Federico Solmi : The Evil Empire, video, 2007 - 3D Digital design
audio/editing by Russell Lowe
EXTREMES & IN-BETWEENS – curated by Joshua Altman
November 18, 2007 - January 27, 2008
Opening: Sunday, November 18, 2 - 5PM
Dorsky Gallery Curatorial Program
Long Island City, New York
11-03 45th Avenue, 718-937-6317

Artist included in the show are Cecily Brown, Robert Breer, Martha Colburn, Brent Green, Susi Jirkuff, Ezra Johnson, David Shrigley, Federico Solmi, and Naoyuki Tsuji.
With little or no prior training in the use of traditional animating techniques, an increasing number of artists are incorporating elements of animation into their works. This exhibition, which features a selection of international artists, focuses, primarily, on the increase in the use of animation in contemporary artistic practice by non-animators. These artists, some of who have achieved considerable success in their respective mediums of choice, have, at one point, consciously decided to burden themselves with the challenge of creating a sequence of unique frames that, when played in order, present the illusion of a moving image. Alongside the animations will be painting and sculpture that resulted from, or in some way inspired, the animations on view. .
"The Evil Empire" - is the title of the new video animation by New York-based artist Federico Solmi. The video is scheduled to be released in the year 2008. "The Evil Empire" will be the subject of several upcoming solo exhibitions, including an exhibition at LMAK Projects Gallery, New York, March 2008; Pascal Vanhoecke Gallery, Paris, March 2008, Adn Gallery, Barcelona, April 2008 and Gallery S.E. Norway, December 2007, (project room).
At the Dorsky Gallery, there will be a 1 minute 30 second trailer displayed, in addition to a series of drawings.The video animation takes place in the heart of Vatican City, in the year 2046. Surrounded by the glorious frescoes and wealth of his St. Peter Basilica apartment, a fictional Pope will be portrayed as a young man struggling with his porn addiction, similar to all ordinary men who cannot avoid the temptation of contemporary society. The Evil Empire was made in collaboration with 3D artist Russell Lowe. Russell Lowe is a Professor at the University of New South Wales, Sidney, Australia.