Wickerham & Lomax, Esther Ruiz, Jonathan Checler
Afterparty at Happyfun Hideaway 10 PM - 2 AM
DJ sets by Molly Soda and Bambi & C.h.e.b.s.
“In my work, it's simultaneously realities, instead of parallel. Simultaneous avoids the problem of alternate reality. In parallel reality, there's always a hierarchy, and there doesn't necessarily have to be a hierarchy. When you're in a palace like Blenheim, you're supposed to be in awe - why not be in awe of something different than the stuff they're showing you? It's about finding your own existential place.” - Lawrence Weiner
“I’m living in the future, so the present is my past” - Kanye West
Stream Gallery is pleased to present Post Real World, the inaugural group exhibition curated by Alt Esc, featuring works by Wickerham & Lomax, Esther Ruiz and Jonathan Checler. Art is a conduit to alternate realities. It's a playground for new movements in technology and trends. It's a series of predictions of what could be - a portal into the unknown. The exhibition seeks to explore the landscape, a traditional subject matter, through a technological lens. On view in the exhibition, contemporary artists/collectives, Wickerham & Lomax, Esther Ruiz and Jonathan Checler, will communicate a diverse range of future fantasy worlds inspired by technology.
Wickerham & Lomax presents a speculative proposition that chronicles a night-out at The Drinkery, a Baltimore gay bar in the midst of destruction. Take Karaoke posits what might have happened if the city-wide curfew had not been enforced during last April’s uprisings. The video highlights the conditions where bodies fall subject to forms of spectacle, victimhood, queering, and racializing. Take Karaoke rewires tropes of performance art in a voluptuous bionic striptease; a riot of volatile adaptation; a performative jump-off; a platform for activism, pick-up lines, and stand-up comedy. Inspired by space operas, pop culture, geometry and the setting sun, Esther Ruiz creates objects that read as miniature landscapes from a distant future and informed Minimalist objects. For Post Real World, Jonathan Checler will create an immersive environment where he physically intertwines viewers into a new setting. In Ephemeral Sight spectators approach and interact with the installation. Blocking the light from one projector, the audience creates shadows that reveal different videos from those projected. This work opens a visual conversation about how our conceived perceptions of space can be modified.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Wickerham & Lomax (b. 1986) is the collaborative name of Baltimore-based artists Daniel Wickerham and Malcolm Lomax who both received their BFA degrees from Maryland Institute College of Art in 2009. Their practice is based on the accelerated exchange of frivolous information, gossip, and codified language that crystallizes into accessible forms in hopes of giving dignity to that exchange. They have shown at Terrault Contemporary, Baltimore, MD; AC Institute, New York, NY; Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, MD; Artists Space, New York, NY. They will have a solo exhibition at American Medium, Brooklyn in 2016.
Esther Ruiz (b.1986) received a BA degree in Studio Art from Rhodes College in 2011. She has shown nationally and internationally at various galleries including New Release, New York, NY; Planthouse Gallery, New York, NY; Brooklyn Wayfarers, Brooklyn, NY; Platform Baltimore, Baltimore, MD; Vox Populi, Philadelphia, PA, Field Projects; New York, NY; Regina Rex, New York, NY. She was born in Houston, Texas, and currently lives and works in Brooklyn, NY.
Jonathan Checler (b.1980) is a French-American artist born in Paris, France. After studying stage design and direction there he moved to Brooklyn, New York where he currently lives and works. In his artistic practice he employs both technology and the human body. His curiosity leads him to new artistic processes, in which he is mostly self-taught. He has exhibited at various spaces, most recently at Superchief Gallery, New York, NY.
ABOUT STREAM GALLERY
Stream Gallery showcases contemporary art mediums, rising artists, new media, interactive and immersive works.
1196 Myrtle Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11221, JMZ to Myrtle/Broadway
M-S:12-7 PM