Italicized Reality
Opening Reception: Saturday, September 15, 6 - 9 pm
Saturday, September 15 - Sunday, October 14, 2018
286 Stanhope Street, Ground Floor
Brooklyn, New York 11237
SARDINE is pleased to present a group show titled Italicized Reality featuring work by Liz Ainslie, Andy Cross, Christopher Dunlap, Robin Kang, Jennifer J Lee and Dana Powell. The exhibition opens with a reception on Saturday, September 15, 2018 from 6 to 9 pm. It will run through Sunday, October 14, 2018.
“Access to an alternative reality, a “beyond” where the usual physical laws don’t apply and various manifestations of cosmic consciousness or divinity present themselves as unmistakably real” – Michael Pollan, How to Change your MindMany parallels can be drawn between Michael Pollan’s new book regarding the science of psychedelics, and the artistic experience of creation. In both, personal visions are explored. Space becomes defined, by modeling forms using value and color. Time is necessary for creation. The idea, the ephemera, becomes grounded in material richness. Through the hands of these artists the ineffability of a mystical experience is underscored, and reality is italicized.
Liz Ainslie is a painter living in Brooklyn, NY. Ainslie received an MFA from Tyler School of Art in 2004 and a BFA from Alfred University in 2001. She has had solo exhibitions at Transmitter Gallery and Airplane in Bushwick, Brooklyn, Creon Gallery in Manhattan and The Cohen Gallery at Alfred University. Her work has been included in shows at Station Independent Projects, Orgy Park, Ground Floor Gallery, Outlet Fine Art, Centotto, Parallel Art Space, Small Black Door, SARDINE and A.I.R. gallery in Brooklyn; Valentine in Ridgewood, Queens; Lu Magnus, Artjail and Spazio 522 in Manhattan; Vox Populi and Ice Box Project Space in Philadelphia; BCB Fine Art and Imogen Holloway in upstate New York, and Gallerie Kritiku, Prague, Czech Republic. Her work has been reviewed in Giornale Dell' Arte, ArtCal Zine and The GC Advocate. Interviews with the artist can be found on blogs including And Freedom For, Pencil in the Studio, #fffffff Walls, Standard Interview, Otino Corsano. Her work is included in the Pierogi Flat Files Ainslie was a visiting artist at Trestle Projects in 2018, faculty at School of the Alternative, 2017, a resident artist at Millay Colony for the Arts, 2011 and at Atlantic Center for the Arts, 2006.
Andy Cross (b. 1979, Williamsburg, Virginia) lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. Cross received a MFA from Hunter College in 2005. His work has been exhibited in New York and Internationally. A larger installation titled “House Painter” received a solo show at the Max Mara, Maramotti Family Museum and Collection in Regio Emilia, Italy (2013). In New York and Brooklyn he has had 6 solo exhibitions to date, one is currently up at Zieher Smith in Chelsea. He has also shown with Martos (2013), Kravets Wehby (2006), Cathouse Funeral (2014), and SARDINE (2014 / 2016). Other solo projects were with Mario Diacono in Boston, Massachusetts (2005/2007).
Christopher Dunlap’s paintings engage the viewer through a playful, disruptive exploration of color and pattern. These forms create a multiplicity of relationships between simple shapes and complex structures. Through specific placement, repetition, and implied perspective, the paintings assert a sense of depth. By creating an image that can register spatially in multiple ways, the paintings draw the viewer to a heightened awareness of their own visual processes. This sustained attention seeks to bridge a gap between perception and sensation. Christopher Dunlap received his BFA from University of Washington and his MFA from Massachusetts College of Art. Recent exhibitions include Site 131, Dallas, TX; Mckenzie Fine Art, NY, NY; No Place Gallery, Columbus, OH; SARDINE (solo), Brooklyn, NY; Regina Rex, NY, NY; Parlour Bushwick, Brooklyn, NY; Spring Break Art Fair, NY, NY; Centotto, Brooklyn, NY; Space Available, Brooklyn, NY; and GCA (solo), Brooklyn, NY. His work has been written about in The New York Times, Artsy, Art F City, Two Coats of Paint and Travel Magazine.
Inspired by her southwestern upbringing, Robin Kang reinterprets the tradition of weaving within a contemporary context. Utilizing a digitally operated Jacquard hand loom, the contemporary version of the first binary operated machine and argued precursor to the invention of the computer, she hand weaves tapestries that combine ancient symbolism, computer related imagery, and digital mark making. The juxtaposition of textiles with electronics opens an interesting conversation of reconciling the old with the new, traditions with new possibilities, as well as the relationship between textiles, symbols, language, and memory. Kang has exhibited throughout the US, Canada, Spain, Belgium, France, Austria, Indonesia, and Saudi Arabia. Recent institutional shows include the Queens Museum, the Essl Museum, John Michael Kohler Arts Center, U.S Embassy in Saudi Arabia and Brooklyn Academy of Music, among others. She has participated in artist residencies in Texas, Michigan, Massachusetts, and Beijing. Kang is the founder and director of Penelope, an artist-run project space in Ridgewood, Queens, and also an Adjunct Professor in the Fiber and Material Studies Department at Tyler School of Art, teaching courses in digital weaving and fabric dyeing.
Jennifer J Lee is a Brooklyn based artist from Pittsburgh, PA. She holds a BFA from Carnegie Mellon University and an MFA in painting from the Rhode Island School of Design 2010. She has studied at École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts, Paris France and has attended Skowegan School of painting and sculpture in the summer of 2009. Lee has exhibited at Klaus von Nichtssagend Gallery, Central Park Gallery (LA), Underdonk Gallery, Canada, and the Mattress Factory. Her other projects include Sister, a curatorial platform and guest editor at Black Cat journal.
Dana Powell (b. 1989 Milwaukee, Wisconsin) lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. Her recent solo exhibitions include Smoke Screen, Allen & Eldridge, New York (2017); Closer Things, SARDINE, Brooklyn, curated by Amy Feldman (2016); and Life Paintings, The Still House Group, Brooklyn (2016). Recent group exhibitions include Pine Barrens, Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York, curated by Brandy Carstens (2018); Lure of the Dark, Mass MoCA, curated by Susan Cross (2018); and The skies and the atmosphere most luscious, Allen & Eldridge, New York, curated by Dylan Kraus (2017). Dana Powell received her BFA from Cooper Union in 2015.
SARDINE is located on the ground floor of 286 Stanhope Street between Wyckoff and Irving Avenues in Bushwick, Brooklyn, one block from the Dekalb L train and near the Knickerbocker M. Gallery hours are Saturday and Sunday from 1 to 6 pm when a show is in progress or by appointment. For more information, please visit sardinebk.com. Contact: Lacey Fekishazy at 914.805.1974 or sardinebk@gmail.com.
