ANDREW RAFACZ is pleased to announce a solo exhibition of a new video by Greg Stimac.

Chicago, IL, May 21, 2011 – Andrew Rafacz continues the 2011 season with Empire, a new projected video work by Greg Stimac in Gallery One. This is the artist’s third exhibition with the gallery and continues through Saturday, July 2, 2011.

In past years Stimac has photographed roadside memorials, bottles of urine resting in ditches, and active firing ranges, as if indexing the overlooked elements that mark the way for a culture whose identity is always in flux. He has catalogued uniquely American experiences with the photographic series ‘Mowing the Lawn’ and the video Peeling Out. Always vigilant of our collective concerns and desires, Stimac continues to document the singular experiences of his own culture.

Empire, whose title undoubtedly refers to both Warhol’s nearly static film of the Empire State Building and America itself, was shot during last year’s Fourth of July celebrations. Aerially tracing the city’s grid, the high definition video documents our celebration of independence and fascination with war. Stimac presents the 11 minute long piece in silent black and white, making reference to the historical precedence of countless war room documents. As the camera moves along the streets of the city, explosions occur inside and outside the frame, illuminating the scene and reminding the viewer of a certain ubiquity to the proceedings.

GREG STIMAC (American, b. 1976) lives and works in Northern California. He received his B.F.A. from Columbia College, Chicago in 2005. Past exhibitions include Worlds Away: New Suburban Landscapes, which began at The Walker Museum of Art, Minneapolis and traveled to the Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh and USA Today, at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, an exhibition of works from their permanent collection. Recently, his work was included in Faraway Nearby at the Nerman Museum and FAMILIAR: Portraits of Proximity at the Kansas City Jewish Museum of Contemporary Art, both in Overland Park, Kansas. He had a solo exhibition at White Flag Projects in St. Louis, Missouri, 2010. Stimac’s work was last seen at the gallery in February 2010 with his eponymously titled solo exhibition. Prior to that, his work was shown in the group exhibition Bad Moon in December 2008. He is in the permanent collections of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago, UBS, the Wieland Collection, Atlanta, GA and the Ruttenberg Collection, Chicago, IL, among others.