Pittsburgh Artist Derek Reese Selected to Represent U.S. in Art Bienal in Chile
The international contemporary art exposition will be held in Antofagasta, Chile in October, 2021.
West Virginia native and Pittsburgh-based visual artist Derek Reese will be representing the U.S. in the SACO Bienal de Arte Contemporáneo, held in Antofagasta, Chile. As part of the international contemporary art exposition, his video-based exhibition titled Masculine Artifacts will be exhibited at the Esquina Retornable, a cinema house located in the Playa Blanca neighborhood of Antofagasta. The exhibition opens on Monday, October 4 and runs through November 30, 2021.
Reese was asked to participate in the Bienal after the organizers became familiar with his body of artwork created in response to the past and current socioeconomic, cultural, and political conditions in Appalachia. Reese, whose father was a West Virginia coal miner, and whose grandfather was killed working in the mines, has a deeply vested interest in the role that extractive industries such as coal mining have played historically in Appalachia, and how they impact our lives, currently. According to the organizers of the exposition in Chile, Reese’s perspective provides an interesting contrast and comparison to the conditions in the Antofagasta region. Chile is currently the world’s largest producer of copper with Antofagasta being the copper capital there. Although very different, both regions share a legacy of world-leading exports in the mineral extraction industry and are often scrutinized and misrepresented by outsiders particularly during election cycles, economic downturns, or after mining disasters catch the world’s attention.
Film still from Masculine Artifacts (The Coal Miner and the Miner Stripped of His Clothes) Video 2.
Photo credit: Trey Duplain
Initially, Reese was invited to spend time in Chile designing a concept for the artwork through an artist residency at the Center for Art Residencies (ISLA), located in Antofagasta, during the Spring of 2020. The trip was to focus on gaining some insight into the lives of miners and mining culture in the Antofagasta region of Chile. Due to ongoing travel restrictions related to the Covid-19 pandemic, it was decided that Reese will remain in the U.S. during the exhibition. Reese has drawn inspiration exploring the area in and around Maidsville, WV, where he spent his formative years. Just outside of Morgatiown, WV, Maidsville was an area once known for its high concentration of coal mines and bustling economy for its size.
Reese explains: “Although it is very disappointing to not be in Chile for the Bienal, I’ve had the opportunity to explore my own back yard in a way that was not possible before, without this support. I’ve been exploring the ruins of the long abandoned mine where my grandfather was killed. I visited the mine that my dad worked in Blacksville, WV, which is set to shut down in September. And I’ve had the opportunity to explore some recently abandoned and un-reclaimed strip mine sites in the Morgantown area. In fact, one of the videos I am creating for the Bienal will be filmed there, with the strip mine as the backdrop. It is all very surreal and bitter sweet, but work that I have been waiting a long time for. I wish my dad could have been here to see it.”
Film still from Masculine Artifacts (The Coal Miner and the Miner Stripped of His Clothes) Video 1
For this project, Reese has found a great partner in Associated Artists of Pittsburgh (AAP), who will be providing administrative and marketing support and who has been acting as Reese’s fiscal sponsor during this project. Founded in 1910, Associated Artists of Pittsburgh is a 501(c)3 non-profit visual arts organization that exhibits, promotes, and supports the work of artists who live and work in Pittsburgh and the surrounding region.
“We are really excited to partner with Derek on this project,” says Associated Artists Executive Director Madeline Gent. “During the pandemic, we have found ourselves looking inwards and asking how we can better support our artist community. When Derek presented his project to us, it seemed like a golden opportunity to explore these questions, as well as promote Pittsburgh artists internationally. We can’t wait to see the work Derek produces for Chile and how we can grow these projects further.”
This project is being generously supported by The Heinz Endowments who are devoted to the mission of helping our region prosper as a vibrant center of creativity, learning, and social, economic and environmental sustainability. Reese’s ultimate goal is to create an ongoing artist exchange program between Pittsburgh and Antofagasta to help nurture an international dialogue through the arts. Reese is speaking with AAP and The Heinz Endowments about the possibility of hosting a Chilean artist in Pittsburgh and supporting the creation and exhibition of a body of their artwork here in Pittsburgh after the SACO Contemporary Art Biennale.
About Derek Reese
Derek Reese is an interdisciplinary artist living and working in Pittsburgh, PA since 2011. A Morgantown, West Virginia native, Reese received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from West Virginia University, and a Master of Fine Arts degree from Ohio State University. His art practice in the last decade has transformed from primarily 2D artworks to that of sculpture, assemblage, and installations using a variety of media including found objects, household materials, photography, and video – all informed by his upbringing in a small coal mining town in West Virginia.
Reese is a former Flight School Fellow through the Pittsburgh Center for Arts and Media and was an artist-in-residence in the Distillery Program at the Brew House (Pittsburgh). Most recently, he was selected as the ISLA Center for Art Residencies artist-in-residence in Antofagasta, Chile in 2021. His most recent exhibitions include Rolling Coal, a collection of new work at the Beauty Shoppe in Pittsburgh, PA; Six Feet at Associated Artists of Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh, PA); and Lost in the Flood, an at Indiana University of Pennsylvania in Indiana, PA.
