Dave Rowe: “The Improbable Metropolis”
Clark County Government Center Rotunda Gallery, 500 S. Grand Central Parkway, Las Vegas, NV
Monday, October 6 – Friday, November 14, 2014

Reception: Friday, October 10, 6-8 pm with artist talk at 6:30 pm in the Pueblo Room  

“The Improbable Metropolis” is a new exhibit by Dave Rowe depicting South Las Vegas Boulevard, reframed within the scope of Nevadan economic history. The exhibit, presented by Clark County Parks and Recreation, is also part of the 2014 Vegas Valley Book Festival’s “Illustrated Word” programming. The exhibit will be on display from October 6 through November 14 at the Clark County Government Center Rotunda Gallery, 500 S. Grand Central Parkway near downtown Las Vegas. A reception will be held from 6 to 8 pm on Friday, October 10 with an artist talk at 6:30 pm in the Pueblo Room. The Rotunda will be open for First Friday festivities from 6 to 10 pm, Friday, November 7.  

Dave Rowe reads history not just in books, but also in the vacant spaces and extant structures that occupy the landscape. His exhibit at the Government Center explores the two different economies that have significantly shaped Nevada, mining and tourism. In his sculpture, “The Improbable Metropolis,” he merges the history of the two industries into a new topography that highlights the Silver State’s boom-and-bust tendencies. Reimagining Las Vegas landmarks as rickety wooden structures like those of  historic, Nevada-mining areas, the artist creates a ominous hybrid landscape that combines the grandeur of the Strip with the ruins of old west ghost towns.  

Dave Rowe is an artist and educator originally of Champaign, Illinois. He received his BFA from the University of Illinois Urbana- Champaign and his MFA from Indiana University Bloomington. His work addresses concerns of history, the psychological implications of the American experience, and our relationship to the landscape. Rowe has participated in numerous group and solo shows, and is a 2011 recipient of an Efroymson Fund Contemporary Arts Fellowship. He is currently an Assistant Professor at the University of Nevada Las Vegas where he teaches sculpture.