Gerald Slota's Kiss from the exhibit as part of The Billboard Creative's 10 Year Anniversary
Video of the opening reception and exhibit walk-thru.
View all of curcioprojects' videos HERE.
The exhibit is a survey of artists from Curcio’s over 30-year career that exemplifies the meaning of the title – being dedicated to doing something for a long period, especially when done with considerable effort or difficulty. This is not an exhibit of the newest, hottest, what’s trending now, but of artists and their work that will pass the test of time.
The artists Curcio curated into the exhibition reflect a life in art with a person’s relationship to an artist and their art. The exhibit’s as well as the curator’s history begins with Neil Jenney whom Curcio learned of in an Art in America’s Summer 1982 article and has followed Jenney’s career ever since. In 1989 at Ward-Nasse Gallery, Soho NYC, William Graef exhibited with Curcio when he was still making art. That same year an amazing performance artist, Andre Stitt, came to the gallery and began a collaboration that continues to this day. Art making ended in the early 1990s when Curcio became director and curator of Ward-Nasse Gallery exhibiting Chakaia Booker, Amy Hill, Simen Johan, and Gerald Slota in some of their first exhibitions. Along with Jeffrey Cyphers Wright, publisher of Cover Magazine and poet, they began presenting a series of readings. For this exhibit, Curcio and Wright continue their collaboration with a reading of long-haulers and others at the beginning of their long haul, see Event Listing.
By the mid-90s at Curcio Spector Gallery, he exhibited Pamela Lawton while by the end of the gallery, he exhibited Richard Purdy, Mike Miller, and Claire McConaughy at art fairs and unique spaces. Becoming involved with Nurture Art after his gallery closed developing exhibitions, fundraisers, and a fledgling organization with Karen Fitzgerald, Karen Marston, and Catya Plate.
As the 90s ended, Curcio began writing in earnest like the artists/writers Christopher Hart Chambers, Mary Hrbacek, John Mendelsohn, Walter Robinson, and Steve Rockwell, publisher of dArt International. Curcio’s first review of this period was of Clarina Bezzola’s, The Sonder Institute, an exhibition of objects and performance. For this exhibition, Bezzola’s performance happens on the streets surrounding Lichtundfire while her partner in the institute, Miles Pittman, has his desk outside the gallery.
At the beginning of the art fair explosion in early 2000, Curcio was a co-producer and co-founder of the Scope art fairs exhibiting Julie Oakes, Terry Rodgers, Gae Savannah, and TODT. After the “great recession,” he returned to independent curating collaborating with artists/curators D. Dominick Lombardi, Leah Oates, and Priska Juschka of Lichtundfire.
There are the long haulers - Lin Evola, Danielle Frankenthal, Chambliss Giobbi, Edward M. Giordano Jr., Augustus Goertz, John Grande, Joyce Pommer, Pierre St.-Jacques, and Martin Weinstein that Curcio has exhibited over the years.
Then there are artists exhibiting with Curcio for the first time William Carroll, Jonathan Feldschuh, Bodo Korsig, Loren Munk, James Austin Murray, Leemour Pelli, Sebastian Piras, Hideki Takahashi, and LeRone B. Wilson, even though they have known each other for years, even decades.
Long haulers all, but just beginning to exhibit together are O’Delle Abney, Claudine Anrather, Paul Brainard, Bill Claps, Gregory de la Haba, Zavier Ellis, Sam Jackson, KAORUKO, Frodo Mikkelsen, Bobbie Moline-Kramer, Lenora Rosenfield, Sandy Van Iderstine, and Ben Woolfitt.
curcioprojects
In Conversation Robert Curcio & Priska Juschka.
View all curcioprojects' videos HERE.
PROJECTS
See Archive For Past Projects
EVENTS
The Sonder Institute: Thursdays, October 12, 19, & 26; 4 – 7pm. The Sonder Institute presents “Don’t Watch” a facilitation in the public realm that explores the story-creating mechanism in human consciousness. Through interactive tactile sculptural experiences, performances, and comfort zone expansion exercises, the Institute’s aim is to playfully uncover the participant’s stories that influence their behavior. The participants will gain power over that story-creating mechanism and have a lasting takeaway: that art and consciousness have unbelievable transformative potential to unlock creativity in the public realm.
In Conversation Robert Curcio & Priska Juschka: Thursday, October 19; 6 – 8pm. Priska Juschka, Lichtundfire, talks with Curcio about the artists in the exhibit, his relationship with them, and his career with personal anecdotes and insights into the art world. Coincides with the Lower East Side Gallery Night.
Art Insiders Q & A: Thursday, October 26; 6 – 8pm. If you have any questions about the art world – how to collect, is an artist’s statement needed, how to start a gallery, are art fairs needed for a gallery and an artist, can I buy art installments, or anything else on your mind, now is the time to ask. Answering your questions - Robert Curcio, Priska Juschka, and William Carroll, artist in the exhibit, curator, educator, and past director of Charles Cowles Gallery, Elizabeth Harris Gallery, and until recently the EFA Studio Program.
