HIGHLIGHTS
Themes of searching and connection to ancestors through practice, ritual, and persistence are intertwined through work that depicts aspects of migration, objecthood, and the complexities of humanity itself. The winds moving across the island dictate the mood as we bow and sway through graceful installations in deeply resonant forms at LMCC Art Center and Artcrawl Harlem.
Hope is a discipline and Tropical Frequencies at LMCC Art Center Exhibitions – LMCC @lmcc_nyc
@storefrontpsychic @eugenehannahpark @cheyennejulien @em.ill.e @bonyramirezz @mosie_river @quiarat0rres @tiempo.de.zafra @adamadelphine @kyuri.jeon @suneil_sanzgiri @breadandpuppet @memaggiemei @storefrontpsychic @eugenehannahpark @marinachristodoulidou @billyfowo @kyuri.jeon @suneil_sanzgiri @adamadelphine @breadandpuppet @memaggiemei @processa.art @kiara_cristina
On view through: September 29
Hope is a discipline is curated by: Meghana Karnik, Eugene Hannah Park, Marins Christodoulidou, and Billy Fowo
Featuring: Adama Delphine Fawundu, Kyuri Jeon, Suneil Sanzgiri, Bread and Puppet Theater, and Maggie Wong
Tropical Frequencies is curated by: Kiara Cristina Ventura
Featuring: Cheyenne Julien, Emily Manwaring, Bony Ramirez, mosie romney, Quiara Torres, and Tiempo De Zafra
Both Hope is a discipline, and Tropical Frequencies serve as meditations on inheritance – primarily in the form of ancestral knowledge, resilience, and self-determination. Through sculpture, painting, video, and textiles, each exhibition in the gallery expands upon the text and oral documentation presented alongside the grand and inspiring installations. The seamless blending of modernity with cultural references is sensitive and intentional: chains and cinder blocks echo the newspaper clippings and stacks of texts highlighting the global social justice issues that have been at the forefront for generation upon generation.
Aptly placed at the bottom of a bench, upon which a stack of newspapers rests, are small sculptures, seemingly referencing childhood toys; a reminder that stagnation must be replaced by hope, as the title suggests. In Tropical Frequencies, each artist explores their connections to the tropics through indigeneity and sentiments that connect them to their homelands.
Symbolism is rife and potent, with inventive transformations of utilitarian objects that become distinct and born anew in their identities. Materials such as rocks, shells, and sand are bound to clothing and hammocks, lamps, shoes, and stuffed animals in a dazzling presentation. Through these exhibitions, heartfelt accounts are unspooled, and one is left wanting to know more and delve deeper, which is a wonderful feeling to take away from viewing any show.
River Dreams by Graciela Cassel, Cuban Dominoes by Alexis Mendoza, and Don’t Forget to Check by Dario Mohr at Artcrawl Harlem artcrawlharlem.org @artcrawlharlem @graciela_cassel @alexismendoza.art @dariomohr_art @scottulysses
On view through: Sept. 29
Curated by: Ulysses Williams/Artcrawl Harlem
Featuring: Graciela Cassel, Alexis Mendoza and Dario Mohr
The Artcrawl Harlem house is pulsing with dynamic work in its newest presentations. Each installation is situated on the ground floor of the house, taking root in rooms in close proximity to each other. Graciela Cassel’s installation, River Dreams, focuses on transportation as a form of escapism and the potential to fulfill one’s dreams. An itinerant work, Cassel first exhibited a version of this work in 2022 with curator Melinda Wang on the Lilac, a museum ship, which was presented by Captain Habstritt.
Now nestled into its new home on Colonel’s Row on Governors Island, its proximity to the East River and Hudson River brings an additional sense of resonance as one sits on the raft and rows it against the projections of ambient rushing water, blue light, and footage of those water bodies. The vision Cassel shares, in tandem with curator Ulysses Williams, takes it to new dimensions when contrasted with the work of Dario Mohr and Alexis Mendoza, both of whom explore inequity and displacement as effects of imperialism, colonialism, and diaspora.
The theme “Games People Play” demonstrates a multifacetedness in the forms of Mohr’s human-scale chess board, complete with trophy pieces, which indicate the spoils of war and the tributes to the ruling powers. The inherent violence of empire is cleverly imbued here with thoughtful special events, including seed-planting ceremonies and indigenous ancestor veneration rituals. This circular format of life, death, and the absurdity of “winning” is cleverly unpacked in Mohr’s work in this presentation.
Mendoza’s exploration focuses on Afro-Cuban traditions and is both a celebration of culture and acts of persistence, as it presents playful takes on utilitarian objects and brings the joy of the backyard party into the interiors of the house. Coconuts line a bookcase; a handmade table is situated in the center of the room; and a white picket fence is installed against a wall with a shelf supporting a series of Domino sugar boxes-a nod to the game of dominoes that is a deep part of Mendoza’s upbringing.
The three artists are rooted in a continuous dialogue of freedom and burden; solace and disruption; and its endless cycle that humans remain entrenched in. As each artist explores the games people play, their interpretations could be viewed as mirrors to our own experiences; inviting us to reflect on what we deem beautiful, and ugly; each offering an opportunity to actively shift things toward the changes we hope to see, and the harmony we strive to create.
About the writer: Yasmeen Abdallah is an interdisciplinary artist, writer, curator and educator examining history, contemporary culture, materiality, reuse, memory, and space. She has been a visiting and teaching artist at institutions including New Museum; Pratt Institute; Sarah Lawrence College; Residency Unlimited; BRIC; Kean University; Parsons; Columbia University; Children’s Museum of NYC; El Barrio Artspace; Fairleigh Dickinson; and University of Massachusetts. She holds Bachelor’s degrees in Anthropology (focus in Historical Archaeology) and in Studio Art with honors, with a Minor in Women’s & Gender Studies from University of Massachusetts; and received an MFA in Fine Arts, with distinction, from Pratt Institute. Exhibitions include Art in Odd Places; the Boiler; Bronx Art Space; Clemente Soto Velez Cultural Center; Cornell University; Ed Varie; Elizabeth Foundation; Nars Foundation; Open Source; Pratt Institute; PS122 Gallery; Spring Break; University of Massachusetts; and Westbeth. Publications include Anthropology of Consciousness; Ante Art; Art Observed; Bust Magazine; Emergency Index; Hyperallergic; Papergirl Brooklyn; Free City Radio; Radio Alhara; Tussle Magazine; the Urban Activist; and Transborder Art. Her work is in public, private, and traveling collections in the U.S. and abroad. Instagram: @86cherrycherry