Keith to Unveil Sternberg's Art, 1/27

On Thursday, January 27th 2011, art collector Normandie Keith will open her home to unveil her latest acquisition, a massive room installation by Los Angeles based artist Cole Sternberg. The Content is Bleeding Through is an installation with many layers meant to challenge the progression of media and society, questioning the celebrity manufacturing system of the media and the concentration of the news on falsities and trivialities. After collecting multiple paintings by Sternberg, Keith commissioned the artist to take over an external space on her property to produce his piece. "Cole is one of the most important artists of his generation and I'm so happy to be able to live with his amazing installation. It provides a sociological snapshot of where we are at, both disturbing and beautiful," states Keith.

The artist's installation opens with a white room, drowning in fluorescent light where Sternberg covered the walls, floor and windows with handwritten text from media and "news" sources such as TMZ, Perez Hilton, and E!. For the ceiling, the artist used ten wooden panels symbolizing the sky with heavy acrylic and oil covering lists of Nobel prize winners and their accomplishments. Televisions varying from vintage beautiful vintage 1950s Philco screens to modern bargain Zenith boxes are strewn around the room. The news media channels' transcripts, pundits and politicians tirades and politico twitter comments wrap the televisions, darkly displaying the new face of the media. The final layer blankets the room with spray paint, acrylic, watercolor, oil, and neon to create a mind-numbing visual; stunning and disturbing at the same time.

"We're living in a transient society, one who concentrates on a quick shot of a nice ass and moves on. The media doesn't give a shit, and now neither do its advertisers and viewers. The scary element is that this mentality, previously reserved for reality TV and celebrity culture, has crossed over to real issues. Shock overruns truth and the news and people's brainwashed vision of society takes over." comments Sternberg. 

Coming off major gallery exhibitions in Culver City, New York, his first solo museum show in Washington, DC, and One on One in Dortmund, Germany at Ruhr.2010, Cole Sternberg's The Content is Bleeding through will unveil Thursday, January 27th, 2011 at the home of art collector Normandie Keith.

Born in 1979 in Richmond, Virginia and raised in Saratoga, California, Cole has been challenging society with his works for the last ten years, blending compelling visuals with issues ranging from pop culture to human rights to the environment. Schooled in the law and a published author on international law issues, Sternberg's incite into his subject matter gives a unique twist rarely seen in the arts.