FLXST Contemporary Presents Its First Group Show of 2022: “FEMME”

The show consists of seven artists, primarily women of color, queer, and immigrants, whose work intently and intimately visualizes femme culture and embodiment through mixed media, paintings, site-specific installation, and sculpture. Each artist finds inspiration from the lived experience of being and presenting as femme women every day, emphasizing the challenges and often radical anti-soft nature it takes to be femme women. For “FEMME,” the artists deliver an ode to the divine femininity of matriarchal figures, both alive and ancestrally.

The show opens February 5, 2022, from 4-8 PM, and you are welcome to come during private viewing hours of 2-4 PM. Curated by Michael Rangel (michael@flxst.co).

The artists featured in “FEMME” include:
Jasmine Zelaya (Houston, Texas)
Vivian Chiu (Providence, Rhode Island)
Maria Liebana (New York City, New York)
Maiwenn Raoult (Los Angeles, California)
Alayna Pernell (Milwaukee, Wisconsin)
Sam Fresquez & Merryn Alaka (Phoenix, Arizona, courtesy of Lisa Sette Gallery)

To be femme is to be alive, vulnerable, yet radical. The artwork presented in “FEMME” directly captures the idea that femme for many includes thoughts, feelings, and actions that are innate to how they navigate the world. The exhibition also presents the notion that femme connects to a web of other femmes and queer folks who present and are femme—and that femme is a marker of identity. We cannot, therefore, think of femme as simply and as reductively as just something that is, like donning a mask, as if we’ve evacuated femme of all its cultural and theoretical potential. To be femme is to be alive, vulnerable, yet radical!

★ The opening reception is a general admission event, and reservations are not necessary.

★ ★ COVID-19 Update: The wearing of face masks IS MANDATORY. Showing us your vaccination cards is optional. But we encourage all guests vaccinated or not to wear a face mask.

WHAT: Opening Reception: “FEMME”

WHO: Vivian Chu, Maria Liebana, Alayna Pernell, Maiwenn Raoult, Jasmine Zalaya, Sam Fresquez & Merryn Alaka

WHEN: Saturday, February 5, 2022, 4 pm – 8 pm (private viewing: 2 pm – 4 pm)

WHERE: The Entire Gallery at FLXST Contemporary. 2251 S. Michigan Ave. Suite 220, Chicago, IL 60616

DURATION OF EXHIBITION: February 5 to March 28, 2022

FOR MORE INFORMATION: info@flxst.co | www.flxst.co | @flxstco (Instagram)

Image credit:
“Golden”
Maria Liebana
2021
Mixed media collage, acrylic paint, pattern paper, neon paper, molding paste, plastic beads, and small mirror on wood panel
24x 24 inches

Official Website

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Tags: Alayna Pernell, Chicago, Femme, FLXST Contemporary, Jasmine Zelaya, Maiwenn Raoult, Maria Liebana, Merryn Alaka, Near South Side, Sam Fresquez, Vivian Chiu