TRINA MERRY “OBJECTIFIED”
A Performance & Exhibition Curated by Indira Cesarine
OPENING RECEPTION / PERFORMANCE
November 14, 2019
6pm – 8pm
RSVP events@untitled-space.com
EXHIBITION ON VIEW
November 14 – November 16, 2019
THE UNTITLED SPACE
45 Lispenard Street
NYC 10013
The Untitled Space will be presenting a one-night-only live performance by celebrated camouflage body painting artist Trina Merry titled, “OBJECTIFIED” taking place on November 14, 2019 to coincide with Tribeca Art + Culture Night. A selection of her photography will also be on view from November 14 – 16th highlighting her immersive body of work.
Trina Merry is a leading body painter in a generation that emerged in the wake of the influence of Yves Klein, Yayoi Kusama, and Verushka. Merry studied with Robert Wilson and Marina Abramovic as a Watermill Center summer resident, creating five living bodypaint installations on site. There she absorbed their unique attention to space, silence in stillness and transported these applications in her work to the chaotic neon streets of New York and subsequently, the world. She has also studied with Alex and Allyson Grey on “Visionary Art and the Light Body”. She has crafted her own visual and conceptual vocabulary that emerged through her focus on the points of juxtaposition between the organic human form and the phallic hard lines of architecture.
Merry has performed and exhibited at The Whitney Biennial, Getty Villa, San Jose Museum of Art (with Andy Goldsworthy), Attleboro Arts Museum, ESMoA, Museo De Bardini (Florence), Edward Hopper House, Red Dot Miami, Superfine! Art Fair, Satellite Art Show, WORKS San Jose & SOMArts alongside the Guerilla Girls. Merry currently lives in New York City has a BFA in film.
ARTIST STATEMENT ON OBJECTIFIED:
“Do the living spaces that surround us own us or do we own them? My Objectified series poses these questions and allows viewers to come up with answers by creating a conversation within the self. What is all this stuff in my living space and why do I choose these material items? There seems to be a sort of cohesive relationship built between animate and inanimate objects in the home. We want to entice you to explore four powerful examples of common living spaces that will come alive through human models fashioned with body paint.
About 14 years ago, I was accused by a conservative friend of objectifying women in my artwork. Since I collaborate with consenting (often enthusiastic) models & performers, I laughed and thought I’d delve deeper into the phrase “Objectified” and the domestic expectations that were being placed on me, questioning consumerism and identity. Now, at nearly 40 and having grown past many of these societal pressures, I revisit this series within the context of our current political climate to examine the historical female nude within the context of art history, issues of consent, laws that remove the freedom of choice women have over their own bodies, and social media censorship.”
ABOUT THE UNTITLED SPACE:
The Untitled Space is an art gallery located in Tribeca, New York in a landmark building on Lispenard Street. Founded in 2015 by artist Indira Cesarine, the gallery features exhibitions by emerging and established contemporary artists exploring conceptual framework and boundary pushing ideology through mediums of painting, sculpture, printmaking, photography, video and performance art. The gallery is committing to exploring new ideas vis-à-vis traditional and new mediums and highlights a program of women in art, as well as special events aligned with our creative vision.
ABOUT CURATOR INDIRA CESARINE
Indira Cesarine’s curatorial for The Untitled Space gallery includes solo shows for artists Sarah Maple, Rebecca Leveille, Alison Jackson, Fahren Feingold, Jeanette Hayes, and Kat Toronto aka Miss Meatface. Notable group shows include “EDEN” (2019) and “(HOTEL) XX” (2018) at SPRING/BREAK Art Show, ”SECRET GARDEN” presenting the female gaze on erotica, “SHE INSPIRES,” a group show of 60 artists exhibiting works honoring inspirational women, “IRL: Investigating Reality,” and internationally-celebrated group shows “UPRISE/ANGRY WOMEN” and “ONE YEAR OF RESISTANCE” responding to the political climate in America, as well as numerous other critically-acclaimed exhibitions. Recent press on Indira Cesarine & The Untitled Space includes Vogue (US), Vogue Italia, CNN, Forbes, Newsweek, W Magazine, Harper’s Bazaar, Teen Vogue, New York Magazine, i-D Magazine, Dazed and Confused, and The New York Times among many others.
