For his first solo exhibition at Civilian, Billy Friebele will present three interrelated video projects; "Walking as Drawing," "Target Loop," and "Commute Loop" in the project space and The Entrance.

Exploring the spatial experience of contemporary culture, Friebele's works re-contextualize common notions of everyday public spaces and mundane routines. For "Commute Loop," the artist videotaped his lengthy daily commute to and from work for one year. Sections of the trek are sequenced into a time-lapse, looped, and mirrored on the wall, creating an endless journey of an all too familiar landscape. For "Target Loop," he attached a video camera and GPS unit to a shopping cart and traversed the aisles looking for a birthday present. For "Walking as Drawing," an on-going project the artist creates in varying locations, he invites participants to take a dérive walk within a contained space, and tracks their movements. He then color-codes and animates their paths to make a time-based collaborative drawing.

According to the artist, "We often pass through mundane spaces without noticing our surroundings. We are drawn here and there by commerce: commuting to work, walking to the corner store, shopping for clothes and food. We pay little attention to the spaces we are channeled through, yet all spaces have embedded ideologies. Shopping at big box stores mirrors the mindless ambulatory experience of browsing the Internet. Cities have gridded structures that serve to maximize space and capital, keeping our movements locked into right angles."

He continues: "Tracking this motion reveals the patterns impressed upon us as we enact our daily lives. Thinking of driving and walking as physical acts of drawing allows me to understand more concretely how our bodies are controlled by the spaces we inhabit."

Friebele was awarded the Young Artist Program Grant from the District of Columbia Commission on the Arts in Humanities in 2009, and, with collaborator Mike Iacovone, the Creative Communities Fund in 2010. He has exhibited at the Baltimore Museum of Art as well as in New York, New Jersey, Colorado, St. Louis, Detroit, Sarajevo, and Washington, DC among other places. He has also participated in many public art projects such as "Driving Without Destination" at Seton Hall University; the Conflux Festival in New York; and collaborations with Mike Iacovone, including "Free Space" at the Martin Luther King Library and "Construct: Space Transformed." He is currently teaching new media at St. Mary's College of Maryland.

June 10 - July 23, 2011

Opening Reception: Friday, June 10, 7-9pm

For his first solo exhibition at Civilian, artist Billy Friebele presents three inter-related video projects that explore the spatial experience of contemporary culture.