Readings: Sunday, October 29; 2 – 4pm. Adeen Karasick is a word pilot on overdrive with her new book Ærotomania out now. Rick Prol is a fabulist painter, poet, and guitarist who recently exhibited at James Fuentes Gallery. Barbara Rosenthal is a conceptual artist, author, and publisher. Her extensive archives were recently acquired by the City University of New York. Jeffery Cyphers Wright impresario organized reading with his 19th book, Doppelgängster, from MadHat Press. He is also the publisher of LiVEMag! and of the influential Cover magazine.
Media Coverage: ArtDaily Whitehot Magazine/Interview Myles Fucci Whitehot Magazine/Review
At Face Value
Station Independent Projects | Toronto
July 5 - 27, 2024
Curated by Robert Curcio and Leah Oates
Media Coverage: WhiteHot Magazine ARTORONTO.CA ArtDaily ArtPlugged WhiteHot Magazine Akimbo
International Art Exhibitions Expo Artist
Station Independent Projects, Toronto, and curcioprojects, NYC, are thrilled to present At Face Value featuring thirteen artists from Canada, United Kingdom, and the United States. Premiering on Friday, July 5th, with a reception from 6 to 8pm at Station Independent Projects, ends Saturday, 27th, 2024. Many of the artists and Robert Curcio, curcioprojects, will attend the reception.
As humans, we inherently enjoy people-watching regardless of whether the situation is chaotic, tranquil, or unsettling, and with the deluge of selfies, everyone is seen. At Face Value goes beyond the surface level of expressions and does not accept a face without thinking it might not be what is right in front of you. The exhibition challenges the traditional notion of portraiture through the unique approaches these artists use, both visually and thematically compelling as the viewer comes closer to the human experience.
At Face Value features Claudine Anrather, Noah Becker, Marcy Brafman, Chambliss Giobbi, Amy Hill, Sam Jackson, D. Dominick Lombardi, Shantel Miller, Ruben Natal-San Miguel, Dana Nehdaran. Andrew Owen AO1, Arlene Rush, Pierre St. Jacques.
The self-portraits by D. Dominick Lombardi, Dana Nehdaran, and Arlene Rush are personal journeys within themselves rather than surface-level depictions of oneself. Lombardi’s irreverent surreal ink drawings are of the artist at 17, 35, and a preview of him at 95. At over 300 and counting, Nehdaran’s near-daily self-portraits on paper, in sketchbooks, or as with the paintings exhibited are intimate in scale while grand in color and brushstrokes. Rush’s digital photo series Twins examines identity, sameness, and authenticity from her experiences having a twin male counterpart while also challenging traditional misconceptions about gender roles.
Noah Becker, Amy Hill, Claudine Anrather, and Shantel Miller create seemingly traditional portraits, rather the subjects themselves carry much deeper context and meaning. Becker’s stylishly elegant portraits are fictitious figures you might know but can’t invoke a feeling of deja vu. Hill’s portraits juxtapose the formality and structure of Renaissance portraits with mundane contemporary images of technology and consumerism. Anrather’s beautiful activist portraits of black trans women who have passed away are surrounded by calla lilies representing rebirth, death, and a touch of sexuality. Miller’s portraits are situated in very intimate positions and moments that speak to the emotional intricacies of the daily life that black people and families experience.
Andrew Owen AO1 working with a relational art program creates a photo-based series United Diversity Portraits are hybrid portraits of post-ethnicity, color, gender, sexuality, age, etc society. This series features the now-famous model Winnie Harlow and was created with Fashion Art Toronto. Additionally, photo portrait artist Ruben Natal-San Miguel portrays his subjects in a documentary-style setting touching on socio-political issues as well as identity. Most of his work takes place in Harlem where he’s able to conduct a photographic study of the different subcultures of a variety of different groups.
Marcy Brafman and Sam Jackson’s graffiti-esque paintings create identifiable yet unrecognized personas. Brafman’s paintings take on characters from American pop culture and Hollywood using bright colors and rapid brushstrokes. While Jackson references the UK punk and fetish scenes in the 70s’ and ’80s’ creating traditional portraits that he then scatters with gestural symbols, text, bits of collage and glitter, and tattoo-like images resulting in an almost punk rock portraiture.
Chambliss Giobbi and Pierre St. Jacques select outside references to create a unique type of portraiture. Giobbi’s medium of melted Crayola crayons crafts miniature reproductions from a collective memory of portraits by well-known artists. He describes them as “like votives; love letters to the real thing that could fit under your pillow.” Jacques’s work is referential to a caveman at peace while a spaceman is in his head attempting to disrupt his peace. Both characters speak to how two separate characters can be joined in their state of mind while also setting the tone psychologically for the space they reside within.
Station Independent Projects organizes exhibitions and events with a focus on artist advocacy. Station Independent Projects specializes in in discovering new emerging and mid-career artists not represented by galleries and organizes shows to connect artists to broader audiences. Before opening the gallery in Toronto we were located in the Lower East Side of New York City. We also have organized exhibitions in the New York City area for over ten years with numerous New York galleries, art fairs, and nonprofits.
The curators would like to extend a special “Thank you” to Myles Fucci for his curatorial and administrative assistance.
Station Independent Projects: 220 Geary Avenue #2B,Toronto, Ontario, Canada M6H 2C3
Open: Thursday - Sunday, 1 - 6pm.
Director: Leah Oates, leah.oates@gmail.com
http://www.stationindependent.com, https://www.instagram.com/station_independent/