Isolated, But Not Alone ︙ Group Exhibition
Isolated, But Not Alone is a virtual exhibition that reflects on our experiences during quarantine and the beginning stages of returning to normalcy. Such themes ask how we found normalcy in isolation? What challenges we faced? And how we better the collective global experience through our individual challenges during this period. Five artists were selected whose work explores vastly different subjects such as becoming a new mother during quarantine, to exploring the social complexities of playing a game of chess, and to being a frontline worker providing community art classes.
Exhibition design by Isablel Pardo
Colin Gillespie
Lockdown, 2020. Relief print with hand coloring, 30 cm x 25 cm.
Here in the UK the pandemic has had a major impact upon society – enforcing changes in how individuals and groups interact. The term ‘Lockdown’ became common currency and with it, restrictions upon the meeting and movement of people, locally and nationally. The requirement to ‘self isolate’ impacted upon neighborhoods and their Day Centers, Care Homes and Community Centers. It was in such situations that I had been working as an artist/facilitator – but that role was no longer allowed. I decided that I should focus upon making images that recorded/made comment upon this altered society – aiming to share my work with others via email and in this way at least maintain 'conversation'.
Alone in a Crowd, 2020. Relief print and collage, 10 cm x 10 cm.
They Say It's Close, 2021. Relief print and collage, 15 cm x 12 cm.
The main influence upon the changed nature of society was the obligatory wearing of masks ‘Alone in a Crowd’ – these were required on all public transport and in all enclosed spaces – as well as outdoors. This measure strengthened a growing sense of ‘withdrawal’ from normal social contact – especially if adhering to the advised 2 meter distance from one another.
Initially information re the pandemic was provided via mass media but then Government initiated a more formal daily newscast ‘They Say It’s Close’ that announced levels of hospitalization or death. No doubt intended to INFORM but it also appeared to fuel a nervous (often over reaction) to the situation.
As time passed – most enclosed spaces were fitted with large plastic barriers/shields ‘In Isolation’ that further altered normal levels of contact and introduced a new form of ‘gesture’ communication .
The pandemic now appears to be ‘managed’ as regards spread within society but it’s long term impact ‘Strange Friends’ has yet to be clarified – ‘long term covid’ conditions for some, depression and mental health problems for many - all of these now being accepted as inevitable side effects of living in a changed society.
Collin Gillespie, studied at the Carlisle College of Art - Royal College of Art - in London. Gillespie has taught at the Hornsey College - Middlesex University, School of Fine Art and while there he established an Urban Studies Centre attached to the University & established a BA Programme in `Art Practice & the Community'. Since leaving the University he has worked as a printmaker and freelance arts worker - developing Reminiscence projects with the elderly - working within the ‘Arts & the Learning City' programme (supporting the North London Somali Women's consortium) - and being a tutor with the Learning Skills Council (Promoting print workshops for adults with mental health issues).
Website: www.cityprintgill.co.uk
In Isolation, 2021. Relief print and collage, 15 cm x 12 cm.
Strange Friends, 2021. Relief print and collage, 15 cm x 12 cm.
Kasia Ozga
My work begins and ends in the human body. Our remnants (what we cast off and leave behind in the form of waste, trash, memory etc.) ground and connect us to the earth. My work asks where the things in our lives come from and where they go once we’ve used them. By representing and re animating remains, I explore the potential of materials to ask questions and to evoke larger environmental relationships.
Skinscape 3A, 2020. Soft sculpture, reclaimed vinyl, thread, stuffing, 173 cm x 140 cm x 36 cm.
Skinscape 4, 2020. Assemblage, soft sculpture and mixed media on canvas (paint, ink, dried plums), 208 cm x 125 cm x 38 cm.
I treat the products of our culture as physical remains of our bodies and explore how we generate objects as physical extensions of ourselves. With man-made forms, materials, and processes, I extend, inhibit, and modify elements of the human body. I reuse, up-cycle, and revalue regular, standardized, and mass-produced materials into something one-of-a-kind and special to invert the associations we make with different types of detritus. My raw materials are manufactured products with a particular use history and product life cycle. Whether bastardized industrially produced goods in the white cube or surreal interventions in public spaces, my work explores the limits of functionality and worth.
Skinscape 1A, 2020. Soft sculpture, reclaimed vinyl, thread, stuffing, 234 cm x 76 cm x 38 cm.
