"TRUE STORIES" Group Show On View At The Untitled Space April 9 - May 27, 2022

The Untitled Space is pleased to present “TRUE STORIES” group show opening on April 9th and on view through May 27th, 2022. Curated by Indira Cesarine, the exhibition features over 30 contemporary artists whose work addresses storytelling through narrative painting, drawing, or portraiture.

Exhibiting Artists: Annie Brito Hodgin, Annika Connor, Bartosz Beda, Boris Torres, Bria Fernandes, Danielle Muzina, Eva Redamonti, Faustine Badrichani, Gabriel Zea, Grace Graupe Pillard, Hannah Duggan, Ian Clyde, Indira Cesarine, Jared Freschman, Katie Commodore, Ken Mar, Kerry Lessard, Kestin Selwyn Cornwall, Kristin O'Connor, Louise Campion, Meegan Barnes, Mel Reese, Michael Hubbard, Michele Brody, Rebecca Bird, Robin Tewes, Siobhan McBride, Sophia Oshodin, Tabitha-ann Whitley, Tracy Brown, and Watson Mere.

“A picture is worth a thousand words.” Storytelling through art is historically one of the oldest forms of communication dating back to early cave paintings thousands of years ago. Although once used as an essential tool due to the constraints of language and literacy, it has over time evolved into an art form exploring what it means to be human, allowing for a deeper understanding of our experiences, relationships, and selves. “TRUE STORIES” group show presents a diverse range of contemporary artists who navigate the complicated world we live in by sharing their stories. Whether based on real people and events or drawn from their imagination, each artist provides a window into their unique universe in order to elicit emotion and allow audiences to connect and engage. The artwork of “TRUE STORIES” addresses themes of public and private life, encounters, dreams, suspense and drama, the absurdities of life, lived experiences, traumatic moments, celebrations, memories, time, love, loss, and survival, while touching on notions of the eerie, the familiar, and the déjà vu. Through their depictions, the artists present complex narratives featuring characters and scenes that provoke our imagination, address our hopes, fears, and desires. They channel their abilities to give shape and character to stories that can be read across time, language, and cultures. 

Curatorial Statement: “What is a ‘true story’? The concept of truth revealed through a narrative be it art or otherwise is a concept that has always fascinated me. Stories are by nature colored by the person who shares them. Whether it be the aristos and rulers who relayed “reality” to the populace centuries ago or modern-day movies based on true events, often the stories we are presented with are significantly swayed by opinion, bias, or intended to influence the viewer. The artists featured in “TRUE STORIES” are not necessarily defined by being merely storytellers. Each in their own way through their works on canvas, paper, and panel, share their contemporary vision of the world we live in. They use narrative themes to address moments of the past, present or future as well as the characters that engage in those dialogues in order to confront the complexities and nuances of the complicated world we inhabit. Their works investigate our concept of reality and shared experience, providing insight into the human condition. They question our motivations, priorities, and obsessions with subtle details and emotional triggers. “TRUE STORIES” is made up of unique depictions of personalities and scenarios, observations of our culture, attitudes, and relationships, renditions of the mundane, bizarre, and fantastical. The world we live in has become increasingly complex, with the concepts of truth, right and wrong, reality and fiction, constantly thrown into question. Each detail, moment, and character we encounter becomes part of the greater puzzle of life. Somewhere in between the experiences we live and the stories we tell there is a notion of the truth and the desire to share it. What is your true story?” - Indira Cesarine

ARTIST STATEMENTS

“I'm interested in how much a single narrative moment can tell us about ourselves and our culture. I think of the world as a stage, loaded with images that I’m interested in redefining, evaluating or making sense of… My paintings are about public and private life, true and imagined stories and the fine line between those perceptions.” - Robin Tewes

“I want the scenes to feel full of potential energy, as if the space is prickly with static, charged with expectation or blushing in the aftermath of an encounter. I hope the work is uneasy and suspenseful like the excitement of exploring a new place, and the thrill of knowing you are drifting back into a frightening dream.” - Siobhan McBride

“I think of my work as a window. For some, the window reflects the viewer’s own experiences or ideologies, for others, it presents a view into a world they may have never noticed or understood, allowing them to analyze and consider new ideas and perspectives.” - Watson Mere

“A meditative exploration of trauma, ambiguity, absurdity, repression, and control, Hodgin considers her figures avatars for exploring these realities, and the tensions they create.”  - Annie Hodgin

“I draw from real-life experiences to bring into clear focus thoughts and feelings which people are sometimes vividly aware of, perhaps for just a moment in time, but other times they float in our subconscious, not directly affecting us, as we move about our daily lives.”  - Bria Fernandes

“I paint alternative, heightened worlds within which women reckon with personal and communal agency amidst crisis and uncertainty… My paintings are informed by bodily rhythms of family, friends, and myself as we witness social movements and looming environmental changes. Both tension and collaborative solidarity form as women gather for defense, vigilante justice, magic, and healing amidst cataclysms.” Danielle Mužina

“I do not try to mimic my source photographs but attempt to look at the face’s shapes and forms blankly as if they were bits of puzzle pieces that I must join together to make a person whole - one with a heart that thrashes and comes to life; a presence that reveals secrets of humanity in a moment of time resulting in a truth that was once unseeable.”- Grace Graupe-Pillard

“In all of my work I aim to express a lived bodily experience and a celebration of life lived in between.” - Michael Hubbard

“I regenerate seasonal detritus into handmade paper drawings, sculptures and immersive installations to represent the daily flux and naturally occurring entropy surrounding us, while exploring how memory and time simultaneously erode and enhance our interpretations of experience.” - Michele Brody

“Ombré fades and commercial sparkles open a door to nostalgic memories. I create colorful allegories that combine flashbacks, references to pop culture, and spiritual symbols. I build a new universe where control lies within the hands of queer individuals.” - Jared Freschman

“My work is informed by religious mysticism, childhood trauma, and the idea that we may be living in a computer simulated reality…It is both unsettling and fascinating to consider that the absurdities and contradictions in my life may be clues that I am living within an invented narrative.” - Ken Mar

“Children’s birthday parties, family portraits and scenes of domestic life figure largely into my paintings. I am interested in that which gets obscured by these singular depictions of togetherness and celebration, the violence lurking just out of site.” - Kerry Lessard   

The gallery is currently open for viewings from Tuesday – Saturday from 12pm – 6pm.

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