“True Alchemy” Exhibition

Thierry Goldberg

This event has ended.

“True alchemy lies in this formula: ‘Your memory and your senses are but the nourishment of your creative impulse’.”
-Arthur Rimbaud

Thierry Goldberg presents True Alchemy, a group exhibition of works by Daniel Boccato, Helia Chitsazan, Genevieve Goffman, Kat Lowish, Asif Mian, Johanna Mirabel, Gabriela Rassi, Emma Schwartz, Nicholas Sullivan, Augustina Wang, and Elzie Williams III.

We are now at a junction, a point of change, where one must build upon the old to embark on the new. Taking to transmutation as an entry point, the works in True Alchemy savor the seemingly magical process of transformation. Drawing on a multitude of mediums, the artists collectively change and redefine their styles and techniques to produce a surprising oeuvre of works that brim with guileful ingenuity.

Alchemy denotes a call to bend and manipulate nature to reflect human imagination. Stretching the properties of paper to its fullest capacity, Nicholas Sullivan and Elzie Williams III transform the medium itself. Nicholas Sullivan upcycles old magazines to produce miniature industrial stoves that look deceptively heavier than they are. Elzie Williams III stitches together cutouts from fashion magazines concentrating on the colloquial pantones of skin color often highlighted in advertisements.

Genevieve Goffman and Augustina Wang infuse their works with a sense of lore, presenting imagery that reflects an idyllic worldview. Goffman designs intricate 3D-printed models that represent historical or mythical events. Her works bring attention to the inherent complication involved in oversimplifying or fetishizing the past. Wang’s ethereal figures distort reality through their idealization of fantastical female forms. Her figures often serve as a proxy for herself, encouraging the development of female archetypes that are enigmatic and flawlessly powerful.

Helia Chitsazan, Johanna Mirabel, and Emma Schwartz’s works also play with depictions of femininity. Chitzazan’s tempestuous figures utilize light, transparency, and shadow to manifest their internal emotions externally. Emma Schwatz’s ghost-like figures glide across the canvas exposing moments that are hazily seeped in quiet introspection and reflection. Johanna Mirabel’s works explore aspects of duality. Her twin figures wander through amalgamated spaces poignantly highlighting complexities of conducting life on the borderline.

Taking delight in the serendipitous, Kat Lowish and Gabriela Rassi create compositions that bolster the unexpected. Kat Lowish’s closely cropped paintings pair partially pictured figures with half-eaten jewel-like dishes, comically accentuating instances of grotesque opulence. Utilizing color, form, and saturation, Gabriela Rossi engages with multiple mediums creating abstract compositions that undulate with unconscious unpredictability.

Asif Mian and Daniel Boccato’s works revel in creating interesting intersections and combinations. Asif Mian weaves together sculpture elements producing works that reverberate with notions of ritual, place, and mythology. Daniel Boccato engages in both painting and sculptural practices, often blending art historical language and iconography with commercial readymade aesthetics developing juxtapositions that are provoking in their indetermination.

Daniel Boccato (b. 1991 Campinas, Brazil) lives and works in New York. Boccato holds a BFA from the Cooper Union School of Art. Boccato has had recent solo exhibitions at Galería FORMATOCOMODO, Madrid, Spain; Galería Mascota, Mexico City, Mexico; The Journal Gallery, New York, NY; and Sunday-s Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark. Boccato has participated in group exhibitions at Berthold Pott, Cologne, Germany; Galeria Mascota, Aspen, CO; Embajada, San Juan, PR; Schlossmuseum, Linz, Austria; and M+B, Los Angeles, CA among others.

Helia Chitsazan (b. 1995 Tehran, Iran) lives and works in New York. She holds a BFA from Tehran University of Art and is currently working towards her MFA at the School of Visual Arts. Her work has been recently featured in a group exhibition at New Collectors Gallery, New York, NY and Villiage One Art, New York, NY.

