I Stood My Ground

I STOOD MY GROUND

MARCH 27 - MAY 1, 2024

CURATOR STATEMENT

I Stood My Ground features nine artists who offer a glimpse into stories that connect emotions and memories through different materials (magnet flakes, concrete, clay, etc.) and personal storytelling. These artists reimagine the use of conventional materials to expose an unconventional narrative and methodology, while inviting the viewer to learn about enigmas and perceptions that challenge the status quo.

Visitors to the exhibition are introduced to works that dismantle and reconstruct social roles, biased histories, and their views on community formations. Using challenging materiality and skillful craftmanship, the exhibition’s artists challenge conventional beliefs on social taboos and structures. Their works demonstrate the literal and metaphorical consequences of sticking to the “norm,” while offering a space to connect, heal, and address challenges within their past. In this way, the exhibition seeks to enlighten viewers on how to transform memories into opportunities for reflection. A moment of that very selfreflection is cultivated in each artist’s space, while offering a moment of connection with them and their fellow artists.

As we enter the gallery space, we are welcomed by Yasmeen Nematt Alla’s Shisha. Shisha, the Egyptian term for a hookah, serves as a focal point in contemporary Egyptian culture, often anchoring communal gatherings. The work features laser-etched plexiglass suspended from a chandelier reminiscent of the one found in the artist’s grandparents’ home. Hidden within the chandelier’s core lies an image transfer of a family photograph and within each glass

shade resides Mu’assel, a blend that enhances the shisha smoke. The plexiglass is etched with an ancient Egyptian poem, remixed with Arabic using an AI algorithm. The artist uses this work to transform the gallery into a gathering space where viewers can reflect into the past.

From one memory to another, Sisi Yu’s Lucky Paradise! sifts through her granular thoughts onto a vibrant cyber street style painting. She evokes a spiraling staircase of memories in China and mysterious clouds that transcend the heavens. Yu’s interpretation goes against the grain, cleverly crafting a Lucky 7’s scratch-off that captivates the eye. Rooted in urban capitalism and bodega culture, the scratch-off games offer a familiar and humorous touch. Upon closer inspection, the unscratched squares hold symbols which represent luck, longevity, and a miracle cure. The compartmentalized image provides a structured storyline of possibility, encouraging viewers to explore each corner of the canvas.

With a visual journal by the artist, Obadah Aljefri’s WILLY NILLY creates a clever response to normalized views within society, reflecting the complex and often contradictory narratives that surround our bodies and identities. This interactive piece is meticulously mirrored in the reference to the game Wooly Willy, a childhood toy that allows for the whimsical manipulation of hair ‘flakes’ on a face with a magnetic wand. This reference is not only a nod to the playful nature of hair as a medium of self-expression, but also a subtle critique of external forces that can redefine and reshape one’s identity in today’s era.

The fascination of materiality doesn’t stop there. Divers XI by Andrae Green appears as a deeply introspective artwork that delves into the complexities of familial relationships and the tangible, material aspects of existence. The use of concrete adds a tactile dimension to the artwork, enhancing its realism and inviting viewers to engage

with the artist’s upbringing in Jamaica during an industrial boom. By portraying paternal family members and the artist himself, the artwork delves into the intricacies of human relationships, and a sense of hope and reflection.

Expanding on individual memory, Jeong Hur’s composite works—It goes one ear and out the other, Purple rain, What does the donut mean, and In the bush—use diverse mediums to create varied photo sculptures. These composites of paper-pulp blocks were crafted as separate artworks during different moments of process. These pre-existing pieces are now united to form new works with novel ideas and fresh perspectives. Hur’s works stand as testaments to the ongoing conversation between old and new, where each experience adds richness to our evolving story.

The exhibition continues with the work of Jasmin Penelope Charles’s Forgiveness. The overarching invitation of the artwork Forgiveness is to embrace a new paradigm of beauty and chaos, where internal constraints and external validations are discarded in favor of unbridled exploration. The completion of a piece is signaled by achieving a harmonious balance in the artist’s eyes or by sensing a profound resonance, indicating the awakening of a cryptic message of love that the artist feels compelled to share.

Bang Geul Han’s Bamboo Forest (Her Womb. She Can.) references a Korean folktale about a secret spreading uncontrollably, symbolizing the inevitable dissemination of knowledge despite suppression. This multimedia work critiques the attempt to limit women’s reproductive rights, particularly in the context of discrimination and restriction of federal funding. The artwork grips the viewer’s attention with the literal whispers of historical texts highlighting the persistence of truth despite systemic obstacles.

Recontextualized adaptations emerge in Patricia Encarnación’s Tropical Limerence II: Our Hands which explores perceptions of the Caribbean and the Global South, framing them as “limerent subjects.” Limerence, initially coined by psychologist Dorothy Tennov, refers to the obsessive attraction between individuals. Through film and ceramics, the project documents the experiences of BIPOC, female-identified, and queer individuals as they explore social patterns and behaviors. Through heartfelt conversations and collaborative ceramic sculptures, they address the violence they’ve encountered and symbolize their resilient efforts to overcome frustrations.

The final work of the exhibition, Melika Abikenari’s Klotho, explores memory within matrilineal relationships, labor, and repetition through the metaphor of a continuous thread. This ongoing performance piece involves the spinning of a thread made of felt and clay that accumulates in size and volume, expanding its impact on space and collective memory. The title references the youngest goddess of the Moirai in ancient Greek mythology, who spins the thread of human life. Through the integration of materials and performance, Abikenari creates a rich exploration of memory and lineage.

