Radical Joy (No Joy I’ve Seen)
@ Co-Prosperity
3129 S Morgan St, Chicago, IL 60608
Opening Friday, May 26th, from 6PM - 10PM
On view through Saturday, June 24th
Co-Prosperity is excited to present Radical Joy (No Joy I’ve Seen), an exhibition of paintings, photography, and performance art exploring poisoned joy in expressing our traumas and the sweet sorrow of our consummation.
As Capitalism has commodified identity, it corrupts its full expression, hiding the trauma and confusion from which it is actually built. As artists, we orchestrate the demolition of this veil by embracing the pain in our expression with a reckless joy.
Included in this show are photographs by Carmen DeChristo and polaroids by Armando Lozano whose editorial archive of their respective trans and queer communities are as resplendent as they are raw. Sandra Oviedo AKA Colectivo Multipolar indexically contributes with images from her own exhaustive documentation of the Chicago club and queer scene. Painters Dominic Rabalais and Mariana Rockwell round out the gallery with their darkly jubilant work, talismans of urban transcendence, celebratory as a full ashtray. Collectively, their work casts a glimpse of a counter-cultural opposition against the oppressive norms of Capitalist America.
On opening night, there will be performance art recitals! Burning Orchid, whose performances have been featured everywhere from the Museum of Contemporary Art, to Mexico City, to Russia will be conjuring the relapsed trauma of our aborted attempts at courting contented pleasure. Carlos Salazar-Lermont, a curator in his own right, will be questioning our expectations in his domestically infused exhibitionism. Additionally, Sara Zalek — a marvelous performer and Butoh dancer — will mix the virtual and reality to cast the invisible spell of the spiritual.
Desire is never satisfied-because we enjoy desiring-in acquiring the object we long for we lose our remarkable fantasy and feel loss; rather, joy is kindled like a fire until it consumes us, creating what is our lives. We invite you to savor our sadness and mourn our ecstacy.
Participating Artists
Armando Lozano • Burning Orchid • Carmen DeChristo • Carlos Salazar-Lermont • Colectivo Multipolar • Dominic Rabalais • Mariana Rockwell • Sara Zalek
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Tags: Armando Lozano, Bridgeport, Burning Orchid, Carlos Salazar Lermont, Carmen DeChristo, Chicago, Co-prosperity, Colectivo Multipolar, Dominic Rabalais, Mariana Rockwell, Radical Joy (No Joy I've Seen), Sara Zalek
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