Genevieve Goffman (b. 1991, Washington, D.C.) lives and works in New York. She holds an MFA from Yale School of Art and a BA in Art from Reed College. Goffman has had recent solo exhibitions at Hyacinth Gallery, New York, NY; Money Gallery, St. Petersburg, Russia; Alyssa Davis Gallery, New York, NY; Lubov, New York, NY; and Catbox Contemporary, Queens, NY. She has participated in group exhibitions at 11 Newel, Brooklyn NY; Fragment Gallery, New York, NY; Lilly Roberts, Paris, France; and Harawik, Los Angeles, CA among others.

Kat Lowish (b. 1989, London, UK) lives and works in New York. She received her Bachelor’s degree in German and French Studies from University College London and is currently working towards her MFA at Columbia University’s School of the Arts. Her work has been featured in group exhibitions at ChaShaMa Gallery, New York, NY, and Half Gallery, New York, NY.

Asif Mian (b.1978, Jersey City, NJ), earned an MFA from Columbia University, a
B.A. in Studio Art & B.S. in Biology (Genetics) from Drew University, and attended
the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. He has had solo exhibitions at Queens Museum, Flushing Medows, NY; Sweet Pass Sculptural Park, Dallas Texas; CRUSH Curatorial Projects, New York, NY; and Fjord, Philadelphia, PA. He has participated in group exhibitions at Okayama Art Summit, Okayama, Japan; The SHED, New York, NY; The Kitchen, New York, NY; and BRIC, Brooklyn, NY among others.

Johanna Mirabel (b. 1991, Colombes, France) lives and works in Paris, France, and is currently in residency at the ISCP, New York, NY. Mirable received her Bachelor’s from Ecole Nationale des Beaux-Arts. She has had solo exhibitions at Luce Gallery, Torino, Italy, and Espace des Femmes, Paris, France; Mirbel has participated in group exhibitions at Espace Aimé Césaire, Gennevilliers, France; Villa Belleville, Paris, France; Véronique Rieffel Gallery, Paris, France; Lieu 37, Paris, France; and Mayfly Gallery, Paris, France among others.

Gabriela Rassi (b. 1983 Goiânia, Brazil) lives and works in New Haven, CT. Rassi holds a BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design and is currently working towards her MFA in painting at the Yale School of Art. Rassi has participated in exhibitions at the Museum of Washi and Culture, Echizen, Japan; Newport Art House, Newport, RI and OUTPOST Artists, Queens, NY among others.

Emma Schwartz (b. 1992 Toronto, Canada) lives and works between Brooklyn, NY, and Queens, NY. She holds an MFA from Columbia University and a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She has had solo exhibitions at annarumma Gallery, Naples, Italy, and Chapter NY, New York, NY. Schwartz has participated in group exhibitions at Christian Anderson Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark; Harkawik, New York, NY; in lieu, Los Angeles, CA; Y2K Group, New York, NY; Circle Contemporary, Chicago, IL; and False Flag, New York, NY among others.

Nicholas Sullivan (b. 1987 Canterbury, CT) lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. He holds an MFA from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design and a BFA in sculpture from the University of Massachusetts. Sullivan has had a solo exhibition at A-Lounge Gallery, Seoul, South Korea. He has participated in two-person and group exhibitions at Ki Smith Gallery, New York, NY; Hans Gallery Chicago, IL; Shoot the Lobster, New York, NY; Alyssa Davis Gallery, New York, NY; No Place Gallery, Columbus, OH; and Brennan & Griffin, New York, NY among others.

Augustina Wang (b. 1999 New York, NY) lives and works between Brooklyn, NY, and Queens, NY. She holds a BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design. Wang has an upcoming solo show with Sow & Tailor, Los Angeles, CA. She has participated in group exhibitions at Cierra Britton Gallery, New York, NY; New Image Art Gallery, Los Angeles, CA; and Sow and Tailor, Los Angeles, CA among others.

Elzie Willliams III ( b. 1993 Baltimore, Maryland) lives and works in New York. He holds an MFA from Columbia University and BFA from the Cooper Union School of Art. Williams has participated in group exhibitions at Phillips, New York, NY; Half Gallery, New York, NY; C-L-E-A-R-I-N-G, Los Angeles, CA; M23, New York, NY and Francois Gebaly, New York, NY among others.