EXHIBITIONS:
77 East 3rd St.
/virtu.all
UPCOMING EVENTS:
July 21
nature of being closing reception at 6pm @119 Hester St
OPEN CALLS
Contact
Information
77 East 3rd St.
/virtu.all
nature of being closing reception at 6pm @119 Hester St
OPEN CALLS
Contact
Information
December 7 - 31
QUEER ANXIETIES
Curated by
Blair Simmons (@blairsimmons)
Eden Chinn (@all.st.nyc)
Sarah Hallacher (@microsarah)
Shuang Cai (@fkialmostforgot)
12.7 Opening ReceptionBlair Simmons (@blairsimmons)
Eden Chinn (@all.st.nyc)
Sarah Hallacher (@microsarah)
Shuang Cai (@fkialmostforgot)
Exhibiting Artists:
Abby Pressberg (@abby_pressberg)
Andrew Harrison (@andrewsamuelharrison)
Cynthia Chang (@boiled_wool)
Henry Newman (@snurt.mgoo)
Hisayasu Takashio (@takashiohisayasu)
K Sarrantonio
Kelly Elkowitz (@kellyelkowitz)
Margot Drukker
Noah Shipley (@noahhshipley)
Ryan Swedenborg (@rswedenborg)
Sarah Shotts (@sarahdshotts)
traci johnson
Abby Pressberg (@abby_pressberg)
Andrew Harrison (@andrewsamuelharrison)
Cynthia Chang (@boiled_wool)
Henry Newman (@snurt.mgoo)
Hisayasu Takashio (@takashiohisayasu)
K Sarrantonio
Kelly Elkowitz (@kellyelkowitz)
Margot Drukker
Noah Shipley (@noahhshipley)
Ryan Swedenborg (@rswedenborg)
Sarah Shotts (@sarahdshotts)
traci johnson
Queer Anxieties is a group exhibition that brings together inventive works that have arisen out of restrictions of belonging. Taking inspiration from bell hooks, the exhibition offers an expansive view of queerness as not just as a sexual orientation, but rather as necessarily action-oriented: “Queer not as being about who you are having sex with, that can be a dimension of it, but queer as being about the self that is at odds with everything around it and has to invent and create and find a place to speak and to thrive and to live.” Through sculpture, the 13 exhibiting artists make objects that stand outside of our normative interpretations of usefulness and conventionality, thereby expanding our worldview and possibilities for engagement. If queerness is an act of making things strange (or challenging norms), strangeness identifies potential points of rupture within social conditioning.
In Queer Anxieties, the sculptures warp, modify, and queer mundane objects to make visible moments of queer anxiety and hyperbolize sensations beyond words. These sculptures arise from the anxiety of being at odds with the world around us, thereby provoking a sense of uneasy playfulness. A humorous and heavy-handed clothesline that hangs both wearable and uninhabitable garments. A modified wheelie office chair with nowhere to sit. Axes made from household cleaning tools to become harmless. A t-shirt made of tags that might overstimulate if worn. Absurdly self-referential, these objects call into question our assumptions of what an object is supposed to do, and how we are meant to engage with it and make meaning out of it.
About the Artists:
Abby Pressberg is a queer Brooklyn based installation and sculpture artist. Her pieces are often interactive and kinetic, begging the viewer to touch, play with and sometimes destroy the art. Her practice focuses on the visceral, the absurd, the anthropomorphic and the uncanny valley. Pushing viewers to see everyday objects in a new way as well as to see kink and play in the mundane. Her installations make the viewer hyper aware of where their body is in space and how one naturally moves through a space.
Andrew Harrison. I was born at odds with normative expectations of the body. At 30 years old, I am just starting to really question my identity surrounding “queering” and “cripping.” I’ve avoided this anxiety all my life. Borrowing from the writing of bell hooks, I’m thinking about queer identity over my so-called “disability” or “crip” identity. As she says, “Queer not as being about who you are having sex with, that can be a dimension of it, but queer as being about the self that is at odds with everything around it and has to invent and create and find a place to speak and to thrive and to live.” My new sculptural and video pieces queer the expectations of the body and interactions with the world.
