Filtering by: Gallery Exhibition

Jan
12
to Feb 17

Alternate Realty | Dana Telsrow

Welcome to the eclectic "Alternate Realty" by artist Dana Telsrow, nestled at 229 N. Gilbert St. This uniquely curated space invites you to step into a world where the quirks of home buying are examined through Telsrow's distorted portraits of local realtors. Challenge your perspective as familiar faces transform into captivating and enigmatic narratives, providing a playful commentary on the absurdity of using personal images to sell homes. Immerse yourself in the heart of Iowa City, where this unconventional experience not only redefines the traditional housing market but also encourages you to reconsider the role of personal branding in real estate. Mark your calendar for the open house on Jan 21, from noon to 2 pm, and be ready to delve into the intriguing, weird world of "Alternate Realty." Meet the faces of your new future.


ABOUT THE ARTIST:

After careers in marketing for higher-education and audio-visual post-production, Dana Telsrow founded Alternate Realty in 2022 as a way of serving residents of the greater Iowa City area. Alternate Realty maintains an unparalleled roster of agents that are eager, willing, and ready to open the doors to your new future. 

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Nov
18
to Dec 16

Observed Changes and their Causes

This installation explores the intersections of early childhood, caregiving, and the climate crisis. Drawing upon PS1’s domestic architectural features, the first room in the exhibition serves as a “playroom.”  It is a homey space where visitors of all ages can manipulate an interactive sculpture, make, chat, and watch the durational video work Mama Reads the 2022 IPCC Report from the artist's couch, which has been temporarily relocated to the gallery.

The second area of the show, the “living room,” displays artworks that probe the difficulties of childrearing and environmental degradation through playful forms inspired by popular toys. Paintings of recent extreme weather events, co-created by Rowe and her four-year-old Tillie Currington-Rowe, cover the walls, offering a simultaneously cheerful and dark interpretations of the climate disaster.

Observed Changes and Their Causes welcomes children as an important part of the Iowa City art community and warmly invites them to attend all public program which has been designed to support their participation.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS:
Allison Rowe is a Canadian settler artist, educator, and researcher. She uses vibrant colors and familiar materials to create interdisciplinary works that make political topics digestible and inflate daily life to grandiose scales. Allison’s work inhabits the issues she attends to through form by taking up the systems of her subject matter as the basis for each project. As a result, her work takes absurdist turns as they echo the dysfunctionality of oil data or the drama of sleep training.

Allison has been exhibited across North America at spaces including the Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery in Toronto, NurtureART in Brooklyn, and the Wattis Gallery in San Francisco. Her pedagogical and community-engaged projects have been manifested with various collaborators and in a variety of public spaces. Allison is currently based in Iowa City, Iowa, on the ancestral lands of the Báxoǰe (Iowa), Kiikaapoi (Kickapoo), and Meskwaki/ Nemahahaki/ Sakiwaki (Sac and Fox). She holds a PhD in Art Education from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, an MFA in Social Practice from California College of the Arts, and a BFA in Photography from Toronto Metropolitan University. She is an Assistant Professor and Area Coordinator for the Art Education Program at the University of Iowa.

Matilda (Tillie) Currington-Rowe
is a young artist who works in all media, though she prefers painting and sculpture. She attends Alice’s Rainbow Preschool and enjoys rocks and gems.

Website: allisonroweart.com
Instagram: @allisonvrowe

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Oct
29
2:00 PM14:00

Shifting Ground

Sponsored by Public Space One in Iowa City, The University of Iowa Ceramics Program, and CHAIA, Evora University, Evora, Portugal

Celebrate the ceramic work created during Shifting Ground, with international food and music!

Featuring work by Alejandra Alvarez, Alexis Lopez Torres, Amaris Hurtado, Isaac Lopez Torres, Janet Marcelino, Nahid Rivera, Pamela Quintero Rodriquez, Patricia Rodriguez, Rosa Lopez Torres, Ruby Herrera, and Seso Marentes.

Shifting Ground — Outro Chão is an ongoing project by Jane Gilmor, Antonio & Paula Pinto involving immigrants, refugees and their descendants. So far, the participatory art actions have taken place in Cedar Rapids (Iowa, US, 2019) and Lisbon (Portugal, 2021–22).

When immigration policies and public opinion show growing intolerance and social injustice, we want to demonstrate that the visual arts and culture, in a broader sense, are effective means of promoting difference.
None of us can predict if or when we might face similar circumstances—forced to flee from war, famine, or natural disaster and to live in ever-changing temporary spaces without a country or a home.

