Welcome to Identity Complex, 2008, an Art and Architecture exhibit:

Identity is a complex algorithm unique to each of us, informed by our parents, the media, history, and the context in which these combine. This process is constant and continual; identity the ever-evolving product.

We are unconsciously, and sometimes overtly, manipulated and massaged into molds generating well-behaved consumers that play well with others. What forms your beliefs about yourself, others, and the objects you encounter? Are you crafting your own “self,” or is someone else doing it for you?

Each of the artists participating in Identity Complex are challenging their personal beliefs, their understanding of the form of art, and helping us to do the same. Sometimes playful, sometimes deadly serious, each one asks us to examine how we have been informed, and what decisions we have made about ourselves, and the world around us.

Thanks for participating,

Marcy Hoen

Austin Art Start

Identity Complex: Metrohouse Art and Architecture was a great time! Read Michael Barnes' review of the event, and post your own!

View photos of the artist talks here

Some quotes from attendees:
"The Metrohouse Art show was the best art event I've been to since Miami [Art Basel, Miami]. The synergy of art and architecture was delightful. Thank you for manifesting it!"
~Megan Jaster

"Overall, the art was as good or better than any show I've seen in Austin all year - and the space was remarkable. You deserve to be applauded for launching an exciting new vehicle for bringing artists and collectors together. While maintaining a formal, non-commercial tone, these spaces present a much more accurate suggestion of how the art will look and feel in a contemporary living environment...."
~Ebbesen Davis

"What surprised me about … Identity Complex, the art and architecture exhibit on West North Loop, was the fierceness of both major aspects of the events. Metrohouse’s residences, joined by a tree-topped courtyard, look like they emerged from some hyper-inventive designer’s dreams, with open, angled spaces executed in contemporary materials and obsessively pristine details. The art, assembled in the live-work lofts by Marcy Hoen of Austin Art Start, was similarly forward-thinking in electronic and sculptural medias, as well as a few more modest paintings. The art-mad crowd walked around mouths agape. A fair point was made by several partiers: “What Austin artist could afford to purchase such lofts?” Well, it might attract creative types from more costly real estate markets, looking for a lot of good light and the inspiration of edgy digs. The city is a pretty strong magnet as well."

~Michael Barnes Austin 360,

Monday, July 14, 2008