CEPA Gallery and Squeaky Wheel are pleased to announce Baby’s on Fire—the first major gallery survey of Brooklyn–based artist Rachel Rampleman.
Born and raised in the suburbs of the Midwest, Rampleman’s various bodies of work explore subjects like gender, artifice, and spectacle through the tinge of a very American lens. Part directorial, part curatorial, and part anthropological, she probes into oft–overlooked elements of American culture to reveal an expanded landscape of American life. Her astute observations— awash with empathy and rife with psychological complexity—hint at an underlying dissonance that straddles the absurd.
Rampleman’s work frequently showcases strong female personalities—women who are simultaneously aberrant and superhuman—who challenge the common clichés of masculinity and femininity and who often assume roles typically associated with men. This is a landscape where sexual braggadocio, heavy-metal rock stardom, or muscularity have become characteristic of feminine prowess.
Working primarily with time-based media, Rampleman has made work ranging from documentary style videos such as Poison (My Sister Fucked Bret)—her sister’s recounting of her teenage sexploits with hair metal rock icon Bret Michaels—to experimental videos made from footage she captured of the world’s first and only all female Mötley Crüe tribute band to karaoke–style appropriations of archival footage of female bodybuilders from the 1980s-90s.
For her survey, Rampleman’s prolific body of work will be featured in every gallery of CEPA’s Market Arcade complex. In addition, she will be the inaugural artist for Squeaky Wheel’s new storefront window gallery—viewable 24 hours a day/7 days a week from Main Street—where she’ll present a newly created multi-media display. This collaborative effort with Squeaky Wheel will also include screenings of her short films in their newly christened microcinema.
On the occasion of Baby’s on Fire, a limited edition artist book—published by Linoleum Press for CEPA Gallery—will be made available. The book will feature essays and contributions by Astria Suparak, Paul Pfeiffer, Jennifer & Kevin McCoy, Alex Young, An Paenhuysen, Godart Bakkers, and Charlotte Van Buylaere, among others.
Please join us on Saturday April 11, 2015 from 7-10pm for an artist reception at CEPA Gallery and Squeaky Wheel in our Market Arcade galleries.Related programming and screening schedules will be announced in the coming weeks.