“To Jonas with Love” Exhibition
Ki Smith Gallery
This event has ended.
Ki Smith Gallery presents To Jonas with Love, a multimedia exhibition honoring Jonas Mekas, curated by Chuck Smith and Benn Northover.
For over sixty years, from his earliest days living on Orchard Street in the 1950s until his passing in 2019, Lithuanian filmmaker, poet, and artist Jonas Mekas was a cultural icon of Downtown NYC and a passionate guardian of artistic freedom. As he wandered through- out the city with his ever-present camera, Jonas always sought glimpses of beauty and poetry amid the bustle of the streets.
Through his work and activism he stood as a guiding light for generations of artists and filmmakers. Along the way, he founded Film Culture magazine, the Filmmakers Co-op and Cinematheque, Anthology Film Archives, and the now-legendary Movie Journal column in The Village Voice. This month, Jonas’s friends come together to celebrate the joy and inspiration that Jonas evoked and to remember his vibrant and undying poetic spirit. This exhibition features an eclectic mix of artists and filmmakers whose works either embody or directly respond to Jonas’s tireless creativity and self-expression. To Jonas with Love will include a traditional gallery installation of photography, painting, drawing, and sculpture at the new Ki Smith Gallery East Village (197 East 4th Street) as well as a film and video installation with projections and monitors at the Gallery’s annex (181 Mott Street).
The exhibition will also be accompanied by a limited-edition publication showcasing the artworks alongside previously un-released photos and written material by the artists and other members of Mekas’s creative family. This unique celebration welcomes Jonas’s spirit back to the downtown he loved, and to a world in desperate need of the beauty and wonder on which he founded his artistic landscape. The kaleidoscope of works that compose To Jonas with Love proves that despite the struggles New York has faced throughout the pandemic, this city that Jonas deeply loved is united and strong at heart.
Featuring works by DAVID BELISLE, GORDON BALL, JEM COHEN, MIKE FIGGIS, DOUGLAS GORDON, KEN JACOBS, JERRY JOFEN, JIM JOE, JEAN-JACQUES LEBEL, ARI MARCOPOULOS, JONAS MEKAS, BENN NORTHOVER, SHANNON PLUMB, REY PARLA, SYLVIA PLACHY, LEE RANALDO, RAHA RAISSNIA, BARBARA RUBIN, LEAH SINGER, ACCRA SHEPP, STEPHEN SHORE, MICHAEL STIPE, CHUCK SMITH, ED SANDERS, STEVEN SEBRING, AUGUSTE VARKALIS, and ANDY WARHOL
Media
Schedule
from November 18, 2020 to December 20, 2020