I am pleased to invite you to view this wonderful exhibition combining hand made work and augmented reality technology. I will be part of the artist talk on January 22. This is going to be a fantastic experience.

PRESS RELEASE

EXHIBITION: THINK WITH YOUR HANDS

ILLUSTRATED JOURNALS COME TO LIFE THROUGH AUGMENTED REALITY

PEP CARRIÓ AND ISIDRO FERRER, GRAPHIC DESIGNERS

NURIA RODRÍGUEZ, CURATOR

January 22, 6 pm – Opening reception

January 22, 6:30 pm – Artist talk: Pep Carrió and Isidro Ferrer and Sergio Gomez

Opening reception and private tour of the exhibition with Nuria Rodríguez.

Free admission. Space is limited. Please RSVP at: http://thinkwithyourhands.bpt.me

 

Instituto Cervantes

31 West Ohio St.

Chicago, IL 60654

Phone: 312.335.1996

ON VIEW January 22 through March 22, 2015

Gallery Hours: Monday-Thursday from 9 am to 8 pm, Friday -Saturday from 9 am to 1 pm.

For more information please visit http://chicago.cervantes.es

 

Presented by Instituto Cervantes in collaboration with SPAIN arts & culture with the support of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport of Spain and the Spain-USA Foundation

Produced by UNIT: Experimental, interactive publishing / Universitat Politècnica de València

 

“Illustration is as old as mankind.

Born with man at the same time as the word.”

—Isidro Ferrer

 

“Pep Carrió converts memory into matter, makes a thing of what was a tragic animic state.”

— Grassa Toro

 

Chicago, IL – This winter Instituto Cervantes Chicago, in collaboration with SPAIN arts & culture, will present THINK WITH YOUR HANDS: Illustrated Journals Come to Life through Augmented Reality. Think with Your Hands brings together the illustrated journals of Spanish illustrators and graphic designers Pep Carrió and Isidro Ferrer in a unique collaboration between artists and software developers. The exhibit takes an unusual twist where animation, video and augmented reality bring to life over sixty illustrations of two of Spain’s most interesting graphic artists working today.

 

The illustrated journals, collages and sculptures of award-winning Carrió and Ferrer were used as a platform to explore the development of two and three dimensional animation through augmented reality. UNIT, a team of programmers and artists at the Polytechnic University of Valencia, Spain developed an app for iPads, iPhones and Android mobile devices that responds to the artwork and brings the two dimensional characters to life. This emerging technology is so new that the developers are just beginning to realize the potential of its applications. Of the 150 illustrations on exhibit, over 60 will be app-responsive, allowing the patron to experience two-dimensional artwork in previously unimaginable ways. The illustrations and collages highlight the artists’ graphic design style, embracing humor, surrealism and sublime moments of life.

 

Originating at Universitat Politècnica de València (Polytechnic University of Valencia) the idea of combining art with technology was presented to Carrió and Ferrer. The resulting exhibit went from the Facultat de Belles Arts Exhibition Hall to the Museo ABC Drawing and Illustration Center in Madrid where its enthusiastic reception lead to this tour of the United States, supported by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport of Spain.

 

BIOS

Pep Carrió and Isidro Ferrer are prolific and influential designers in Spain. Both have exhibited extensively and have won numerous awards including Graphis poster Annual Gold Awards and Golden Label Award (Austria) and Bronze, Film Festival Posters (US).

 

Pep Carrió

Under the direction of Pep Carrió, Estudio Pep Carrió has created notable designs for Camper Shoes, Canal+ and the Bank of Spain. His portfolio includes a prestigious list of cultural institutions and private corporations. Carrió’s illustration and graphic design work has included exhibition catalog design, national festival posters and company branding and identity. Highly regarded, he speaks regularly about graphic design through classes, workshop and local media. www.pepcarrio.com

 

Isidro Ferrer

Isidro Ferrer initiated a career change to graphic design after a profession in drama and set design. Since then his body of work, which embraces surrealism in everyday objects, has garnered attention in national design circles including work for Random House UK. www.isidroferrer.com

 

Nuria Rodríguez

Nuria Rodríguez is an artist, lecturer, graphic designer and curator of Think With Your

Hands. She holds a PhD in Fine Arts and a degree in Industrial Design. She is the Director of the Masters Program in Design and Illustration, and is also the Director of Unit Experimental both housed at the Polytechnic University of Valencia, Spain. www.nuriarodriguez.com

UNIT

Unit Experimental is a cross-discipline research team that specializes in augmented reality primarily for cultural events. Comprised of artists, programmers and dreamers, they take a non-traditional approach to teamwork and collaboration blurring the lines between artistic and scientific disciplines, and are based at the Polytechnic University of Valencia, Spain. http://www.unitexperimental.com | www.upv.es

TECHNOLOGY IN THE EXHIBIT

This exhibit invites visitors to explore works in new ways — transforming illustrations into three dimensional experiences through mobile technology. To that end, the Instituto Cervantes Chicago will be providing iPads for public use when exploring the art, free of charge.

An app is available for download to visitors who own hand held mobile devices.

 

 

The Instituto Cervantes is a public not-for-profit institution founded by the government of Spain in 1991 to promote the Spanish language and the cultures of Spanish-speaking countries throughout the world. It is now the largest international Spanish teaching organization with more than 80 centers on 5 continents. The center here in Chicago offers a wide variety of classes and cultural events throughout the year. Our cultural department regularly organizes conferences, lectures, film screenings, concerts, and art exhibits, bringing diverse audiences together to share a common cultural experience.

Our center is located in downtown Chicago at the corner of Ohio and Dearborn. Our contemporary auditorium and galleries are state of the art; our auditorium holds 160 seats.

 

Information about Instituto Cervantes exhibitions, programs, and special events is available on the Instituto Cervantes website at http://chicago.cervantes.es or by phone at 312.335.1996.