FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

We are pleased to announce {CTS} creative thriftshop’s artist Ron Rocco, will be exhibiting his work, Bloody State in the 4th annual presentation of The Prague Contemporary Art Festival, entitled TINA B. in an extraordinary showcasing of international contemporary artist from October October 8th through October 25th 2009.

His work could not be more fitting in this years festival, ‘New Era’ which is guided by the Czech Republics freedom and involvement with the world at large, and how it will remain possible to do so. Ron Rocco has an artistic practice that is itself internationally engaged, spending his time between Berlin and New York.

Rocco's work, Bloody State, is what the artist calls a “documentation of the current state of our union.” In his signature stark, unapologetic style, Rocco presents an American Flag on life support. The stripes become veins coursing with blood, the flag itself framed by mattress bedsprings, cold and uninviting. This piece is layered with symbolism that forces the viewer to consider some very tough questions. This tangle of soft and harsh textures, plastic, fabric and metal, evokes both a visceral and intellectual reaction from any viewer. This sculpture is at once passive and violent, current and ageless. Like all of Rocco?s work it has a presence that refuses to be ignored.

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catalogue is available

artist on view: Andrea Bianconi, Valerio Beruti, Jens Becker, SEMP, Katja Loher, Selina Trepp, Franz Gratwohl, Victorine Muller, Marion Ritzmann, Enrico Centonze, Milan Houser, Ron Rocco, Lauri Lyons, Paolo Cirio, Shahar Marcus, Basim Magdy, Zoë Walke and Neil Bromwich, Petra Valentová, Dana Sederowsky, Antonio Pilade, Barbara Rosenthal, Darina Alster

about the artist: Artist Ron Rocco's materials clash, separate and merge, emoting a raw picture of conflict through tangles of neon wiring and fragments of metal. Occupying a place between sculpture, installation, painting and performace, his objects relate nostalgic associations and critically examine signs in and out of context.

about the gallery: CTS is quality art on the move. Championing provocative content driven work by local and international mid-career, underrepresented, and emerging artists in all media. Our goal is to build an infrastructure that knows no boundaries, one that carries the torch of modernism acting as a vehicle for dreamers, a cultural meeting place for great minds, an international community of interconnectivity and expandability.

about exhibition: “On the Road’ is one of many curated programs taking place at this years TINA B. festival. ‘On the Road’ is curated by Tina B. and is addressing one of the festivals main concerns, understanding art globally, by bringing artist and art markets from abroad into Prague and the collective consciousness

about curator.: TINA B. is an acronym for “This Is Not Another Biennial,’ literally an art festival taking place yearly, and suggestively denoting of its uniqueness as a cultural institution. TINA B., in its fourth year, will be engaging with the theme ‘New Era,’ inspired by the Velvet Revolution, a defining moment in the revolution of the Czech Republic. TINA B.’s focus is being culturally and politically engaged on a global level under the auspice of artistic production.