Michele Abeles “October”

47 Canal (291 Grand St.)

This event has ended.

The mass market Halloween decor seen within many of the photographs in this exhibition will be familiar to most. Produced between October 20–November 1 of last year, the compositions offer mirrors of sorts. Witches, skeletons, ghouls and dismembered figures reflect the arranger’s spirit, while inviting the viewer’s projection.
One can’t help but consider the psyche behind each arrangement, and the dedication to re- upping and one-upping. Throwaway goods, some cherished, others forlorn and forgotten. The cycle of disposability continues as a means toward communication. BOO!

Also included are studio photographs produced in January 2020. Close-up zooms focus on the surface of plastic shopping bags, crumpled and cut in an attempt to replicate, using analog means, the horror trope of blood splayed after slashing.Translations of the expression “thank you” appear on the bags in English, Spanish, French, German, and Japanese.

The scale of each work considers the movement of bodies through the gallery and choreographs the distance from which it is viewed. Depending on where one stands and the number of bodies in the room, things are rendered more or less legible.

The title of each work is derived from the date it was photographed. Each work is dated by the year it was printed. This show was initially scheduled to open in April 2020.
This exhibition is open to the public by appointment only. To make an appointment, or for more information, please visit 47canal.us or contact office@47canal.us.
Michele Abeles lives and works in New York City. Abeles has had recent solo exhibitions and presentations at the Karpidas Collection, Dallas; Sadie Coles HQ, London; Whitney Museum of American Art, NewYork; and 47 Canal, New York. Abeles’ work has been featured in group exhibitions such as: Objects Recognized in Flashes, Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien, Vienna, Austria; Woman with a Camera, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; A World of Its Own: Photographic Practices in the Studio at the Museum of Modern Art, Speculations on Anonymous Materials at the Fridericianum, Kassel, Germany; and Greater New York at MoMA PS1, New York. Her work is included in several public collections including the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Aïshti Foundation, Jal el Dib, Lebanon; the Dallas Museum of Art; the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago; the Museum of Modern Art; the Rubell Family Collection; the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum; and the Whitney Museum of American Art. Michele Abeles is represented by 47 Canal, New York, and Sadie Coles HQ, London.