Rachel Rampleman Exhibition Opens in Ghent, Belgium

These Things Take Time is pleased to announce Raw Power — the first European solo exhibition of Brooklyn–based artist Rachel Rampleman. The multi-media work of New York artist Rachel Rampleman often deals with the excesses of popular culture, and with the exploration and examination of the constructs of “feminine” identity as a recurrent subject within it. Part directorial, part curatorial, and part anthropological, she probes into oft–overlooked elements of pop culture to reveal an expanded landscape of contemporary life. Her astute observations — awash with empathy and rife with psychological complexity — hint at an underlying dissonance that straddles the absurd. Rampleman’s work frequently showcases strong female personalities — women who are simultaneously aberrant and superhuman — who challenge the common clichés of masculinity and femininity, and who often assume roles typically associated with men. This is a landscape where sexual braggadocio or hyper-muscularity have become characteristic of feminine prowess. Working primarily with time-based media, Rampleman has made work ranging from documentary style videos such as Poison (My Sister Fucked Bret Michaels), to experimental video series such as Busby Berkeley 2.0 - in which nostalgic 1930s routines choreographed by Berkeley and performed by Hollywood showgirls are transformed into something more hypmotic, industrial and menacing, to micro-looped, multi-channel video installations such as Bodybuilder Vignettes, made from appropriated footage of professional female bodybuilders at a competition circa 2015. For her solo exhibition at TTTT, Rampleman will premiere several new works inspired by the essay “The Objectified Body” by TTTT curators Godart Bakkers and Charlotte Van Buylaere – commissioned for and featured in her artist book, “Baby's on Fire”. She will transform the space into an immersive audio/video installation, showcasing her latest forays into abstractions of the body/bodies, juxtaposed with recent works which inform and precede these newest pieces created for this show. In doing so, the space will be transformed into the hallucinatory world of Rachel Rampleman. In addition to this, TTTT will host the European launch of her artist book '”Baby's on Fire'”, on the 27th, at the gallery during the Ghent Matinee. The artist talk will be held in the presence of Joel Brendan, (designer of the book and visual artist) and moderated by CEPA director David Mitchell. RACHEL RAMPLEMAN, SOLO EXHIBITION; RAW POWER Thu. 24 March =  Opening Sun. 27 March = Artist talk + Book launch "Baby's on Fire" Open: 24/25/26/27 March & 02/03 February 2016 (14h - 19h) + by appointment. Artist: Rachel Rampleman Book: Baby's on Fire TTTT/ Nederkouter 36 - 9000, Ghent http://thesethingstaketime.be/the-future/   LINOLEUM is pleased to offer "Baby’s On Fire" by multimedia artist Rachel Rampleman [Brooklyn NY]. Hair Metal, Female Bodybuilders, Burlesque: Rachel Rampleman’s subjects stage performances and feats of self-transformations on the charged, porous, and often spectacular boundaries around gender and power. Impossible to encapsulate, her work is a hybrid of documentary investigation, pulsing psychedelia, and subterranean pop. This unique artist book features photographs and video stills from several of her key projects: Girls of Hair Metal, Female Bodybuilders, and Burlesque. In addition to a visual survey or Rachel’s work, "Baby’s On Fire" also features text contributions by a selection of writers & curators: Jennifer and Kevin McCoy Paul Pfeiffer Astria Suparak Dr. An Paenhuysen Alex Young Godart Bakkers and Charlotte Van Buyleare Juliet Jacobson Crystal Curtis Vanessa Albury 4heads Elevine Berge RACHEL RAMPLEMAN, BOOK LAUNCH Sun. 27 March, 3 - 6pm =  Book launch "Baby's on Fire" Color and b&w digital press, risograph, staple-bound, 40 pages 5.3x8.2” ISBN 978-0-939784-29-5   Artist: Rachel Rampleman Book: Baby's on Fire TTTT/ Nederkouter 36 - 9000, Ghent http://thesethingstaketime.be/the-future/   Copyright © 2015, Rachel Rampleman, All rights reserved. Website: http://rachelrampleman.com My mailing address is: r.rampleman@gmail.com