Shifting Ground — Outro Chão is an ongoing project by Jane Gilmor, Antonio & Paula Pinto involving immigrants, refugees and their descendants. So far, the participatory art actions have taken place in Cedar Rapids (Iowa, US, 2019) and Lisbon (Portugal, 2021–22).

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Oct
13
to Nov 4

Innerconnectivity I | Kenzi Rayelle

opening reception with the artist: Friday Oct. 13, 6-9pm

“Innerconnectivity I” is the inaugural debut of Rayelle’s thesis work, “Innerconnectivity.” It consists of a series of expansive installations featuring large abstract sculptures that explore what the body has been withholding from present consciousness through transcendental creation. The inaugural solo exhibition, “Innerconnectivity I”, utilizes organic materials and viscera to delve into Rayelle’s upbringing up to the present day, celebrating the redemption and aftermath of trauma through an interpersonal lens of connection. 

Each sculpture is autobiographical, shaped organically in congruence with what Rayelle saw within her autonomous body when reliving these moments of the past. The symbolic organs, meticulously handcrafted with textiles, latex, and used bed sheets, represent the energy released within, carrying the weight of forgotten memories and emotions. For example, the repetitive motif of the tumor seen throughout “Innerconnectivity I” serves as a representation of the emotional "stuckholds" leading to a lack of connection in the present - “it feels as though the traumas are tumors - siphoning vitality from both ends.” 

“Innerconnectivity I” not only piques curiosity but also raises questions about our interaction with these visceral elements—what it means to engage with them, confront fear, and ponder the intricacies of psychosocial development, both as an individual and as a community. 

about the artist

Kenzi Rayelle is an interdisciplinary artist, gaining recognition for her fascination with the body and its organic materials as well as her exploration of the absurd. Rayelle, deeply inspired by practical effects and psychosocial development theory, has developed a unique and tongue-in-cheek approach to representing the impact of trauma.

Rayelle possesses a keen sensitivity to the versatile and unrestricted potential of textiles, film, and the written word. She views them as additional gateways from the subconscious mind to the hands. Through transcendental creation, her work serves as a form of personal healing, and her aspiration is for it to be transformative to those who encounter it.

Rayelle continues to work on her lifelong thesis, "Innerconnectivity," which comprises of a series of expansive installations that delve into what the body has kept hidden from present consciousness. In addition Rayelle will be releasing her short film “caake”, an absurdist autobiographical exploration about the creative process in 2024.

Kenzi Rayelle received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Printmaking from the University of Iowa and currently lives and works in Milwaukee, WI. She also likes frogs.

@riotrayelle

Kenzi Rayelle was awarded the Mary Nohl Suitcase Fund to support this exhibition.

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Sep
20
to Sep 30

A Show of Hands | Sally Chai

First discovered by Sir John Herschel in 1842, the cyanotype is a blue-and-white photographic  print made without a camera. In a first book of photographs, The Pencil of Nature, fellow  inventor William Henry Fox Talbot called such experimental prints “the new art of photogenic  drawing” in which images made on photosensitive paper “are impressed by Nature’s hand.” A  Show of Hands features printmaker Sally Chai’s latest collection of cyanotypes in various guises,  from traditional Prussian blue impressions to more color-bending mixed-media renderings of  the familiar and the abstract.  

Visitors are invited to participate in A Show of Hands in two ways.

First, buy a print! Half of your  chosen artwork’s purchase price will be donated to Earth Justice, a nonprofit devoted to  environmental law in the public interest.

Second, show your hand! The gallery will feature two  large blank pages to which you can add curiously shaped cut-outs of your own choosing. Then  meet with us at 2pm on the Autumn Equinox, at which time—using the magic of sunlight and  water—the formerly blank pages will be turned into curiously blue cyanotype prints.  

ABOUT THE ARTIST:

Sally Chai is a writer, artist, and working member of the Iowa City Press Co-op. Her art practice  uses a mix of drawing and printmaking techniques to create images on the subject of nature  and the universe.

