Elysia Borowy-Reeder - Poetics of Form + Color + Space

September 8, 2023 – November 12, 2023

Poetics of Form + Color + Space

Caterpillar Unit 1, Detroit

Israel Aten, James Collins, Lauren Harrington, Victor Reyes, Katrina Sanj

Israel Aten
OTBP, 2019
94.5 x 63 in
Acrylic and pigments on canvas
$15,500 USD

ABOUT ISRAEL ATEN

Israel Aten, born in Detroit in 1986, achieved Meisterschüler status at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf. Aten's work infuses vitality and raw emotion, engaging viewers with his introspective journey. Afro-Futurism envisions alternative futures at the intersection of technology, spirituality, and Black identity. Aten draws inspiration, exploring Black culture's potential with cosmic themes and speculative realms. He celebrates Afro-Futurism's rich heritage while engaging contemporary issues. Aten portrays retrofuture shapeshifters embodying archetypes from mythology, folklore, and fiction. His work transcends the ordinary, allowing viewers to contemplate identity, transformation, and the human-supernatural interplay. By combining Abstract Expressionism and Afro-Futurism, Aten invites contemplation of artistic styles, cultural influences, and visual storytelling's boundless possibilities.

He has had solo exhibitions at What Pipeline (Detroit, MI), Natalia Hug Galerie (Köln, Germany), and LWL–Museum für Kunst und Kultur, Westfälischer Kunstverein (Münster, Germany). His work has been included in group exhibitions at Marc Leblanc (Chicago) Ashes / Ashes New York (New York), Kunstmuseum Bonn (Bonn, Germany), Deichtorhallen Hamburg (Hamburg, Germany), Museum Wiesbaden (Wiesbaden, Germany), and Bonner Kunstverein (Bonn, Germany).

James Collins
Leviathan, 2023
72 x 60 in
Oil on canvas
$10,000 USD

ABOUT JAMES COLLINS

James Collins (b. 1972, Superior, Wisconsin) is based in Detroit and creates deeply-hued abstract paintings. Collins creates endless variations around four main aesthetics: gesture, line, surface, and color. For some works, oil and acrylic are applied such that the two disparate elements repel each other and separate; in others, thinned oil paint is applied liberally to the canvas, then removed in a single, sweeping gesture to yield a completed work. Collins uses custom tools—including household items like shower curtains, rags, and plastic wrap—to guide and direct his materials, yielding unique and unpredictable impressions.

Lauren Harrington
Leg Wrestling, 2023
40 x 30 in
Acrylic on canvas
$4,000 USD

Lauren Harrington
Wall Sit Diptych, 2023
29x30- 24x30 in
Acrylic on canvas
$4,200 USD

Lauren Harrington
Dive, 2023
24 x 30 in
Acrylic on canvas
$3,000 USD

Lauren Harrington
Crunches, 2023
19 x 30 in
Acrylic on canvas
$2,700 USD

ABOUT LAUREN HARRINGTON

Born in 1985 in Michigan, Lauren Harrington received her BFA at Aquinas College where she focused on ceramics. After moving to Los Angeles in 2010 to study fashion and textile design at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, she began working with master printmaker, Richard Duardo. During this time, she began developing her studio painting practice, heavily influenced by pattern, decoration, print, and material experimentation, as well as concepts of feminine expression and constraint in both ideology, material, and process.

ABOUT LOWER BODY ACTIVITIES

Having long been fascinated by Venus figurines of the ancient world, the idea of these faceless, footless, sexually exaggerated figures has carved a place in my imagination. The feature that left the biggest impression is the absence of feet as if these beings served one purpose and lacked any ability to turn from it. These paintings are a reaction to these ancient symbols as well as the hotly contested contemporary ideas of bodily freedom and personal agency that women do and do not have in the contemporary world.

The forms are confined to a blue frame of objectification and sensuality in the curvaceous lines of the physical body and in sinuous decoration. Yet agency, symbolized by the feet, lies just beyond the frame. While blue may symbolize depression, the symbol is balanced as it also represents fluidity and adaptability, which is emphasized by the use of water marbling as the decorative component covering the figure. The form leans into the confines of the frame, turning the container it has been made to fill into a power that exudes ownership of sensuality and expands towards the boundless freedom that exists beyond the canvas.

James Collins and Lauren Harrington
Circle Squared 2, 2023
36 in
Oil, Acrylic, and canvas on Wood Panel
$3,000 USD

James Collins and Lauren Harrington
Raspberry ZigZag, 2023
28 x 40 in
Oil on Canvas
$2,700 USD

James Collins and Lauren Harrington
Peach ZigZag, 2023
28 x 40 in
Oil on canvas
$2,700 USD

Victor Reyes
Serif, 2023
23.5 x 19.75 in
Pigmented plaster on aluminum and wood panel
$1800.00 USD

Victor Reyes
Arch, 2022
16" x 20"
Acrylic on canvas
$1500.00 USD

ABOUT VICTOR REYES

Victor Reyes, born in 1978, has cultivated an artistic approach that resides on the fringes of conventional norms, challenging established genres and disrupting the traditional art historical canon. Drawing inspiration from both the ordinary and the sacred, much of his oeuvre defies easy categorization, resulting in a body of work that resembles a modern-day Tower of Babel—dispersed yet interconnected. The common thread binding his creations is their unmistakable human essence. Reyes’ hand-painted murals adorn cities worldwide, and his contemporary paintings continue to grace exhibitions and private collections.

Katrina Sanj
The Spiral, 2023
12 x14 in
Cotton, wood
$600.00 USD

Katrina Sanj
Little Window, 2023
19 x19 in
Hand dyed silk
$900.00 USD

Katrina Sanj
Cash crops
11.5x21
Indigo dyed antique cotton
$200.00 USD

ABOUT KATRINA SANJ

Katrina Sanj, born in 1990 in San Francisco, is a self-taught textile artist and designer. Since her early years, Sanj has been engaged in upcycling clothing as a means to extend their lifespan. This dedication to sustainability remains a cornerstone of her work, where she specializes in designing children's clothing using vintage materials. Her aim is to honor traditional craft techniques while seamlessly integrating them into contemporary lifestyles.

The exhibited artworks by Sanj are characterized by their quilted and hand-dyed compositions, carefully crafted from recycled materials gathered from reuse centers across the nation. She consciously opts for natural materials in her creations, viewing her artistic endeavors as integral components of a circular system. In this context, her works can ultimately return to the earth, completing a sustainable cycle of reuse and regeneration.

INSTALLATION PHOTOS