Ann Lewis “SHATTERING”
Joseph Gross Gallery
[Image: Ann Lewis "They don’t realize we are seeds" (2015) ceramic and acrylic, 17x11x8 in.]
This event has ended.
Joseph Gross Gallery is pleased to present SHATTERING, a solo exhibition of new works by Ann Lewis,also known as the artist and activist, gilf!. Incorporating mixed media installation, sculptural objects and interactive performance, the work for this exhibition presents the transformative power rage and destruction can have in a sociopolitical context. SHATTERINGmarks Lewis’s first solo show at Joseph Gross Gallery and the second of a three part series of participatory actions centering on destruction and transformation.
Best known for her 250’ “gentrification in progress” banner that encircled the now demolished 5 Pointz graffiti mecca in Queens NY, Lewis continues her discussion on the philosophy of “active evolution” and protest with a new body of work reflecting on the transformative power of rage to produce beauty in the world. The work presented in SHATTERINGshares Lewis’s personal belief in the individual’s and society’s need for drastic and deliberate evolution towards a more loving and socially productive existence.
In February 2015, Ann Lewis staged two participatory events as the preamble to SHATTERINGwhere she invited hundreds of visitors to break glass and ceramic objects as a means of releasing anger and frustration. Lewis then sifted through thousands of shards to salvage the broken pieces she found most compelling. For this exhibition, the second action in the series, Lewis mounted selected shards to individual rods that will be installed on the gallery walls to be displayed as a collection of sculptural objects that will appear to explode from the wall. Lewis describes the significance of this: “By curating a chorus of faceless voices, these ceramic sculptures embody our collective desire for change and catharsis. As if frozen in a moment of release, these pieces hold the energy and passion of the anonymous public.” A space will be created for participatory performance for this exhibition where visitors are invited to destroy intact objects, which will then be transformed by the artist’s hands.
The third action in the SHATTERINGseries is a forthcoming collaboration with the Young New Yorkers restorative justice program and the New York City Department of Transportation. Pieces of broken glass from previous SHATTERING events will be incorporated with aggregate concrete mix for public benches that will be installed in
B r o w n s v i l l e a n d E a s t N e w Y o r k . A s L e w i s e x p l a i n s i n h e r r e c e n t l y p u b l i s h e d b o o k , Th e Evolutionist Manifesto:“In order to continuously build and strive for a just and healthy world we must shatter, then reconfigure, the systems with which we struggle.” The benches will provide a place of rest and relief for a community that is often surrounded by turmoil.
In addition to the work for the SHATTERINGexhibition, Lewis will also present police barricades that she restructures, chars, and presents as large scale panels. These works are a visual depiction of the public’s outcry for diminished police supremacy. As they hang on the wall, these physical and social barriers are reconceptualized as beautiful yet inert elements that no longer stand between or divide members of society.
By means of participatory performance and reconstructive creation, SHATTERINGilluminates the possibility of sociopolitical transformation. This exhibition asks the audience to step forward together and carve a path in a new direction focused on collective growth and support, extending the concept that there is beauty in what’s broken.
Ann Lewis is one of NYC’s most recognized conceptual activist artists. Lewis has had a major impact on the social discussions in New York around the ideas of gentrification and mass incarceration. Her work has been exhibited in solo and group shows throughout the US and abroad including shows at Jim Kempner Fine Art in New York, Seyhoun Gallery in Tehran, Iran, and Known Gallery in Los Angeles.
Media
Schedule
from May 07, 2015 to May 30, 2015
Opening Reception on 2015-05-07 from 18:00 to 21:00