@chaicozy

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Sep
8
to Sep 30

The Year of the Seldom Sun | Will Kemple-Taylor

opening reception: Friday September 8. 4-8pm

The Year of the Seldom Sun is an immersive, multisensory experience that highlights an emotional journey each year as the seasons change, and the Sun travels away from my world and returns again. Everything is affected: The colors and energy; the days, nights, and light; the sights and the sounds; life, death, silence and rebirth. It is a cycle, and the 2020-2021 cycle was particularly dynamic. As we (all) endured wave upon wave of uncertainty, tense civil situations, pandemic, and isolation, I turned to writing music to process. The music came out in the form of a full length, home recorded concept album: The Year of the Seldom Sun

I wrote the album to tell the stories that I was watching unfold around me, and embedded a host of extra sounds, clips, and special textures that provide more to dive into for listeners who want to go deeper than surface level. And while the finished product was conceptual, and flowed thematically and intentionally from start to finish, I still wanted more. I wanted this album to capture people's imaginations and engage their senses. So with the help of my colleague and friend Kelly Moore, and a handful of other local contributors, I have created and curated a physical space to extend the experience. To give visual representation to the imagery, and more storyline to the characters in the songs. To more fully immerse listeners into an environment, and to attempt to re-create that time in history the way that I saw it: from my stool looking out at the beautiful, if not inherently isolated, East Amana, Iowa.


about the artist

Not an artist, really. Not formally trained or practiced enough. Just a maker. A re-creator. For most of his life, Will Kemple-Taylor has been doing his best to mimic and capture the things that inspire him through songs, visual art, and more recently, immersive environments. When he followed his partner to Iowa 9 years ago, he left behind the mountains of Northern New Mexico, and much of the natural beauty that once fueled his creativity. But Iowa brought new inspirations. He found a creative calling working at The Iowa Children’s Museum. And that new path, along with the birth of his children and a move to the countryside, sparked something in him. A newfound urge to tell the stories around him. A need to create, and to do so in as many ways as possible.

Instagram | Spotify

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Aug
5
to Aug 6

the first annual midwestern VERY BAD ART SHOW!!!!

Open gallery hours: Sat. Aug. 5 & Sun. Aug. 6, 12-5pm

Reception and performance: Sunday Oct. 6 at 8pm

featuring art by:

Abby Garraty, Anna Kain, Nathan Wegner, C. Francis Wossom, Eli Bolender, Estevan Cornejo, Eva Roethler, Jacob Brashers-Krug, Elsa Gustafson, Kate Doolittle, Isaac Smith, Zayne Crysanthemum, Levi Moos, Jet Trouble, Mack Ellis, Mason Esposito, Matt Magill, Bleakz Blanket Fort, Peter Brozene

Born out of love for dabbling and giggling, the Midwestern Bad Art Show is a gallery show and performance curated by Lorelei D’Andriole and Lex Letourneau. Influenced by Young-Hae Chang Heavy Industries ART IS A LIVE THAT JUST WON’T DIE., No Wave, Bread & Puppet, and the Museum of Bad Art, Lorelei, Lex, and collaborators will challenge the very existence of “bad art” while celebrating the joy of dabbling in creation. The show will highlight midwestern artists in a way we’ve never seen them, as they’ll be asked to create intentionally bad art in a familiar medium, or create a work in a medium they have no technical facility in.

The works will be housed in the main floor of the PS1 Close House for the duration of the show, closing with performance and reception. This event will be as funny as it is ridiculous, as bad as it is genius, and fun for everyone involved while showcasing local artists and reminding everyone that we are all artists.

“Bad” as low facility: “To be in a band, at least according to the rules of rock in the 1970s, one must know how to play an instrument. But rather than waste time solving that problem, No Wavers ignored it. The point was simply to make music, not to learn how first.” - Lydia Lunch

“Bad” as boring or uninteresting: “If something is boring after two minutes, try it for four. If still boring, then eight. Then sixteen. Then thirty-two. Eventually one discovers that it is not boring at all.” - John Cage 

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Soft Spots | Stephanie Alaniz
Jul
1
to Jul 15

