The Amber Room September 8, 2006

Greetings from
the luggage store
1007 market street (nr 6th) san francisco, ca 94103
tel. 415.255. 5971
www.luggagestoregallery.org

Exhibition
The Amber Room
Hidden Treasures, Baroque Manias, and the 8th Wonder of the World! featuring new works by Won Ju Lim (LA), Liu Ding (Beijing) Shirley Tse (LA) and Wang Wei (Beijing). Guest curated by David Spalding and Pauline J. Yao

Dates of Exhibition
September 8 - October 14, 2006

Venue
the luggage store.
1007 Market Street (near 6th) San Francisco, CA 94103 USA

Opening Reception
Friday, September 8, 6-8 pm

Gallery Hours:
Wed-Saturday, 12-5pm and by appointment
The luggage store is pleased to present, The Amber Room, a groundbreaking exhibition of contemporary art that invites four leading Chinese and Asian American artists to create new works in response to thefabled Amber Room, an exquisite chamber made of carved golden tree resin, shimmering gold and mosaics of precious minerals. The original Amber Room was a masterpiece of Baroque excess. Commissioned in 1716 by Fredrick I of Prussia as an extraordinary gift for Peter the Great, it was once considered the eighth wonder of the world. But it is also one of the world's most mysterious treasures. It decorated the Catherine Palace, near St Petersburg, until September 1941, when German troops invaded. By the time the Soviet Army recaptured the city, all traces of the Amber Room had vanished.

In its staggering opulence and sudden disappearance, the Amber Room is a crucible for many things: lost paradises, mythical treasures and secret desires. Originating as a gift passed between leaders of empires, the Amber Room is equally entangled in a web of geopolitical, diplomatic and
economic vectors that are often hidden from view. And a full-scale recreation of the original Amber Room, on display in St Petersburg, raises additional questions about simulation, reproduction and authenticity.

The artists selected for The Amber Room have created a dazzling aray of sculptures, installations and site-specific interventions that embody the fractured utopias, baroque manias, and displacements of time and space that the Amber Room inspires.

Official Website: http://www.luggagestoregallery.org