ART SHOWS

(super fun)

May 15, 2024

A brief, unceremonious split from Latchkey Township to discuss ART. Read on for light chatter about why these art shows mean so much to me— or jot these dates in your calendar and close the phone.

∆ FERVORNOVA ART OPENING ∆

SATURDAY, JUNE 1 // 4:00 - 6:00 p.m. // D.R.A.W., Kingston, NY

∆ PRIDE EXHIBITION ART OPENING ∆

FRIDAY, JUNE 7 // 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. // OPUS 40, Saugerties, NY

∆ FERVORNOVA ∆

When I conceived of the art installation, book, and newsletter Latchkey Township, I envisioned a sweeping domain where former and current latchkey kids could ride out the storms of lost keys and home-alone baking accidents together. As the year unfolded and parts of my brain healed from surgery, I uncovered another complete world within the Township: The Hideaway Grove Apartment Complex. It seems it was here all along, waiting for someone to pay the power bill and switch the lights back on. I’ve got all the keys, so it had to be me.

I began constructing The Hideaway Grove Apartment Complex in December when my friend Neko asked what I wanted for my birthday. “I wish to make crafts until my limbs are numb and then laugh until the rest of me is as numb as my limbs.”

So she snuck off under cover of night, which was easy because I generally fall asleep at 9 p.m., and set up a clandestine Craftmageddon terminal in her studio. The definition of Craftmageddon is as loose and free as you are, and this IS NOT THE LAST TIME YOU WILL HEAR A MADE-UP WORD IN THIS NEWSLETTER. Once I was drafted into the legion of Craftmageddon, I fabricated small sculptures from found objects, gluing gems onto toy ambulances, monopoly pieces onto doll dressers, and so on. When I ran low on components, I made pilgrimages to thrift stores within walking distance of Craftmageddon. I was all in for three straight days of birthday crafting.

When it was time for me to cross state lines with my assemblages, I had so many that I needed to find housing for them ASAP. And so, an actual apartment complex was imagined and assembled. Then I made a zine because I’ve been making zines to illustrate certain aspects of my life for 30 years.

Limited edition zines each have custom covers.

The apartment complex shall be revealed at D.R.A.W. in the new gallery space, a universe I have admired since its beginnings as a one-room workshop for students, the realized dream of an art teacher who has now co-evolved this program into a meaningful resource for people of all ages to learn printmaking, ceramics, silk-screening, gallery curation, and more.

The show is called Fervornova and is curated by the youth workforce training program, which provides skill-building in non-profit management, arts education, and entrepreneurship. It also clearly gives young people a fertile and supportive space to make up cool new words like Fervornova. MAYBE I ARRIVED AT THE MOMENT I’VE BEEN WAITING FOR MY ENTIRE LIFE: a collective of engaged, fascinating teenagers chose ME. If you squint and look closely, you may see that my entire life has been one exquisite endeavor to get teenagers to love me.

Maybe it all started because my siblings were already groovy teens by the time I came along.

I spent partial moments of the past years in sepia-toned grief, illness, and concern for the world. When I entered the D.R.A.W. gallery for my initial meeting with the student curators, a spark of Technicolor beamed through me. Gratitude nodded in all directions. It’s a wild, diverse, colorful show, and I hope you get to see it.

FERVORNOVA

SATURDAY, JUNE 1 // 4:00 - 6:00 p.m.

D.R.A.W. // 20 CEDAR STREET // KINGSTON, NY

A block of flats at The Hideaway Grove Apartment Complex.

Featuring:

MERYL BENNETT. // JACINTA BUNNELL // NICK CARROLL // AMY COTE

MICAH FORNARI // PHLEGM // KRISTEN SCHIELE // CRAIG WOOD

On view June 1- July 20.

∆ PRIDE EXHIBITION ∆

In 2019, I traveled to the Bay of Fundy, invited by my friend Deborah DeGraffenreid, who had always wanted to witness this specific natural wonder due to its claim of having the highest tidal range in the world. I spent a week working at a worn, simple desk in a cabin, soaking up the stunning surroundings on a self-directed artist retreat. I brought minimal supplies, primarily a collection of ephemera passed down to me by my friends Parvaneh and Richard Holloway. The paper vestiges originally belonged to Fritz Trams, the 1970s High Woods Sportsman’s Club Treasurer, and were inherited by the Holloways when they purchased Trams’ Saugerties home. The collection included bank statements from a defunct Saugerties bank, notes from club members, and very old canceled checks. Because Opus 40 is only two miles from the sportsman’s club, when the curator, China Jorrin, asked me to participate in the show, we agreed that High Woods Assemblage would be the right fit.

one small piece of the High Woods Assemblage

I have loved Opus 40 since I moved to the Hudson Valley in my 20s. Because I grew up building imaginary worlds in the sandpile of my Uncle Ward’s masonry projects, I developed awe for the artistry of working with stone. Opus 40 is the first place I bring visitors to the Hudson Valley if they have not yet experienced its marvel. I am honored to be in this show at this very extraordinary place.