“Watered Down Kegs of Rum”

No, it’s not a new Pensacola bar. It’s an art exhibit

Press Release: The Art Gallery (TAG) at the University of West Florida (UWF) presents “Watered Down Kegs of Rum”, an exhibition of work by Derek Coté.

The exhibition is on view Sept. 15 through Oct. 20. The opening reception will take place on Thursday, Sept. 15 from 6 to 8 p.m. in TAG located on UWF’s main campus in the Center for Fine and Performing Arts, Bldg. 82.

UWF’s Genius Loci Visiting Artist Lecture Series presents an artist lecture by Mr. Coté before the opening reception from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

“Watered Down Kegs of Rum”, an exhibition of work by Derek Coté, mines cultural histories and explores the formation of North America by addressing western expansion and the notions of alienation, assimilation and exploitation. These concepts manifest themselves in Coté’s work through constructions of architectural symbols and modular structures that use light, video and sound to facilitate dramatic shifts in scale within created environments.

“Coté presents repositioned narratives of the creation of societies that function on both broad and intimate levels,” said Amy Bowman, TAG UWF gallery director.

Mr. Coté studied at Western Washington University and Virginia Commonwealth University, where he received his BFA and MFA in Sculpture and Extended Media. He has exhibited nationally and internationally, including exhibitions at the Brooklyn Museum of Art, Tacoma Art Museum, Art Museum of the University of Memphis, Delaware Center for Contemporary Art, Houston Center for Photography, Exit Art, AC Institute and Roebling Hall in New York City, Marmara University in Istanbul, Marc DePuechredon Gallery in Basel, and Artwave Radio in Athens, Greece.

In addition, Mr. Coté was included in the 2007 Young Sculptors Competition, received a Professional Artist Fellowship from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Support Grants from the Canada Council for the Arts and the Tennessee Arts Commission, and was an Artist-in-Residence at the Bemis Center for Contemporary Art. For more information, visit his website, www.derekcote.com.

All events are free and open to the public. For more information visit, tag82uwf.wordpress.com or contact Amy Bowman, Director, TAG UWF at artgallery@uwf.edu or 850.474.2696.

The Art Gallery at the University of West Florida seeks to challenge, stimulate and engage students and the greater public through direct interaction with works of contemporary art.