Soft Spots | Stephanie Alaniz

at PS1 Close House: 538 S. Gilbert

open hours:
Sat. July 1, 11a-1p
Mon. July 3, 11a-1p
Thurs. July 6, 6-8p
Fri. July 7, 7-9p
Sat. July 8, 11a-1p
Mon. July 10, 11a-1p
Tues. July 11, 6-8p
Thurs. July 13, 6-8p
Fri. July 14, 7-9p
Sat. July 15, 11a-1p

presented in collaboration with Frogman’s Print Workshop

about the artist:
Stephanie Alaniz (they/them) was born and raised in South Texas. They received their Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2016 from Texas A&M-Corpus Christi with an emphasis in Printmaking. They then went on to receive their Master of Fine Arts from West Virginia University in 2019. Stephanie’s current work focuses on normalizing insecurities, challenging anti-fat bias, discussing mental health issues, and the intersection of all of these topics. Through printmaking, textiles, drawing, and sculpture they are able to create work about these topics with the hope of inviting the viewer in to reflect on themself and how these topics influence the world around us. Stephanie has exhibited in numerous national and international exhibitions. They have also been included in a number of portfolio exchanges over the last eight years. They are currently on the board of Radical Intersectional Print Guild and have been since its conception in 2020. Stephanie currently lives in Emporia, Kansas where they teach art at Emporia State University and teach courses at the Lawrence Arts Center in Lawrence, Kansas.

My Fat Quilts series is a love letter to my fellow fatties. In a society that refuses to value us, I want to take this platform and give us a voice to speak and challenge the norm that has been present for the entirety of our lives and beyond. Existing in a larger body in an anti-fat society is incredibly difficult, people are cruel and hurtful and often treat fat people as if they are the lowest form of life. The use of the word “fat” has been taking back by the fat activist community as a descriptor rather than a negative, for many words such as “overweight” and “obese” are considered slurs, as obese translates from its origin to mean “having eaten oneself fat” and “overweight” suggests that there is a weight that everyone universally must be. This work's intention is to challenge the social norms while deconstructing how we see fat bodies so that we can reconstruct our views through a lens of radical kindness, empathy, and understanding. These large scale quilts feature relief prints on fabric that are then appliquéd to larger quilt tops and assembled quilts. By using the relief process, the action of removing material from the block is meant to reflect the idea that a “good fat person” is one who is actively trying to make their body smaller. However, in the end the block is still a fat person and highlights their fat body. These quilts can become larger and monumental, taking up the space. They can also be folded up, making them smaller as a way to reference how we have been taught to take up as little space as possible especially when existing in public with straight-sized people.

Alaniz lives, educates, and creates art work in Emporia, Kansas on unceded ancestral land belonging to the Kiikaapoi (Kickapoo), Wazhazhe (Osage), Washtáge Moⁿzháⁿm (Kaw/Kanza), and Očeti Šakówiŋ (Sioux) people. Indigenous people are the past, present, and future of this land.

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Jun
23
to Jul 22

Reclaimed & Recycled | the Iowa Print Group


Lilah Ward Shepherd, Dandelion grid quilt, 2021, cotton fabric, thread, batting, dandelion dye, 50”x50”.

Reclaimed & Recycled is a group exhibition featuring artworks by members of the Iowa Print Group (IPG), a member-based student organization at the University of Iowa. The exhibition highlights the vast range of IPG members' studio practices within printmaking and many differing conceptual and material interpretations of the show title, Reclaimed and Recycled, including artworks made from trash, salvaged materials and conceptual approaches of appropriation and reclamation.

Featured artists: Jake Burr • Emily Edwards • Jessica Chavez • Lya Finston • Mariceliz Pagan Gomez • Annie Klein • Veronica Leto • Lauren Krukowski • Sean Maxwell • Anna Miller • Al-Qawi Tazal Nanavati • Lilah Ward Shepherd • and more!

Jake Burr, Cypress, 2022, Screen print and relief, 11x13”.

Iowa Print Group (IPG) is a member-based printmaking organization at the University of Iowa. The group was established in 1945 by Mauricio Lasansky and his students, including Miriam Schapiro. Today, IPG is led by student volunteers and represents undergraduate and graduate students. The group works collectively to provide access to professional resources, opportunities, and community. @uiowaprint

 

PS1’s exhibition program is generously supported by Artifacts, Velvet Coat, OPN Architects, Revival, Woodcraft, Hare Parlor, Nodo, and Hudson River Gallery. Thank you!

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Jun
19
to Jun 25

watercolor portraits and abstracts by Siavash Roshandel

PS1’s exhibition program is generously supported by Artifacts, Velvet Coat, OPN Architects, Revival, Woodcraft, Hare Parlor, Nodo, and Hudson River Gallery. Thank you!

open hours:
Mon. 6/19 11a-1p
Tues. 6/20, 11a-1p & 6-8p
Wed 6/21, 11a-1p
Thurs. 6/22, 11a-1p & 6-8p
Fri 6/23, 11a-1p
Sat. 6/24, 11a-1p & 6-8p (reception)
Mon. 6/26, 11a-3p
Tues 6/27, 6-8p

or by appointment: john@publicspaceone.com

artist website

ARTIST STATEMENT

The exhibition consists of two parts: abstract paintings that were commissioned in 2018 and portraits ofwomen from 2014.

