At A Distance #3 exhibition reception and panel

The “At A Distance” project was originally conceived as a way of connecting the arts community in Wichita, Kansas to a variety of contemporary art practices from other parts of the world.

The artist A. P. Vague, then faculty at Wichita State University, created the first iteration of this exhibition in 2017, which featured work by artists from six different countries, none of whom had previously exhibited in Kansas.

An international call for artists was sent out inviting artists to propose works which would be made in the artists’ absence; participants were asked to provide instructions only. This call was open to any artists living and working outside of the Wichita area, and the term “instructions” was open to broad interpretation – artists could provide any elements that do not require shipping, e.g. digital images, software, audiovisual files, drawing algorithms, performance scores, 3D models, etc.

“At A Distance #”3 is the third annual iteration of this project, and the first to take place in Chicago. This exhibition continues the exploration of the boundaries and grey areas which might exist between artist/curator and technician/collaborator. By asking the artists and the curatorial team to each cede some degree of control, this project seeks to stimulate new avenues for process-oriented art. The artists for this year’s “At A Distance” were not limited to those who are outside of the Chicago area.

Submissions were chosen by a selection committee based primarily on how closely each proposal examined the complexity of working at a distance, with the concept of “distance” subject to interpretation. The jurors were specifically looking for projects that engaged with the concepts of collaboration, communication, and process in compelling ways. The resulting exhibition presents work that questions or comments on the role of author, de-emphasized egos and suggests that collective authorship may exemplify connectedness as inherently conditional to the processes of making.

The 18 artists on display at Wedge Projects each challenged the selection committee and installation team in their own unique ways, with some projects opening myriad questions regarding materials and the communication of content. The final form of each of the works in this exhibition was fabricated without the artists present, and represents one possible completed state for each idea.

Participating artists include:
Kioto Aoki
Santina Amato
Bruce Barber
Caitlin Cocco
Gary Duehr
RJ Harrington
Tracie Hayes
Hannah Hirsekorn
Christalena Hughmanick
N. Adriana Knouf
Xiaohan Li
Jacob Lunderby
Ellen Mueller
Sunita Mukhi
Lauren Sudbrink
The Mutual Society of Arts
Yasen Vasilev
Raymond Yeager

Curatorial committee members include:
Peter Fleps – Artist, Director of Wedge Projects
Angela Lopez – Artist, Co-creator of Extended Practice
Matt Martin – Artist
Dieter Roelstraete – Curator
Alisa Swindell – PhD. Candidate in Art History at University of Illinois at Chicago, Writer for New City
Udita Upadhyaya – Interdisciplinary Artist, Educator
A. P. Vague – Artist, Educator, Co-creator of Alastria Press