NYAB Event - Jeila Gueramian “Sink beneath the surface and be free”

Jeila Gueramian “Sink beneath the surface and be free”

Mixed Greens Gallery

This event has ended.

Mixed Greens presents an ambitious, site-specific installation by Brooklyn-based artist Jeila Gueramian. Her plush and magical underwater world will animate the windows for the summer months.

After graduating with a BFA in ceramics, Gueramian spent years working in various film, set design, and costume departments, all the while making inventive stuffed animals out of vintage fabrics for friends and family. Over the years, Gueramian amassed an immense collection of these fabrics from thrift stores, generous friends, and her family members’ closets. Slowly, the popularity of her fantastical yet functional sculptures grew, and their playful purpose morphed into elaborate artificial environments. They no longer decorate the room—they are the room. Inspired by puppet making, natural history museum dioramas, and fabricated environments, Gueramian’s installations, in effect, are quilted worlds of imagined, nature-inspired delight.

For the Mixed Greens windows, Gueramian uses stitchwork, crochet, knit, and various embellishments to create an all-encompassing underwater installation that spans all three windows. Schools of fish, bioluminescent plants and animals, sparkling seaweed, and the illusion of shimmering, dark water, coalesce to create a magical experience for adults and children alike. The piece can be appreciated for its incredible craftsmanship, its ability to transform the space, and its power to make the most seasoned art viewer delight with wonder.

Gueramian was born in Los Angeles, CA, and graduated with a BFA from Otis Parsons School of Design. In 2011, she ramped up her fine art career with a six-month residency at The Wassaic Project, culminating in a large-scale installation in the tower of Maxon Mills. In 2012, she had her first New York City solo exhibition at Allegra LaViola Gallery. Her work is currently on view at Colab Project Space in Brooklyn, NY, and she has another solo exhibition at Allegra LaViola in the fall of 2013. Gueramian currently lives and works in Brooklyn, NY.