40 Volume
January 13 - February 25, 2018
Knockdown Center, Queens
Organized by Samuel Draxler
Press
Artfourm Critics Pick, Wendy Vogel
BOMB Magazine interview with Jeanine Oleson
Paper Magazine, Julia Gray
40 Volume was an exhibition and sitcom-length play starring three sock-encrusted vases and a head of fennel. In 40 Volume‘s performances, the vessels departed from their place in the adjacent gallery and chat together through filters of personal mythology and melodramatic pop lyrics in a deflated attempt to build sisterhood.
The star of the cast was Fennel, an artisanally flagrant ideal of white femininity: aloof but perceptive, unaffected, and healthy. Her performance peaked with an a cappella performance of segments of Hole’s “Softer Softest”, X-ray Spex’s “Germfree Adolescents”, and “Heartbreaker” by Mariah Carey. Earlier, White led a melancholic solo rendition of “Eyes Without a Face” by Billy Idol. Brooding and seeking repair through lifestyle choice, White embodied a flippancy that was both pointed and diluted with entitlement. Grey was a foil to the other characters’ mindless–and at times harmful–dips into abstraction. Dirty also disrupted the delusions of White and Fennel and expanded the potential for absurdist solutions in the space. A study in aspirational whiteness and its discontents, each of the protagonists' delusions were matched by a tenderness as charming as it was suspect.
The exhibition included paintings and sculptures: each character from the play holds a space marked by surfaces of dollar store glitz and janky, poetic objects. The paintings are assemblages of sculptural elements, a mass of accumulated and arranged material that is anchored to the wall; whereas the sculptures, with their humorous constructions, are suggestions for pertinent lifestyle choices.
Floral arrangements for all performances by Scears Lee.
40 Volume’s play is performed by Alisa Besher, Zachary Delamater, Scears Lee, Martha Moszczynski, Alejandra Venancio, and Isaac Pool. A version of 40 Volume was originally published in Volume 3 of Haunt Journal (2016).
All photographs courtesy of Samuel Draxler
Roberts Riverwalk Hotel, 2017
C print
Fennel, 2016 - 2018
fennel
Baby Wants to Ride, 2017
cardboard, aquaresin, acrylic, hair dye, plastic, and feather; canvas, acrylic, pigment, and cellophane
Readings by Teresa, 2016
rubber, paper, and ceramic pin
Grey, 2013
glass vase, socks, hairgel, plastic flowers
Sorties 2, 2013
mohair scarf, Clairol Bw2 Powder Lightener, Manic Panic Electric Amethyst, barette, nail polish, skateboard scarp, and Titanium-coated quartz
Christening, 2017
paper, hardware, and Rowlux
White, 2013
glass vase, socks, hairgel, and chained rubber dong
Dorito Flag, 2016
acrylic, hardware, pigment, crushed stretch-velvet, fringe, fluorescent light, melted lighting gel, safety pins, and metal stud
Lucky, 2012
orange cowhide mule, bandage, and penny
Libra, 2017
clip hanger, compact, dyed ribbon, chain, and metal ampersand clip
Starter Pack, 2017
ceramic and wire base, plastic cucumber, rubberband, lightbulb, eyeliner, mascara, and Heatherette for MAC lipgloss
Goop, 2016
plastic cookies, spackle, foundation, plastic heel, and eCigarette
West 28th, 2016
C Print
Clarista Wish, 2018
air clay, hardware, wire flower, foam lily, and toothpaste charms
Resurrection, 2016
terracotta, foam, wire, mulch, artificial moss, gift bag, gauze, and ornament
The Promise, 2017
Acne Studios shopping bag, wire, plastic cookie, spackle, foundation, and Aczone prescription insert
Most Beads, 2018
Inkjet print on vellum
Joy De Vivre, 2017
rubber, hardware, and paper
Dirty, 2013
glass vase, socks, hairgel, and foam croissant
Chastity Sell, 2018
metal lamp, lighting gel, plastic table, glass vase, and foam lilies; canvas, acrylic, pigment, foil, wrapping paper, graphite, aluminium tape, and makeup
Wile E., 2017
cardboard, foam, terracotta, plaster gauze, fabric, acrylic, hair dye, plastic, water beads, and flower
40 Volume, 2018
performance still
video profile
video profile
video profile
video profile
40 Volume, 2018
head shot