Outmoded Shapes
@ Blanc Gallery
4445 S Martin Luther King Dr, Chicago, IL 60653
Opening Saturday, June 3rd, from 5PM - 9PM
On view through Sunday, July 9th
ACRE and Blanc Gallery are excited to present Outmoded Shapes, an exhibition of work by Ricki Dwyer, John Alleyne and Zachary Nicol, curated by Rohan Ayinde that examines the conditions and structures in which bodies are made while offering modes for rupturing and rethinking them.
Loosely woven out of a series of Zoom calls over the past 7 months, the exhibition is contextualized by 4 key texts. They are the anchors in the show’s dialogue, orienting and giving shape to the work without defining the way it should be engaged with. A passage about the feminine power of the erotic from Audre Lorde opens out onto Gordon Hall’s discussion on materializing bodies through ritual. bell hooks reminds us that masculinity is learned and practiced just as Mlondolozi Zondi analyzes the aesthetics of afro-pessimism in Black performance. This symphony of ideas sounds the space between Zach, Ricki and John. They have listened to one another and in so doing begun to make sense of the shapes they are each grappling with – gender, class, race, masculinity, performance, identity. They make visible for one another the forms that they feel bound by and against which they are pushing.
The polyvalent readings of the body charge the exhibition with a fluidity that refuses any fixed understanding of what a body is. Instead all three artists ask how bodies are made. They ask what constitutes the materiality of a body, and what role we play in bringing that materiality into existence. They ask how a body can refuse legibility and capture while being used as a medium for imagining space otherwise. They look at how we weave understandings of self out of images made by others and how they can be broken down to make new, loose, freer assemblages.
We invite you to join us for the opening reception on Sautrday, June 3rd from 5-9pm.
There will be a special performance by Zachary Nicol and Jasmine Lupe Mendoza on opening night at 7.30pm.
WHEN: JUNE 3
WHAT TIME: 5-9PM
WHERE: BLANC GALLERY, 4445 S. MLK DR, CHICAGO, 60653
PERFORMANCE: 7.30PM
GALLERY HOURS: SATURDAY 12-4PM AND BY APPOINTMENT.
All of our exhibitions and events are free and open to the public. The gallery is wheelchair accessible and has accessible bathrooms.
For further information and to be added to the Mailing list please contact Blanc Gallery Director, Rohan Ayinde – rohan@blancchicago.com.
Website: www.blancchicago.com
Instagram: @blancgallerychicago
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Tags: ACRE, Blanc Gallery, bronzeville, John Alleyne, Ricki Dwyer, Rohan Ayinde, Zachary Nicol
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