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Red Bull 381 Projects is proud to present an exhibition of two artists who each get an A for effort. Jon Sasaki and Jessica Vallentin are giving it The Old College Try, making lofty and energetic attempts to show the world that no obstacle is too great to defeat the human spirit. Both artists’ distinctly tragicomic conceptual practices employ a variety of disciplines to tackle such brave and admirable goals as personal development, physical mastery, and social integration.

Jessica Vallentin, a student of the Art and Art History program at the University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM) and at the Sheridan Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning, presents a series of works aimed at better connecting with her current place of residence, Mississauga. Documenting and investigating the lives and residences of fellow Mississaugans, Jessica cheerfully forces herself to engage the city she must, by necessity, inhabit. In another work, a collaboration with several of her classmates, she uses the isolation of UTM’s commuter campus as fodder to interact with students in decidedly unpopular ways: “reserving” public tables by leaving their clothing and bags strewn about, Jessica and partners force disparate students to share the remaining seating areas.

Contrasting with Jessica’s relational tactics aimed at making a go of it, Jon Sasaki’s practice emphasizes the often absurd nature of generosity and the frequently perverse impulse towards self-improvement. In past works, Jon has climbed an unsupported free-standing ladder, equipped a vintage clothing store with all-too-revealing black lights, and put a team of mascots in front of an entertainment-starved crowd for twelve straight hours. In this exhibition, he elicits the unproductive expenditure of a cyclist whose considerable efforts are rewarded with snail’s pace speed. Elsewhere, he offers a free gift designed to accommodate the receiver’s second thoughts, should the object prove cumbersome.

This exhibition is accompanied by a publication with texts by Nicholas Brown and Catherine Dean, as well as an artist edition by Jon Sasaki—both are free to the public.

From July 8 to August 8, 2009
Opening reception: Wednesday, July 8, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Special event:
Gallery walkthrough with curator Nicholas Brown, award presenter William Huffman (Associate Director, Toronto Arts Council), and artists Jon Sasaki and Jessica Vallentin, on Saturday, July 25, at 3 p.m.