MakersPlace and The Canvas 3.0 Present
Indira Cesarine “LUMIÈRE” Solo Exhibition and Genesis NFT Drop
Curated by MakersPlace Senior Director Jessica Marinaro
Presented in Partnership with The Untitled Space
Special Performance by WHITE WAVE Young Soon Kim Dance Company
“Lumière” Wearable Art Collection Preview
The Canvas 3.0 Gallery
Oculus, World Trade Center
185 Greenwich St, NYC 10006
January 31st, 2024, 6pm – 9pm
Drinks sponsored by Sant’Arturo
RSVP REQUIRED
Lumière: Light; a brightness that makes things able to be seen; beginning to exist or appear.
The Untitled Magazine’s founder, artist Indira Cesarine, has joined forces with MakersPlace for a solo exhibition and performance, titled “LUMIÈRE”, to take place at The Canvas 3.0 gallery at the Oculus in the World Trade Center on January 31, 2024, from 6 pm to 9 pm. Curated by MakersPlace Senior Director Jessica Marinaro, the exhibition will feature Cesarine’s latest series of surreal photographic light paintings, along with the debut of her animated photographic NFTs, to be available on the celebrated digital art platform. The event will also preview Cesarine’s “Lumière” series wearable art fashion with a performance by WHITE WAVE Young Soon Kim Dance Company in the collection further adding to the visual poetry of the exhibition.
Presented in collaboration with The Untitled Space, “LUMIÈRE” will showcase over 20 digital artworks by Cesarine, presented in the innovative format of WHIM fine art screens at The Canvas 3.0 gallery. In addition to the digital pieces, visitors will have the opportunity to experience a selection of surreal-inspired photography on aluminum, large-scale photographic prints, hand-welded steel sculptures, and video art films.
“LUMIÈRE” encapsulates Cesarine’s contemporary female gaze on Surrealism, a theme the artist has been exploring through a variety of mediums over the past several decades. For her latest series of works, Cesarine juxtaposes the surreal techniques of light painting with graceful and empowering portraits of female dancers to evoke an ethereal universe of divine energy. Through digital animation, Cesarine’s light paintings come to life, harmonizing with her chiaroscuro portraits that accentuate the power of the human spirit through the movements of dance.
In celebration of the genesis NFT drop and solo exhibition, WHITE WAVE Young Soon Kim Dance Company will perform “Eternal NOW” at The Canvas 3.0 event in the “Lumière” collection. Choreographer Young Soon Kim, known for her exhilarating and emotionally rich works, will present a mesmerizing expression of movement that perpetually affirms the now, in space and time, as it reveals the inner landscape of human emotion.
ARTIST STATEMENT
“I have been exploring themes of Surrealism in my work since my first forays into photography. “LUMIÈRE” continues my exploration of the surreal technique of light painting, pioneered by Man Ray in 1937, for my portraits with contemporary dancers emphasizing the power of the human spirit. This method involves using light as a brush, painting ethereal strokes onto canvases of darkness, thus capturing a play of luminosity that transcends the boundaries of traditional imagery. In the realm of “LUMIÈRE,” surreal light painting becomes a mesmerizing dance between the tangible and the transcendent. Through this technique, I seek to illuminate and reveal the hidden energies that bind us to the universe.
The series, developed over the last two years, features five muses from the worlds of ballet, modern dance, fashion modeling, and contortionism. The nude silhouettes of each model become canvases adorned with vines, leaves, and spirals, with each stroke creating a visual embodiment of Mother Nature and symbolizing divine femininity, life, and growth. The spiral as a symbol of life and the eternal is depicted on their figures as well as in the light refracted into the camera lens, creating a spellbinding glow radiating around their silhouettes.
The symbolism of the spiral has been a recurring theme in my artwork including my photography, neon and steel sculptures, and filmmaking. The spiral is an ancient symbol of evolution and one of the oldest pagan symbols in existence. The spiral vortex, as found in the double helix structure of DNA molecules, is known as nature’s favored form for transmitting energy. It represents the cyclical nature of existence, life, growth, evolution, creativity, and change. With my light paintings, I embrace the symbol of the spiral to depict divine feminine energy, progression, concepts of infinity, the journey of life, and the path to higher consciousness. With its graceful curvature and hypnotic rhythm, it becomes a metaphor for the unknown forces that shape humanity, life, and existence – as well as the surreal nature of the unknown.