Skinscape 2A, 2020. Soft sculpture, reclaimed vinyl, thread, stuffing, 216 cm x 76 cm x 38 cm.
I give a human dimension to physical sites by foregrounding their historical/narrative aspects and input human features into sterile goods by cutting, breaking, gluing, and carving them into forms that evoke the human body. These artworks are at once physical things and conceptual spaces. Through the physical labor and limitations of my own body, I questions which bodies are present and missing in political and cultural discourses. I explore the anatomical potential of the female body as a material metaphor for our actions that ask viewers whether our current situation is fixed or not and how change can emerge.
Life Vests, 2020. Reclaimed vinyl, thread, stuffing, variable (each element 66 cm x 49 cm x 5 cm each).
Kasia Ozga, is a Polish American sculptor and installation artist based between Chicago, IL and Saint- Étienne, France. She reuses, revalues, and reanimates mass-produced materials into singular artworks and inverts associations we make with different types of waste. Ozga is a former Kosciuszko Foundation Fellowship recipient, Harriet Hale Woolley grantee from the Fondation des Etats-Unis, Jerome Fellowship recipient at Franconia Sculpture Park, and Paul-Louis Weiller award recipient from the French Académie des Beaux-Arts. Her work has been exhibited in over 10 different countries and she has participated widely in residencies in Europe and North America (Shakers, Nekatoenea, Pépinières Européennes de Création, ACRE, KHN). A former professor at the European Academy of Art in Brittany (EESAB), Ozga holds a Ph.D. from the University of Paris 8, an M.F.A. from the Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow, and a B.F.A. from the SMFA at Tufts University, Boston.
Website: www.kasiaozga.com
Instagram: @kasiaozgaart
Madeleine Matsson
This series was started in the early days of the pandemic. I watched as the busy nightlife corner went still and dark, and stores went out of business. The frame of the window is present, reminding the viewer that they are inside, looking out. A longing but also a voyeuristic curiosity of what is going on above the vacant bar, in individual apartments, where only the color of the lights suggests the activity: blue glow of a TV screen to the yellow glow of lamps to the darkness of sleep. I invented scenarios of all the occupants of these colored rectangles. I am isolated but so are these people, giving me solace that I had a common ground with these strangers.
Closed Jiffy, 2020. Oil on canvas, 12 in x 9 in x 1 in.
Colored Boxes, 2020. Oil on canvas, 14 in x 11 in x 1 in.
One Tree, 2020. Oil on canvas, 36 in x 30 in x 1 in.
When working from life, my best output comes through intense focus and speed allowing me to often finish paintings in a day as I race to capture the experience through colors and forms.
Last Call, 2020. Oil on canvas, 12 in x 12 in x 1 in.
Madeleine Matsson was born in Sweden, grew up in the US, and received her BFA from Concordia University, Montreal, Canada. Since moving to NYC, in 2012, she has exhibited in group shows across the boroughs. Internationally, she has shown in Canada, Sweden, Austria, Mexico, and Guatemala. Matsson completed her MFA at the New York Studio School of Drawing, Painting & Sculpture in 2019, where she was the recipient of several scholarships including from the Milton and Sally Avery Arts Foundation, Jonathan and Barbara Silver, Dita Amory, and the Vera List Scholarship.
She recently completed a three month residency via LMCC's 2021 Governors Island Residency Initiative, launched in partnership with @GovernorsIsland and numerous Island-based organizations in response to the COVID-19 crisis and its devastating impact across the NYC cultural landscape. She works periodically as an art mentor for adults and TAs through the New York Studio School for various intensive courses.
Website: www.matssonarts.com
Instagram: @matssonarts
Daylight Lockdown, 2020. Oil on canvas, 16 in x 10 in x 1 in.
Rayden Lawrence
Hygienic Chess is a fully functional chess board hand-carved out of soap. I carved all 32 game pieces and all 64 squares for the board using full bars of soap, using 27 bars of soap in total. I plan to handle the pieces and wash them after the completion of each game of chess, until they have been worn down until you can no longer distinguish a pawn from a bishop.
Board games are a big part of my family life, and with COVID-19 many board game cafés have closed due to sanitary reasons. The pandemic brought on feelings of boredom, loneliness, and a desire to connect with those around me. This is what inspired me to create the piece Hygienic Chess. Of course, it is not a practical solution when considering the closing of board game cafes; Nonetheless, it acts as a personal solution for myself and those around me.
