Winkleman Gallery is very pleased to present Sleepless in Seattle at Winkleman Concert Hall, our second solo exhibition by New York artist Ivin Ballen. Featuring new paintings and sculpture, including “Stage” (which will double as an actual performance platform and sound system for a series of weekly performances by a line-up of emerging New York area bands), Sleepless in Seattle at Winkleman Concert Hall embodies nostalgia, performance of the moment, and illusion of material to create an effect that anticipates the inevitable change to come.

Elaborating on the decision to invite musicians to participate in his exhibition, and its title, Ballen wrote:

Sam Baldwin is mourning the loss of his wife and coming to terms with the fact that his happiness is dependent on companionship. It is not an uncommon story. Through tender circumstance, Sam finds his true second love in Annie Reed. Sleepless in Seattle (1993), with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, focuses on the trials of renewed life.

Although the film’s focus is one of an inevitable romance, a strong feeling of bereavement hovers over the plot. It is the loss of life that is spurring the adaptation in Sam’s life. Death leads Annie Reed to Sam Baldwin through the radio, which is followed by a fairy-tale chain of events deliberately referencing all but the tragic ending in An Affair to Remember (1957). It gives heartening prospect to see a hopeful outcome in Sleepless in Seattle.

Sleepless in Seattle at Winkleman Concert Hall explores inward feelings and draws on how we cope and adapt to chance in life. The stage is introduced into this show literally as a place for performance. Winkleman Gallery is transformed into a makeshift concert hall and a place of rejuvenation for both art watchers and music goers.

Life brings unexpected turns and we can be happy to roll with them, taking old objects and reconfiguring them to continue their use cycle. I am advocating a lifestyle of adaptation and am bringing that conversation to the composition of sound and performance.

Musical performances are scheduled throughout the duration of the show. Opening night Honne Wells will perform at 6:30 PM, followed by Storms. Other musical artists including, but not limited to: Big Game, Perfect Wieners and Butts, Pete and J, Scandinavian Half-Breeds, and Chris Pandolfi (of The Stringdusters) will be performing on dates to be announced on the exhibition’s blog: http://winklemanconcerthall.blogspot.com.