The common point of both paintings is the medium used: watercolors, lines added with pencils, crayons and brushes, and the smallness of the paintings.

It’s a big risk of writing about painting. But I took that risk and wrote a few words about my work to the audience. Hopefully it won’t interfere with the readers’ eyes.

abstracts

Perhaps the tradition of Iranian miniature painting has been effective in choosing these sizes. Big size is a tradition in contemporary abstract works, and I have also a lot of big size abstracts, but in this series, I did it on the contrary in small sizes. To see a small painting you have to get close to it. And this approach to the work is very interesting if the work has a special visual value. By approaching the effect, one can approach some of the most subtle visual elements such as line and texture as well as the mixing of colors. In this way, you can see how the painting is formed, something that we often lose in big size works. The same feature can be seen in portrait paintings. The smallness of the painting allows us to look at the most subtle effects and see details that in the fast-paced contemporary world, we usually don’t have time to contemplate. Colors act like codes to us, and recognizing them isn’t based on the size of the surface they cover. For example, we may only have seen a blue color on a very small surface, such as a butterfly’s wing, and we know that we will never forget it.

Sometimes works are made with a clear and simple sense, but that doesn’t always happen in some works, I have kept a line or form that first inspired me, and then I have refined it to get to the final form. And in some، I’ve kept it so much clearer that it has thus become part of the painting’s identity. So, watercolor media allows us to follow the process of creation. I love living colors and have used black as a color in abstract works to make the colors more vibrant and shiny.

Transparency is another visual feature that I have used in these works. The transparency in the classical painting tradition in the form of the Glaze technique has many values that have been forgotten after the modern era and with the alla prima technique of Impressionist. I think the transparency in the world of colors is a great sphere for working with colors.

portraits

We can look at women’s portraits now. These images are inspired by some visual features that are very valuable to me. In these paintings, I have sometimes followed a rhythm that has finally become a familiar face. Sometimes I can see my mother’s visage after finishing the painting, the face of someone I loved, or the face of someone whose deep look can be seen in his life history that resonates like a piece of continuous music. Of course, these similarities are sometimes very far away, and they go back far away in the depths of my mind. I do not know where and what it is that is not known. a place which I do not know where and what it is that is not known. This brings me back to that theme, again and again. A look, a gentle tilt of the head to one side, a texture that can show hairs or skin softness, a definite line or any other visual effect could have inspired an image.

Some important aspect about the eyes and the look in my works: I have never tried to manipulate, enlarge, or deform human eyes or their looks. I think the eyes are large enough to contain human history, and the eyes are deep enough to tell and express how one can see himself in that mirror. Renoir believes that a “portrait is a look” and I believe him.

Women have been a constant presence throughout my forty years of painting. My painting at the Tehran Biennale in 1994 was a portrait of a woman. The painting was on the list of paintings in the Museum of Contemporary Art, but it was not in the museum itself. It was as if the judges had been in trouble and had to hide it along with a few other portraits of women somewhere else and behind a panel in the farthest possible place.

I dedicate this exhibition to the brave women of Iran who fought for their rights over the past eight months, for the right to be seen and to be present as a human beings, in a full-fledged struggle to eradicate historical discrimination and the historical oppression that has been perpetrated on them, and all of us. To remove historical patriarchal control that has affected all aspects of their lives, a struggle that will undoubtedly lead to the human elevation of the whole society. A struggle whose ultimate victory will make the world a better and more beautiful place. Many of them took part in this fight wholeheartedly. Many of them lost their eyes. And despite all the pressure، they insist on their right to be seen. Women who were never a character or icons, but who surprised the world by insisting on a great will of being themselves. Women who deserve the most respect and appreciation.

 
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May
12
to Jun 10

Tit for Tat | Dorian Dean & Adam Farcus

Pass the milk please. / Get me the broom and sweep up this mess. / Why don’t you kiss me goodnight anymore? / Feed the dog in the morning. / Will you be my friend again? / Meet your maker. / Can we lay down?

Tit for Tat is an invitation for creative correspondence with makers through letter writing and decoration of phrases/sayings in the form of fragments, equilibriums, humor, conversations, and sparks in the air. There will be three active engagements for exhibition visitors and invited makers. 

