An exhibition by Pittsburgh artist Rick Gribenas will be on view Feb. 6-March 7 in the Paul Mesaros Gallery of the West VirginiaUniversityCreativeArtsCenter.


The work,”This Side,”is a site-specific, minimal installation that involves interactive sound.


Gribenas, who was selected by the PittsburghCenter for the Visual Arts as the”Emerging Artist of the Year”for 2001, is known for using sound as a sculptural tool to address class issues and the contrast between the suburban and urban environments.


“This Side”includes a mixture of sound and light. The focal point is a small metal sculpture of a house placed in the middle of the gallery. Florescent lights in a closet provide an added dimension and foot pads located around the exhibit emit sound when operated by viewers.


“These experiences are purposely made public in the space and not kept private, so that a primary audience member can become an element within the piece for others to observe,”Gribenas said.


“I approach making art with an aesthetic economy, using only essential elements to leave space for interaction and reflection among the participants,”he said.”Audience and art merge by allowing people to interact with the elements. They navigate through audio samples of suburban voices, urban environmental sounds and sculptural elements.”


Gribenas is a sound installation and performance artist who works as an exhibition coordinator at the Regina Gouger Miller Gallery at CarnegieMellonUniversity. He attended Edinboro University of Pennsylvania and was recently awarded the Hayward Prize for Young Artists in 2002. The award sent him to Hallein, Austria, where he showcased two new performances and one finished sound installation. In addition to Pennsylvania, his exhibitions and performances have appeared in New York City, Montreal, Quebec, London and Barcelona.