"Francis & Emoji" by Frog:
my first solo show! of mostly paintings, but also some books, and a collaborative figurine. Up at the Soup from July 3rd-11th. I will be there probably almost every day, but I'm thinking maybe I'll skip some time too, for those who are shy or shady or for whatever reason dont want to see me in person, yet still want to see the works... Call or email in advance to make sure. /// theparhelia@gmail.com
Location: Chinatown Soup (16 Orchard St., NYC)
Dates: July 3rd-10th
Opening party: Thursday, July 5th, 6-10pm
Closing party: Monday, July 9th, 6-9pm
Press release / Show Description
“Francis and Emoji is the first solo exhibition by Chinatown Soup resident artist, Frog. Featuring mixed-media paintings and sculptures, Frog's works utilize layered, repetitious daily motions with spontaneous rearrangements of iconography and color in order to question contemporary spirituo-religious apparitions and observe the numinous corners of our technological realms.
Whereas the name ‘Francis’ bears Latin roots and carries associations of antiquity and piety, the Asian ‘Emoji’ recalls the godless Clouds of contemporary cyber-literati. The two entities, Saint Francis and the Emoji, are dichotomous but similar. Both have brought together different cultures by pivoting towards Universal Love and Communication. Both concern themselves with recreation and re-representation, packaging known imagery into a new form that redistributes messages to a wider audience.
Visitors are invited to examine their own preconceived notions of the Archaic and/or the foreign Other through imagery that mixes elements of the culturally-specific and traditional with the globalized and universal. In turn, Frog meditates on: human connectivity, the spirit-world and cyberspace, time travel, intellectual property, diasporic identity, and what it means to be an American artist in 2018.”
(Edited 20180726: Thank you everyone for coming out and sharing your love! Additional thanks to Amy Dewan / @tenderhex for narrating the story of Ganesha at the opening party, to Chinatown Soup for ongoing support and services, and all the new friends I met in the process. If you signed my guestbook or added your email to the mailing list you might be hearing from me soon... )