“The Human Condition” Exhibition
Westbeth Gallery
This event has ended.
Composed of 8 artists who make innovative figurative artwork (video, painting, sculpture, and mixed media) this exhibition explores ideas of human identity both personal and cultural. These artists examine contemporary society’s influence in shaping who we have become and how we perceive each other and ourselves. Each artist explores the meaning of contemporary life and the broader cultural and social issues that make up living today.
Heather Cox, a Brooklyn based artist, identifies what it is to be human down to the molecular and scientific level. She manipulates her own body, depicting the movement of her figure through space in works on paper and sculpture. She will be creating a sitespecific installation in the gallery.
Toni Thomas, based in Newark, makes mixed media works (painting, quilting, collage) depicting African American mermaids. She has a culturally inclusive take on the traditional Eurocentric fairy tale.
Daniel’s Mirer’s is debuting a series of photographs depicting young men in uniform. He addresses issues of masculine identity in contemporary society in this series. He is based in Brooklyn and is widely know for his architectural photography.
Margaret Murphy’s Toile News paintings combine the historical fabric style of Toile with images culled from contemporary print media—Including, such recent events as the Gardner killing and the Boston bombings.
In Charles Yuen’s paintings, abstracted figures interact with the environment—both emotionally and physically—often morphing between animal and human form, This Brooklyn artist addresses the way in which the individual is subjected to and sometimes brutalized by society.
Karla Carballar, originally from Mexico City, is a Brooklyn based video maker. In her video, “Rosa,” she explores, through movement, the shifting gender identity of an androgynous young man.
Davide Cantoni depicts figures from third world countries that he finds in the pages of New York Times. He creates his images by burning paper—this technique references both the ephemeral nature of newsprint and the momentary nature of fame that the photographed people experience.
For two years Diana Jensen made paintings of Pizzeria Workers. She referenced found snapshots she found on the wall of a pizzeria. (Shots of the workers-on duty and off). In these paintings she investigates the role of the individual with in a group—studying how, in life, people come together randomly, interact and become close knit community.
Media
Schedule
from April 11, 2015 to April 26, 2015
Opening Reception on 2015-04-10 from 18:00 to 20:00