Part 1.  May 12:  Opening. Showcasing correspondences received from invited collaborators in the gallery space.

Part 2. May 20, 11:00-2:00: Tea Party. Folks in the community are invited to make their own phrases or sayings, drink tea and eat friendship bread. 

Part 3.  June 10, 4:00 - 7:00: Closing Tea Party. Join us for a farewell to pick up original works. Each person who contributed will receive a zine made with documentation from the exhibition.


ABOUT THE ORGANIZERS:

Dorian Dean (she/they) was born in Baltimore, Maryland and currently lives and works in Iowa City, Iowa. In 2022 Dorian completed a MFA in Painting and Certificate of Book Arts at the University of Iowa and received their BFA from Tyler School of Art. Collaboration and community engagement through building relationships is an essential part of their art practice. Teaching for over 16 years, Dorian uses art as a tool for social change, with the belief that sharing experience in non hierarchical models empowers people to get curious and question whose “rules” really serve them. As curator for the Times Club at Prairie Lights Bookstore in Iowa City, curation and collaboration has become a way to put this engagement into action. Dorian has taught and developed curriculums at the Baltimore Museum of Art, Philadelphia Museum of art and the Barnes Foundation. Dorian's writing has been published in the Brink Literary Journal and her work has been shown at the MDW Chicago art fair with Stop Gap Projects, Charles City Art Center, Iowa, Bisignano Gallery at the University of Dubuque, Iowa, University of Central Missouri, James May Gallery, Milwaukee, and has a forthcoming exhibitions at Soil Gallery, The Vestibule and Das Schaufenster galleries in Seattle.  @dorianstelldean

Adam Farcus is an Illinois-based activist, artist, curator, feminist, organizer, poet, quasi-linguist, teacher, and writer. Farcus received their MFA from the University of Illinois at Chicago, BFA from Illinois State University, and AA from Joliet Junior College. They currently serve on the FATE board, as well as participate in the Climate Psychological Alliance, organize with the Utopian Megaproject, and teach with the Education Justice Project. Their work has been exhibited at numerous venues, including the Modern Museum of Art Fort Worth; Vox Populi, Philadelphia; the American University Museum; and the Advance Art Museum in Changsha, China. Farcus’s academic writing has been published in Art Education and the Journal of Second Language Writing (in collaboration with Allison Yasukawa, forthcoming) and their creative writing has been published in Rattle and Funny Looking Dog Quarterly among others. Farcus is the director of Lease Agreement, an alternative and nomadic curatorial project, and they are an Instructional Assistant Professor of Art at Illinois State University. https://adamfarcus.com/ @toubab_adama

PS1’s exhibition program is generously supported by Artifacts, Velvet Coat, OPN Architects, Revival, Woodcraft, Hare Parlor, Nodo, and Hudson River Gallery. Thank you!

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Apr
10
to May 5

#awpants presents Labyrinth

on view at PS1 Close
Mon & Sat: 11a-1p + Tues & Thurs: 6-8p
and by appointment (gallery@publicspaceone.com)

The two halves of the path that makes up the labyrinth were exchanged between Beckett & Buse as the Labyrinth developed into the structure on display. We used this effort as an opportunity to define a walkway and consider how our processes can cycle into one another. We invite you to walk the path and be intertwined within our friendship-fulled spiraling diorama.  

#awpants is a partnership with artists Becky Beckett and Rachel Buse. Their collaboration was formed from exchanging prompts and surfaces back and forth. This work has developed into a visual mapping of their friendship. They met shortly after Becky moved to Des Moines, Iowa from the UK in 2018 and bonded over cardboard, the state fair and a shared interest in animation. Becky will be returning to the UK later this year. The Labyrinth marks our final in person collaboration until further notice.

PS1’s exhibition program is generously supported by Artifacts, Velvet Coat, OPN Architects, Revival, Woodcraft, Hare Parlor, Nodo, and Hudson River Gallery. Thank you!

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Mar
31
to Apr 29

Come Stay a While

on display in the Teaching Shed (between 225 & 229 N Gilbert)

public event Saturday April 15, 5-7:30pm
a crochet workshop and smore-roasting party!

