JENKINTOWN, PA.- Abington Art Center presents its newest exhibition, “Global Suburbia,” opening Aug. 30, 2008. From Bangkok to New Jersey, these suburb-inspired works of art highlight the wide ranging types and locations of suburbs. Situated only 14 miles from Center City Philadelphia, Abington Art Center’s Jenkintown location makes it uniquely positioned to host a show in this context, with many nearby residents living in a mixed environment of “city aspirations coupled with suburban expectations,” as described by curator Sue Spaid.

“Global Suburbia” will examine the environmental impact, sociological influences, cultural contributions and political forces of suburbs across the globe, sparking a public discussion about the potential of our suburban metropolis. The exhibition will explore far-reaching topics on the world of ‘burbs, questioning whether safety in the suburbs is a reality or myth and whether the tedium of the suburbs feeds innovation or furthers disaffection.

The innovative works of art presented in “Global Suburbia” feature the suburban environments that have influenced numerous artists worldwide and focus on the cultural, social, environmental and political impacts of this global phenomenon. Some of the works in this one-of-a-kind art exhibit include:

McMansions by Lee Stoetzel — Symbolizing suburbanites’ desires for super-sized living quarters, these photographs depict homes constructed from post-consumer fast food waste—crumbled burgers, chicken bits, straws, sauce packets and more.

Moore Estates: Rotations (2005) by Matthew Moore — Aerial photographs document the growth of a sprawling vegetative neighborhood where houses are composed of sorghum patches and roads are formed by black-bearded wheat. This work represents the development of a new 250-home neighborhood on top of what once was a citrus farm.

22@ Development (2008) by Eva Struble — Capturing the displacement of the poor, this installation of drawings depicts the way Roman gypsies are being forced out of their beachfront suburb in Barcelona.

Artists featured in this exhibition include Chris Ballantyne, Amy Bennett, Mark Bennett, the Center for Land Use Interpretation, Götz Diergarten, Barbara Gallucci, Fritz Haeg, Michael Barton Miller, Sarah McCoubrey, Matthew Moore, Hiro Sakaguchi, David Schafer, Mark Shetabi, Lee Stoetzel, Eva Struble and Thomas Wrede.