Cynthia Chang (b. 1990, they/them/theirs) is a multimedia maker living in Queens, NY. They are the founder of defunct fashion brand Something Happening and perform as a dollar store budget popstar under the moniker boiled wool. They are dumb like a dog dragging their butt across the pavement, but smart and resourceful even, because that’s a good way to scratch an itch, but maybe a good idea is just incidental. Through textiles, ceramics, wood, performance, sound, tattooing, and whatever else they can freak, Chang labors and explores the aesthetics of humor with a heavy and imprecise hand.
Henry Roundtrip Marton Newman is a multi-hyphenate artist working in New York City. Henry works to create relationships between ourselves and our surroundings in search of experiences which sublimate both. Henry has shown in Providence, RI and NYC.
“My practice responds to the impulses of personification and anthropomorphization. We assume lives for our surroundings, attributing intentions and emotions. I investigate this as a heuristic vector for empathy and self-exploration. Utilizing levels of figuration through found materials, installation, and writing, I create works that exist within a gray zone, straddling the identity applied by the viewer and the self which the works already contain. I view the urges to personify and anthropomorphize as posthuman impulses. In creating a consciousness outside of ourselves, and relating to it, we imagine an experience of the world not just outside of human life, but outside of living itself. In this, the alienated Things of our existence become collaborators of our experience. My work meditates on the opportunities of a more active contact with material. I find the personalities of my sculptures in my materials, viewing the base objects as charged with memories through their intended uses, previous uses, and substance. I think of this as a melancholic remembrance, in which each object holds figments of a past life. Utilizing formalist techniques and my own personification, I construct a new “being" through these memories. Much of our internal experience is unlocatable. Through my work, I hope to create and promote an object therapy that locates these experiences outside of ourselves instead. My work is one of encouraging social connection, whether that be with objects or others.”
Hisayasu Takashio was born in Tokyo, and currently lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. He received a B.A. in Fine Arts from the Design School of Tokyo and later a Fine Arts certificate in Sculpture and Printmaking from the Art Students League of New York. He has been actively creating and exhibiting his work since 1991.
Kelly Elkowitz (b. 2001) is a multimedia artist, who transforms found materials into figurative paintings and sculptures, using anatomy to speak about the objectification of bodies and her own complicated relationship with her body. Beginning with references to anatomy, the work assembles and dissects our bodies and our relationships to them. Found materials build the structures of these forms. Clothing, packaging, plastic, and used papers are used as materials to construct inanimate bodies. Elkowitz says, “As a queer artist, my work reflects the struggles to come to terms with myself, my sexuality and the expectations of ‘femininity.’ The figures have no gender, often-times resembling meat rather than a human being. Inherently feminine forms are distorted and warped, questioning the expectations of these standards.” Elkowitz has shown in group shows in Chelsea as well as in solo exhibitions at her University. In 2021, she was commissioned for the Inaugural Painting for President Susan Poser, which was on display throughout the ceremony and as a graphic still used by the university today. She has received the Presidential Purchase Award twice, both in 2021 and 2023, where her artworks were purchased to become a part of Hofstra University’s Collection. Elkowitz graduated with a degree in Fine Arts from Hofstra University in 2023 and is currently based in New York.
Margot Drukker (b. 1998, Montclair, NJ) is an interdisciplinary artist living in Montreal, Quebec. They moved to Canada in 2016 to pursue a BFA in Studio Arts from Concordia University, since completing their degree they now work as a self-employed leatherworker, freelance artist, and bartender. They are a self taught leatherworker and for the past two years have been running a leatherwork business named dur a cuir which translates to ‘hard to cook’ in French, or colloquially, a ‘hard ass’, ‘tough cookie’. Their artistic work primarily focuses on gender, sexuality, kink, queer theory, playfulness, and subversion.
Noah Shipley is an artist, architectural designer, and educator whose work draws from landscape studies, affect theory, and queer theorizations of bodies and the environment. Noah’s work engages with additive processes, gut reactions, and the stories we tell about the places we build. They have shown at Brown University and the Rhode Island School of Design, and were a recipient of the Henry Fernandez Award for History & Theory of Architecture (2021), Safe and Creative Streets Grant (2021), and the Robert Reid EFS Award (2017). They are a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, with a BFA, BArch, and concentration in Nature-Culture Sustainability Studies.
