CHICAGO, IL.- Chicago-based artist Jan Tichy re-creates a secret Israeli military facility with an intricate paper model, imagined building sketch, and video projection in the May UBS 12 x 12: New Artists/New Work exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA), Chicago. The Facility 1391 model, created solely from the artist’s research and his assumptions of its appearance, evokes the mystery of the building’s purpose and location within central Israel. The exhibit opens at First Fridays on May 2 and runs through June 1, 2008.

The secret facility does not appear on maps, has been erased from aerial photographs, and has been censored from Israeli media. Inspired by the craft paper models Tichy once made as a child growing up in the Czech Republic, Facility 1391 is built from his sketch, which he posts on a gallery wall. A video projected from above illuminates the model and animates the building’s shadow. The silhouette moves, elongates, and shortens as it would with the sun’s light throughout the day. Tichy’s seemingly minimalist study of architecture, light, and shadow is given heightened intrigue with wall text that provides insight into the underlying political context of the work.

Tichy received his undergraduate degree from the Jerusalem School of Photography in 2002 and his advanced studies degree in 2007 from the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design. He is currently earning his MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He leads a tour of his work on Tuesday, May 13, at 6:30 pm.

Jan Tichy’s exhibition at the MCA opens at the “Shooting Star” themed First Friday’s. The popular iMac Digital Dating Bar assists guests as they search for compatible partners. Guests can decorate and bedazzle tote bags at the Creation Station and or get a big Texas-style hair-do. Specialty drinks include the “Rodeo Cosmo” or “Texas-tini.” The after party takes place at Crobar, 1543 North Kingsbury. First Fridays tickets include museum admission, live entertainment, and complimentary Puck’s hors d’oeuvres and are available the evening of the event for $15 ($7 for MCA members). Advance tickets are $10 ($7 MCA members) available through the MCA Box Office at 312.397.4010 or www.mcachicago.org. Doors are open from 6-10 pm. A cash bar is open until 9:30 pm. Guests must be 21 or older to enter.