A standard museum practice is to import art works in order to display them on the walls or on the floor; Surface Charge aims to thoroughly alter this practice. Works in Surface Charge will be created directly on and with the walls of the Anderson Gallery, turning its very surfaces into active forces, as opposed to neutral supports. A variety of techniques will be used, and most of the works will exist only for the duration of the exhibition.

Ragna Robertsdottir (Iceland) will apply thousands of lava chips from a volcano in Iceland directly to the wall, while Karin Sander (Germany) will sand and polish a section of wall, turning it into a shimmering, highly reflective field. Odili Donald Odita (Nigeria/U.S.) will compose abstract paintings on the walls, and Elana Herzog (U.S.) will staple and sew textiles into the wall. Lawrence Weiner (U.S.), long one of the main figures associated with Conceptual Art, will apply enigmatic phrases to the wall, while Karina Peisajovich (Argentina) will create a light and painting installation that responds to the specifics of the space. Kim Schoenstadt (U.S.) will both draw on and cut into the wall to create a large, architecturally inflected work while Katrin Sigurdardottir (Iceland) will present three sculptures that conflate walls, abstract forms, and Icelandic landscape imagery. Surface Charge will include a riveting video by Maix Mayer (Germany) involving empty walls in a newly built museum in Leipzig. Lisa Sigal (U.S.) will create a three-dimensional painting installation with elements on, and springing from, the walls. Completing the exhibition will be a sprawling wall collage of textile and felt silhouettes by Sally Smart (Australia) replete with references to Australian culture and the artist's personal life.

Additional information can be found at - http://www.pubinfo.vcu.edu/artweb/gallery/surfaceCharge/surface/index.asp