K Sarrantonio uses experimental printmaking processes to represent aspects of Queer domesticity and contemplate the gendering of the body. “I am motivated to illustrate my belief that artists are uniquely positioned to create new gender realities and futures. Embracing the personal as political, I document Queer domesticity and family building using self portraiture and images from the interior of the home. These prints embed a tension between the desire for visibility and the risks of exposure that come with the experience of nonbinary gestational parenthood. I approach the act of printing with the gentleness and attentiveness that echoes the way I think about household activities; from making the bed to complex choices about creating, and caring for family. The intensive, almost tedious task of assembling the pieces references the patterns and systems of parents and caregivers.”
Born in the Hudson Valley, K lives and works in Jackson Heights, NY. They received an MFA from Rhode Island School of Design and a BA from Hampshire College. They have attended residencies at Vermont Studio Center, Crosstown Arts, Kimmel Harding Nelson Center, McColl Center and Women’s Studio Workshop. Recent exhibitions include a solo exhibition at Ely Center of Contemporary Art in New Haven Connecticut and group exhibitions at Field Projects Gallery, Torpedo Factory Art Center, 440 Gallery, Goodyear Arts, Eleventh Hour, and Silvermine Gallery.
Ryan Swedenborg (b. 1988 Concord, CA) ) is a visual artist and designer living and working in New York City. Focused primarily on sculpture and printmaking, she holds a bachelor of science in graphic design from Portland State University and is currently an MFA candidate at the Maine College of Art and Design in Portland, Maine. “As a masculine woman with a significant physical presence, I automatically have a dialog about safety with the spaces I enter. Am I seen as a threat here? Neutral? Something to be desired? What is my role in the architecture of power in these spaces? All environments have manufactured identifiers to explain a space's purpose and who owns the area. Entering new settings, I consistently get the urge to scan and identify these attempts to define the space. Signage, fencing, flags, and lighting are all implemented to clarify who the space is for and those it intends to exclude. As my physical markers and self-expression evolve, I am aware of how this environmental curation shapes how we experience spaces. This cognitive and social process of navigating spaces and the people in them remains a theme in my work, agnostic of the medium. I am a multidisciplinary artist working primarily in sculpture and illustration, exploring ways to make artifacts documenting the spaces I frequent and my mindsets while engaging with them. In an attempt to replicate the tone in which I usually speak, the colors I lean towards are friendly and bright. Simultaneously, I hope the colors take up space in the viewer's field of vision. Taking up space is something I'm continually trying to get more comfortable with. This theme can also be seen in my sculptures, as the pieces I create have evolved into larger sizes that pull away from walls or pedestals.”
Sarah Shotts (they/she) is an interdisciplinary artist and nonbinary mother. Shotts earned their Masters degree in Applied Drama from Goldsmiths University of London. Their undergraduate studies included both Fine and Performing Arts at Mississippi University for Women (MUW.) Shotts is now an instructor of theater at MUW where they have been teaching for ten years. They work and teach out of their backyard studio in Northwest Arkansas.
“My work is deeply rooted in neurodivergence and my identity as a neuroqueer & nonbinary mother. I often find verbal language to be inadequate and turn to imagery and metaphor to describe my lived experience. I dance between different mediums pulling from those that best express my inner landscape. My work encompasses traditional handcraft, which connects me to past generations, and emerging technologies, which tether me to the future. My art practice also plays an important social function by contributing to the growing neurodiversity movement.”
Traci Johnson was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. Johnson specializes in textile design, installation, and sculpture. Johnson has shown at numerous galleries including Art Port Kingston, Sweet Lorraine Gallery, Micheal David & Co, Museum at FIT, and F.I.T. Art & Design Gallery. Johnson is a Fashion Institute of Technology graduate majoring in Fine Arts with a minor in Art History. Their concepts are driven by mental health, art, and fashion as therapy subcultures. Johnson creates a healing space for themselves and others within their work, essentially a safe space. They are deeply affected by traumas and how the human mind, soul, and body can be soothed by a moment. As they discover ways to comfort themself, their art emulates a calm, euphoric space. Johnson also brings themselves into the painting hoping to bring a sense of euphoria and vibration within the colors of their craft. They also have a deep emotion towards nature and the world; nature flows organically using every opportunity to grow and branch out into beautiful tendrils worldwide. Its mark is known calmly and fluidly which is an adaptation seen in their paintings. Johnson feels grateful to be able to express themselves through this outlet and will continue to display their art for the world to see.
