During the last year, proximity became a defining characteristic of our daily lives. Geographic proximity limited our access to family, friends and resources, and ideological proximity determined the news we consumed, the information we shared and the concepts we viewed as true or false. This proximity was disruptive, unprecedented and marked a dramatic shift, the repercussions of which are still evolving. This shift is at the heart of the current show at James Cohan. Presenting the work of the 2020-2021 NXTHVN artist fellows, “Un/Common Proximity” reflects the resilience and growth from the last year, as well as the ongoing need for change.
NXTHVN’s annual fellowship is awarded to seven artists and two curators. As was common during the pandemic, the fellows—Allana Clarke, Alisa Sikelianos-Carter, Daniel T. Gaitor-Lomack, Esteban Ramón Pérez, Jeffrey Meris, Ilana Savdie, and Vincent Valdez—had to adjust to new protocols and formed their own quarantine pod, working and growing together as the world around them changed.
Allana Clarke, Relentless, 2021, cocoa butter and beeswax. Courtesy James Cohan.
A clear marker of growth, Meris’ sculpture titled Catch A Stick of Fire (2021) hangs from the ceiling with tendrils bursting like a chandelier. At the end of the arms are spider leaf plants, regenerated by hanging grow lights. Next to Meris’ piece is Relentless (2021) by Clarke that addresses the theme of resilience with the word “relentless” written in three-dimensional cocoa butter and beeswax installed directly onto the wall. The use of cocoa butter alludes to healing and self-preservation and relates to Clarke’s exploration of anti-Black sentiment in Western standards of beauty and the methods and materials used to adhere to them. The work is a testament to the ongoing experience of being Black in a society dominated by white norms.
Clarke’s sculpture points to a major dichotomy underlying the works in the show. While we’ve overcome many hardships during the pandemic, inequality and racism remain. Bringing this issue to the forefront, Valdez’s Just A Dream (In America) (2021) is a monumental painting of an exhausted boxer sitting in the corner of a ring in front of patriotic banners and two men, coaches or sponsors, dressed to indicate their wealth. The juxtaposition of the boxer, identified in an essay by curator Claire Kim as Chicano, with the presumably white figures in the background highlights the racial and economic inequalities in America. The painting, installed on two concrete blocks and leaning against the wall, is accompanied by an audio piece by Justin Boyd featuring Jimmy Clanton’s song Just a Dream (1968) that mourns lost love. The song plays softly like a quiet, sorrowful elegy to false hopes of the American dream.
Installation view of Un/Common Proximity with Jeffrey Meris (left) and Vincent Valdez (right). Courtesy James Cohan.
As Kim notes in her essay, Valdez’s message is both “resolute and heartbreaking,” two words that can be applied throughout the show. Indeed, resolve and heartbreak have been constant companions to all of us over the last year. What is clear from the show is that although proximity very literally brings us closer together, it also uncovers the ways in which we are deeply divided.
Group exhibition: NXTHVN Studio Fellowship artists
James Cohan, New York
June 12 – August 13, 2021
All photos by Phoebe d’Heurle.
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