There are moments of involuntary memory evoked in the creation of art — think Marcel Proust and his metaphor of the smell of a madeleine (a small rice cake) dipped in tea, evoking nostalgic rumination and existential meanderings in a character (from Remembrance of Things Past, Volume One). It is a phenomenon neuroscientists investigate — reflecting the facsimiles at play when senses (here, olfactory) file away specific moments in our lives. Petrichor, the title of the exhibit, is a distinctive smell that follows rain during a warm season. It’s a sensory experience most can align with — a reflection of childhood memory, of the end of a turbulent time, of a moment of respite and conclusion.

The work in this exhibit at Parlour and Ramp, running from Dec. 13, 2024 – Jan. 17, 2025, deals with that fuzzy in-between when senses translate to emotion: from the spiritual to the mundane, the concrete to the abstract, the digital to the physical, the grotesque to the aesthetically pleasing. Societal structures, however, explicitly govern these humanistic (but elusive) thoughts and motivations and their ramifications in the artists’ lives. Whether it is the framework of Christianity or other standardized religions, the influence flowing forth is filtered through the heterosexist, white-supremacist, capitalist patriarchy.

Artists Sabrina Zhao, Martine Martinez, Arden Henderson, October, Nikki Haas, Devontez Cox, and curator Isaiah Lee seek to transcend structured ontological thinking into a reclamation of agency. Through painting, drawing, and digital media, the artists must wrangle with past, present, and future — with an eye for the ever-evolving nature of the anthropocentric versus the cosmological. Spirituality is at stake in this artwork — and the artists must slice and sluice the ether to solidify their own ideologies and exemplify the empathy within their practices.
Visit Parlour and Ramp (2130 W 21st St, Chicago, IL 60608) Friday, Dec. 13, from 6–9 pm for an opening reception celebrating the diverse, complicated investigations of the artists in Petrichor. Appointments to view the exhibit can be made by emailing parlourandramp@gmail.com or DM’ing @parlourandramp on Instagram.

Parlour and Ramp, a former funeral parlour c. 1914, is nestled in the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago, IL. Supported by the collective work of residents in the studios throughout the building, the artist-administrators seek to foster a space of experimentation and revelation for emerging and mid-career artists in Chicago and beyond.

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Tags: Arden Henderson, Chicago, Comfort Station Logan Square, Devontez Cox, Isaiah Lee, Lower West Side, Matthew Martinez, Nikki Haas, October, Parlour and Ramp, Petrichor, Sabrina Zhao