wei To render the experience of the Otherness, wei works with print media, video, sound, design, and movements. Mapping Queerness and Foreignness are the topics they often research and express. wei investigates the betwixt & between under the homogenous timeline & ephemeral togetherness to trace the imprints by contextualizing one’s and one’s collectiveness present.
wei currently lives and works in Brooklyn, NY., and Providence, RI. They received MFA in Printmaking at the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, RI and BFA in New Media at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, CA. wei has shown in group exhibitions nationally and internationally. They have participated in numerous artist residencies and fellowships, including NARS Foundation, New York, NY; Anderson Ranch Arts Center, CO; Art Center Residency, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, NY; Haystack Mountain School of Craft, ME; University of California Santa Cruz, CA; Yerba Buena Center for the Art, CA; Edition/Basel, Basel, Switzerland; and Santa Reparata International School Of Art, Florence, Italy. Their works have collected by The Thomas J. Watson Library of The Metropolitan Museum, The Library of San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, RISD Museum; The Wattis Institute, Kent State University, and MAPC.
About the Curators:
shuang cai is a multimedia artist, curator, and writer. Their art practices focuses on logics, interactions, and humor. Their curatorial works aims to bring forth the power of interconnectedness and diverse voices across communities. They hold a Bachelor's degree from Bard College majoring in Computer Science joint Studio Art and a Master's from New York University Interactive Telecommunication Program(ITP). Currently, they are the curatorial director of LATITUDE Gallery and research resident at ITP. They were an editor of Adjacent and have curated shows at LATITUDE Gallery, theBlanc, All Street NYC, and Joy Museum (Beijing). They will be the curatorial fellow at NARS Foundation in 2024.
Eden Chinn is an artist, curator, and educator whose work explores the performance of femininity and the construction of self through media. Using photography, installation, and bookmaking, her work reflects on how the various media we consume shape our identities and self expression. In her academic research practice, she explores how feminist self-portraiture practices have evolved in response to changes in technology and their attendant advertising conventions. She is an NYU Tisch IMA Adjunct Faculty member and recently completed a Research Residency in the Interactive Telecommunications Program, where she led the Design Lab. She is a youth arts educator at Marquis Studios and a Teaching Artist at the New Museum, where she leads an LGBTQ teen group focusing on the intersection of contemporary art and issues of identity. She is also a Co-Founder of an emerging and underrepresented artist gallery and production studio called All Street NYC, with locations in the East Village and Chinatown.
Sarah Hallacher is a creative director, multimedia artist, and writer. Her work uses storytelling to explore the beautiful, enduring minutia of bodily and emotional life. They are invested in narratives of obscurity, the radical act of rest, and play with craft. As a director, she cultivates spaces for queer, chronically ill, and disabled voices and artists. They hold a Bachelor’s in printmaking and photography from Tyler University and a Master's from New York University’s Interactive Telecommunication Program (ITP). She is a former research resident of ITP and is honored to have had her work featured in MoMA, Sundance, The New York Times, BBC, Communication Arts, and Vogue, amongst others. Queer Anxieties is their curatorial debut.
Blair Simmons is a queer and anxious artist, curator, researcher, storyteller, and technician working in as many mediums as will allow it. Simmons enjoys exploring themes of technology, labor, bodies, and pain. Simmons’ pieces are both critical of and dependent on technology, mirroring the ways technology can be a solution to chronic pain, and the source of the pain itself. Simmons is an arts professor teaching at the Interactive Media Arts and Interactive Telecommunications Program at New York University. Simmons’ research often materializes as objects and performances which have been performed at the likes of Pioneer Works, La Mama’s CultureHub, Wordhack at Babycastles, theBlanc and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Simmons has been mentioned in publications like PARtake, The Scotsman, USA Today, The Guardian, NYTimes, etc.
About All Street NYC:
Founded in 2018, All Street NYC presents works by emerging and underrepresented artists whose works demonstrate social engagement and community empowerment. First established as an artist collective and grassroots protest organization by born and raised New Yorkers, All Street NYC is a space that is both created by and for artists. Having deep roots in New York City, the gallery and collective share a background in public art and activations as a means of creative protest and resistance. Such socially engaged work has carried into their gallery space as they opened their doors on 77 East Third Street, and as they now open their second location at 119 Hester Street.
Instagram: @all.st.nyc
Website: www.allstnyc.com