Beyond the digital realm, my “Lumière” wearable art fashion collection, sustainably manufactured in the UK, echoes the symbolism of my artwork. Kaleidoscopic and abstract renderings of my light paintings on photo-printed fabric bring my art to life. I am thrilled to feature the collection on the WHITE WAVE Young Soon Kim Dance Company for their Oculus performance, which extends the visual universe of my light paintings.
The “LUMIÈRE” collection is a culmination of my exploration of the contemporary female gaze on Surrealism. “Lumière” is not just an exploration of visual aesthetics but an introspective journey into the symbolic significance of light. It delves into the implications of illumination as a metaphor for enlightenment, hope, and the constant pursuit of understanding. In “LUMIÈRE,” I beckon you to immerse yourself in a world where light, movement, and symbolism converge, inviting you to perceive the profound mystery and beauty inherent in the dance of life.” – Indira Cesarine
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
Indira Cesarine is a multidisciplinary artist who works with photography, video, painting, printmaking, and sculpture. Empowering feminist themes are often a point of departure for her artwork, which is influenced by autobiographical content, her Latinx heritage, and women’s history. Cesarine had her first solo show at the age of sixteen at Paul Mellon Arts Center. After graduating with a triple major from Columbia University, she continued her career in London where she received photography commissions by Vogue, GQ, Harper’s Bazaar, and many other international titles while still in her early twenties.
Her artwork has been featured internationally at many galleries, museums, and art fairs, including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Hudson Valley MOCA, The Watermill Center, Mattatuck Museum, Albany Institute, National Museum of Women, CICA Museum, Smack Mellon, San Luis Obispo Museum, French Embassy Cultural Center, Art Basel Miami, SCOPE Art Fair, Rockefeller Center, Cannes Film Festival, and SPRING/BREAK Art Show to name a few. Her artwork and exhibitions have been featured internationally in numerous publications including The New York Times, Vogue, Forbes, Newsweek, W Magazine, Harper’s Bazaar, i-D, Dazed, New York Magazine, and The Huffington Post among many others.
Aside from her work as an artist, she is the founder and editor-in-chief of The Untitled Magazine, founder of Art4Equality, a non-profit initiative supporting equality in the arts, as well as founder of The Untitled Space art gallery. She currently lives and works in Tribeca, NY.
MakersPlace is the premier fine-art marketplace to discover and buy authentic digital art from the world’s leading artists. Established in 2018, MakersPlace utilizes blockchain technology to facilitate the sale of authentic, original digital artwork, ensuring rarity and ownership for both creators and collectors. Aiming to enable a vibrant future for digital creativity, MakersPlace has set global benchmarks in the digital art realm, most notably with the historic sale of Beeple’s Everydays: The First 5000 Days in partnership with Christie’s auction house.
The Canvas 3.0 is a gallery and hub in the Oculus at the World Trade Center in New York City for Web 3.0 experiences in partnership with WHIM. With a focus on empowering independent creators, the space bridges digital and physical through events, activations, and installations aiming to make Web 3.0 accessible and open to all. The Canvas is a member of the United Nations Conscious Fashion and Lifestyle Network – a platform for industry stakeholders, media, Governments, and UN system entities to showcase collaborations that accelerate the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Formed in 1988, WHITE WAVE Young Soon Kim Dance Company strives to inspire audiences through multi-dimensional dance productions reflecting themes and philosophies both modern and timeless. Our mission is to be a potent stimulus for change and expansion of the dance/arts world through the production of dance concerts, classes, residencies, and education.
Artistic Director Young Soon Kim is a recipient of the 2023 Bessies Angel Honoree Award, and is a nationally and internationally acclaimed choreographer, whose work has been hailed for its exhilarating, visually stunning, and emotionally rich phrases and textures.
Ms. Kim’s vision is expansive, challenging the threshold of dance, music, theater and visual art, surging forward to create new possibilities. Ms. Kim creates works of vision and movement language in reverence and awe of novelty that challenge and broaden the boundaries of dance.
“LUMIÈRE” COLLECTION DROP LINK
