S Artspace Gallery Presents EMBRACE #THISISNOTALETTER, Now thru 10/12

Inspired by the quote "This is not a letter, but my arms around you for a brief moment," from a letter by author Katherine Mansfield, Alex Kelleher's first New York exhibition, embrace #ThisIsNotALetter connects technology to art through the artist's sculptures, paintings, photography, and mixed media works. On view today, October 7-12, 2014, at S Artspace Gallery at 345 Broome Street, New York, NY, a Press + VIP Reception will be held Tuesday, October 7, 6-8pm, with a Public Reception Thursday, October 9, 6-8pm.

Having spent his life as an internet entrepreneur, Kelleher explains, "My art has always been an escape mechanism, from my career of building internet businesses. Getting away from a computer screen and into the studio represents space to create something of tangible presence. It feels far away from the bits and bytes of internet data, all of which are delivering virtual experiences that we stare at and interact with through bland panes of glass. We send an email instead of making a call, we instant message instead of reaching out physically." This growing disconnect, where social media is often a solitary experience, is the background to much of Kelleher's work.

Serving almost as a counterpoint to the concurrent inaugural edition of Art Silicon Valley/San Francisco, embrace #ThisIsNotALetter is meant to provoke thought and reflection about how the internet-while making connections easier-hasn't necessarily improved them or made them more real. Real human connections are expressed in physical touch-the ultimate and globally natural expression of connection being the embrace.

Kelleher was originally motivated to create art when, as a child, he saw a poster for a cancer-care charity, of a cancer nurse hugging another person-a patient, a relative? That moment of connection, of true human empathy, has stayed with him to this day, inspiring this exhibition. This also underscores the artist's reasoning as to why proceeds from the embrace#ThisIsNotALetter will go to St Jude's Children's Research Hospital-which has pushed the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20 percent to more than 80 percent since it opened in 1962-supporting The Gold Gala for St Jude specifically. For media inquiries, please contact Amy Kisch, Founder + CEO, AKArt Advisory at amy@AKArt.com.

Date/s + Time
Exhibition Dates: October 7-12, 2014
Press + VIP Reception: Tuesday, October 7, 6-8pm [Press RSVP here]
Public Reception: Thursday, October 9, 6-8pm

Location
S Artspace Gallery
345 Broome Street
New York, NY

Raised in Africa and Europe, Alex Kelleher (www.alexkelleher.com) graduated Oxford University in Experimental Psychology in 1995-a time when the commercial internet was experiencing its first boom. Alex started his first web company, design agency Vivid Edge, that year-and since then has combined art and science wherever possible in his startups. Earlier this year he sold his fourth startup (Cognitive Match) to a NY-based company, having moved to New York City almost four years ago.

Kelleher's art spans sculpture-his true passion for many years now-photography and wall art, tending not to use much color, as he feels that keeping the work black and white allows the viewer to interpret it more directly. The continuity that a limited color palette generates also allows the disparate pieces to live together as a body of work.

Photo Courtesy of Alex Kelleher Studios © Alex Kelleher 2014