explore the spatial and temporal qualities of typographic form.”
Featured in the exhibition is work by Mohammad Reza Abdolali, Iran; Yeohyun Ahn, John Page Corrigan and Viviana Cordova, Indiana; Andrew Byrom and Geoff Kaplan, California, J. Kyle Daevel, Tennessee; Oded Ezer and Ariel Malka, Israel; Jack Featherstone and Chrysostomos Tsimourdagkas, London; Denise Gonzales Crisp and Will Temple, North Carolina; Keetra Dixon + JK Keller, Andrew Sloat and Benjamin Van Dyke New York; Tuan Phan, Texas; and Jim Stevens, Michigan.
More information about the exhibition is available at www.dimensionandtype.com.
An opening reception is planned from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Jan. 9 at the gallery, 230 W. Superior St., Chicago.
I space gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