Hygienic Chess, 2020. Hand-carved ivory/Irish spring soap,
Board: 10.5 in x 10.5 in x 5 mm.
Glass frame: 11.5 in x 11.5 in x 3 mm.
King: 6 cm x 2.1 cm x 2.1 cm.
Queen: 4.9 cm x 2.1 cm x 2.1 cm.
Bishop: 4.6 cm x 2.1 cm x 2.1 cm.
Knight: 3.9 cm x 2.1 cm x 2.1 cm.
Rook: 3.3 cm x 2.1 cm x 2.1 cm.
Pawn: 2.7 cm x 2.1 cm x 2.1 cm.
Chess has a great deal of personal significance for me. When I was a teenager, my father fell very ill with pneumonia and was in the hospital for many months. He taught me to play chess and we played about 100+ games while he received treatment. I am once again taking comfort in chess during similar circumstances, although this time it is more personal as I carefully carved each piece myself. I found the process of hand-carving soap and playing chess with family and friends to be therapeutic, and we felt ourselves recovering from the stress of the pandemic. I believe that if my work cannot be enjoyed and used to bring people together, there was no point in making it.
At a time like this, taking the time to sit with a relative and play a peaceful game of chess is exactly what many of us need. It is certainly the case for myself, family, and my friends.
Rayden Lawrence is a LGBT+, 21 year old emerging artist. Rayden is from Canso, Nova Scotia and is expecting to graduate with a BA in Visual Arts from Memorial University in May 2021. Rayden periodically addresses LGBT+ identity and racism in his work, inspired by challenges he has faced in his interracial same-sex relationship.
Rayden’s work is held by private collectors in Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, and Alberta. Rayden has been recognized as a promising student, as he has received many awards from Memorial University. Rayden has been awarded The Wabush Mines Fine Arts Travel Bursary, The Division of Fine Arts Mercy/Presentation Education Fund Award, The Raymond J.G Pafford Memorial Scholarship, and The Tina Dolter Award in Visual Arts twice, in both 2020 and 2021. Rayden has also received over 20,000$ in merit-based grants.
Website: www.aydenlawrence99.wixsite.com
Instagram: @rayden_lawrence
Yosra Emamizadeh
Reach, 2020. Collage on wood panel, 10 in X 10 in x 3/4 in.
My works are an exploration of the relationships and connections we have within ourselves and the world around us. I am inspired by Islamic art, nature, and the conversations I have with other women about their life experiences.
During this continuous period of isolation which was insinuated by the pandemic and me becoming a new mother, introspection became deeper, connection to indoor plants and the yearning for outdoor nature became stronger, and virtual communication became the new norm.
Nafas|Nafs (Persian) Breath|Self (English), 2020. Acrylic on wooden panels, text is wood mounted on panels, 21 in x 32 in x 1 in.
The majority of my pregnancy and consequentially the birth of my daughter took place during the ongoing lockdown. Even though I was isolated from my community, city, family, and also just the normal day to day life, I technically was not alone. I had an entire universe growing inside of me. The physical isolation in fact gave me a deeper and more intentional connection with my growing baby and myself. The house and its contents became my community. Isolation gave me the opportunity to be with myself and become my own company. It wasn’t lonely, it was genuine.
In these selected pieces, I contemplate topics about womanhood, self-discovery, and the deep connection we have with the universe or rather with our true selves. They all attest to the notion that regardless of any circumstances, even a deadly pandemic, if we journey inwards and connect, we will never truly be alone.
Celestial Pomegranates, 2020. Colored pencil and gold acrylic on paper, 32 in x 24 in.
Collective Connections, 2021. Mixed media (acrylic, colored, pencil, copper wires and tacks on wood panels), 21 in x 21 in x 3/4 in.
Yosra Emamizadeh started drawing from a young age while growing up in Tehran. After completing her studies at the American University of Beirut, she attended the Angel Academy of Art in Florence, Italy, and later earned her master’s degree in Museum Studies from Harvard University. Yosra is currently based in Dubai and also runs her podcast Tavān Studio In Conversation.
Website: www.yosraemamizadeh.com
Instagram: @tavanstudio
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Artist Takeovers
As part of our summer group show, Isolated, But Not Alone, some of our exhibiting artists will showcase their work and practices by taking over the @aerogrammearts Instagram for a day.
JUL 12 - 22, 2021