“Come Stay a While” is a large, immersive fiber arts environment. We play with light and shadow, vibrant colors, and texture to create an interactive, comfortable, accessible, warm space where joy can be found. As a collective of artists and members of the queer community, we found ourselves seeking spaces in which we can reconnect to and relive the joy of childhood. Anyone can experience healing through a child-like reconnection with joy and play. Crochet and other fiber arts media hold a certain type of "home-ness", a tether to the hearth, with which we can reconnect to childhood. 

 We recognize that both fiber artistry and joy are rebellious concepts. Slow crafts, like crochet, are antithetical to a world that prioritizes and necessitates mass-production; systems of power do not prioritize the creation of comfort. As stated by fiber artist Kendall Jade Ross, "It's just a craft until a man says it's art"--fiber art itself is often relegated to a sub-category because of its historical connection with femininity and womanhood. In the creation of an art piece that prioritizes joy and uses fiber art, we are working to rebel against systemic power. Use the space to sit and gossip, play a game, make something, drink a cup of tea, or whatever makes you happiest.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Quinlan Stafford is a fiber artist, writer, and earring collector. She started crocheting to keep her hands busy during Zoom classes and has never stopped, ever. 

Maura O’Dea (she/her) is an artist and poet from Cincinnati, Ohio. She is currently completing degrees in Spanish and English, and she stays busy in the meantime by crocheting silly things and looking at birds.

Margarita Rasgado López doesn't ever like things a normal amount. With knitting, it was love at first scarf. Trans rights are human rights.

Tamara-Jo Schaapherder (she/her) is truly so obsessed with crochet and is on her way to making it her whole personality. She is currently working behind the prepared foods section at the New Pioneer Coop and looking forward to the many sunny days on their way.

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Feb
10
to Mar 2

The Pink House Wants Me Dead | Megan Roethler

The Pink House Wants Me Dead is an honest reflection on untreated mental illness, family dysfunction, and internalized homophobia, misogyny, and ableism found in the different community structures of my childhood.

Using found objects, personal possessions, and family relics, new spaces are created that speak to the complicated and often abusive nature of growing up queer and neurodivergent within a white, heteronormative, neurotypical community.

The work intertwines violence, shame, guilt, familiarity, and gallows humor to manufacture unsettling visages resembling domestic spaces. These sculptures evoke both disgust and arousal through the juxtaposition of brightly colored fabric and organic matter. The tension between the two parallels the perception of 'the other' within the family home, church, school,and larger rural community.

About the artist:

Megan Roethler attended the University of Northern Iowa, majoring in fine arts and minoring in art history. After four years, she graduated with her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and certification in museum studies. Her work heavily focuses on hand-sewn sculptures and the incorporation of recycled, impermanent material. The subtext of Roethler's work is often on the parallel power dynamics of the art world and outside society, the alienation of "craft" from art history, the subsequent isolation of women and queer makers, and violence wrought from the white patriarchy.

Roethler's work has been exhibited in several locations such as, Woman Made Gallery; Chicago, IL, The Dubuque Museum of Art; Dubuque IA, The Charles H. MacNider Art Museum; Mason City IA.

She received the Guillaume Grant in 2019 and was featured in the Fall 2019 issue of Uprising Magazine.
@meg_rat22

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Amplified Rainbow: a group exhibition by Artists at SUI
Sep
9
to Sep 16

Amplified Rainbow: a group exhibition by Artists at SUI

open hours:
Saturday Sept. 10, 3-4:30pm
Monday Sept. 12, 11a-2p
Tuesday Sept. 13, 11a-2p and 6-8p
Wednesday Sept. 14, 11a-2p
Thursday Sept. 15, 11a-2p and 6-8p

closing reception: Friday September 16, 4-6pm

featuring:
Darren Corkery, Lindsey Warner, Tashiba Johnson, Trista Seeley, Autumn Nelson, Mike Tiffany, Johnny Gates, Gloria Gomez, Steve Oulman, Peter Lynch, Jean Saxton, Andrew Ostroot, Katie Stewart, Bryant Beau, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Doris Siemer, Lee Bacon, Megan Krapl and Sam Wiley

A little bit about the Artists at SUI Program:

""Artists at SUI was started in 2018 as part of the Systems Unlimited Day Program in Iowa City.

We serve adult artists with disabilities who do not have regular access to art supplies, instruction, adaptive devices and creative support.

Our mission is to promote radical inclusion through art!

We work to empower artists with disabilities to be visible and equal contributors in Iowa’s creative communities and beyond.

Email: artstudio@sui.org with any questions

https://artistsatsui.com/

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