Midnight in The Garden of Good and Evil

Midnight in The Garden of Good and Evil

For Immediate Release, Natchez, Mississippi,  September 8, 2020 -  Conde Contemporary presents a multi-sensory, immersive art exhibition titled “Midnight in The Garden of Good and Evil”, taking place this October 16th-18th (Friday 5-10pm, Saturday 12-8pm and Sunday 12-6pm), at Conde Contemporary, 334 Main Street, Natchez, Mississippi. “Midnight in The Garden of Good and Evil” is coronavirus mandate compliant as well as free and open to the public.

Stacy Conde, gallery owner and curator of the exhibition, is partnering with plant and event designer John Grady Burns of Hal Garner at Nest, to recreate a garden in Natchez at midnight within the confines of her gallery.

 The exhibition is largely dark, with the main sources of light coming from twinkling “stars” hanging from the 24 foot high ceiling above, two light based artworks by Courtney Egan, and focused light on each artwork which punctuates the midnight garden scene. 

The cadre of artists Conde is showing in this exhibition are an international group of award-winning artists, whose work can be seen in museums across the globe. Most notable among them is Cuban artist José Bedia, winner of the Guggenheim Fellowship Award, with works in the permanent collections of The Met, The Tate, and The Whitney, among others. 

 Featured artists include: José Bedia, Ernesto Capdevila, Andres Conde, Courtney Egan, Darian Mederos, César Orrico, Pablo Santibáñez Servat, Noah Saterstrom, Kevin Sloan, and Luis Enrique Toledo del Rio.

 Immediately on approaching the gallery, visitors will notice tableaux on the theme of good and evil in the two front windows flanking the entrance. One family group or party will be allowed to enter the gallery at a time. Each party is free to explore the exhibition for a set period, allowing for distancing, before the next group enters.  A gallery assistant will be stationed inside the exhibition to guide visitors out the back door where refreshments will be available.

 Controlling the number of visitors experiencing the installation at a time helps foster a safe and healthy environment within the gallery, and also maintains the quiet and surreal atmosphere inherent to the exhibition.

 “I’ve long wanted to mount this exhibition but frankly I had neither the space in Miami to properly execute, nor the support”, says Conde who moved her art gallery Conde Contemporary from Miami to Natchez in May during the height of the pandemic. “Moving to Natchez has afforded us both the space and the support needed. We owe a debt of gratitude to Visit Natchez for helping fund this project and for recognizing the positive socioeconomic impact art can have on a community”, says Conde.

Check out condecontemporary.com for more information on participating artists, the gallery, and for updates on “Midnight in The Garden of Good and Evil”.