These nine artists formulate a unique blend of storytelling and material craftsmanship. From a modern twist on gatherings to a playful riff on urban life, each creator stirs up thought-provoking tales and truths.

Natalie De Jesus is an independent curator and art researcher rooted in the vibrant community of The Bronx, New York. In both her professional and personal life, she continues to work towards the promotion and advocacy for diverse narratives within art, aiming to provide an environment that nurtures their voices and perspectives while amplifying the communities they represent. Currently, she serves as Project Manager for The Online Gallery (The OG) Art Journal and as Director at The Mailroom Gallery, where she passionately supports emerging creatives.

As an art researcher, De Jesus worked in her previous position in the curatorial department within the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Art of Ancient Americas, centralizing her efforts in contemporary programming for special exhibitions and the permanent collection of the Americas, primarily Latin America.

Her journey also includes enriching roles at Lisson Gallery, Company Gallery, Hauser & Wirth, and the National 9/11 Museum & Memorial. De Jesus’s career has seen her contributions as a writer for The Latinx Project, New York University, and as a curator for the BronxArtSpace. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Art History & Museum Professions from the Fashion Institute of Technology.

PUBLIC PROGRAMS

Opening Reception

Wednesday, March 27, 2024, 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM

Public Program

Wednesday, April 17, 2024, 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM

Closing Reception

Wednesday, May 1, 2024, 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM

Longwood Art Gallery @ Hostos

450 Grand Concourse at 149th St., Room C-190

Bronx, New York 10451 (718) 518-6728

longwood@bronxarts.org

Longwood Arts Project

The Longwood Arts Project is the contemporary visual arts program of the Bronx Council on the Arts, with the mission to support artists and their work, especially emerging artists from underrepresented groups, such as people of color, the LGBTQ+ community, and women. The Longwood Art Gallery @ Hostos presents solo and group exhibitions of works of art produced in various media, through interdisciplinary practices that connect emerging artists, communities, and ideas within and beyond The Bronx.

The Bronx Council on the Arts

Founded by visionary community leaders in 1962, the Bronx Council on the Arts (BCA) is a pioneer in advancing cultural equity in The Bronx. From our early beginnings as a presenter of affordable arts programming in select Bronx neighborhoods, we have grown into a cultural hub that serves the entire creative ecosystem of the borough. Our programs serve artists, the public, and the field at large by building connections, providing resources, and advocating for equitable practices. Then as of now, we focus on supporting the work of underrepresented groups – especially artists of color, women, and members of the LGBTQ+ community. Through this lens, we offer affordable programs for seniors and youth and provide direct services to over 1,500 artists and 250 community-based arts groups each year.

www.bronxarts.org

The Hostos Center for the Arts and Culture

Named “the powerful locus for Latino art” by the New York Times, the Hostos Center serves the cultural needs of South Bronx residents and neighboring communities. As a leader in Latinx and African-based programming, the Center creates performing and visual arts forums in which the diverse cultural heritages of its audiences are celebrated and nurtured. The Hostos Center consists of two state-of-the art theaters of 900 and 367 seats each, an experimental Black Box theater and a museum-grade art gallery. Hostos Center events are sponsored by the Hostos Community College Foundation with funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, the New York State Council on the Arts, the Howard Gilman Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Office of NYC Councilmember Rafael Salamanca, Jr. www.hostoscenter.org

LONGWOOD ART GALLERY @ HOSTOS YOUTH ARTS ENGAGEMENT PROGRAM

Longwood’s Youth Arts Engagement Program, launched in 2018, is designed to engage Bronx youth with the rich visual arts scene that surrounds them. By providing gallery experiences they can relate to – and interactions with artists who reside in the same neighborhoods, share similar cultural identities, and even nations of origin – young people gain formative experiences of cultural engagement that last a lifetime.

Activities are free, age-appropriate, and created by professional teaching artists to foster critical thinking, interviewing, and public speaking skills. If your organization, school, or group works with youth and would like to discuss scheduling a workshop or arrange a visit, email us at longwood@bronxarts.org or call (718) 5186728.

Illustration by Ruben Ramirez

By Sunny Nagpaul, Youth Journalist in the Longwood Youth Engagement Program, supported by the Bronx Council on the Arts and the New Yankee Stadium Community Benefits Fund.

An ultramarine blue table, royally framed with gold and bearing a photo of a bald artist as its face, was the centerpiece of the most recent exhibition at Longwood Art Gallery @ Hostos. One of the table legs is missing, so it was repurposed as a magic wand to move threads of magnetic hair across the photo, giving viewers full discretion over where they’d like the artist to have hair.

The piece is one of many from nine artists who took over the white walls for the most recent exhibition at Longwood Art Gallery @ Hostos, I Stood My Ground. With a peculiar goal in mind: What materials would their memories be made from? Through magnet flakes that eerily resemble hair and paintings of would-be conversations with parents who passed away, the Bronx-inspired artists each presented their takes on how to expose their stories through tangible materials.

One of the stories revolves around hair. To start, the artist Obadah Aljefri, constructed a table, painting it royal blue, gold a vibrant pink–and then plastered a portrait of themselves, sprinkled with magnetic threads evocative of strands of hair, on the table’s face. The idea, they said, is to give “agency to the viewer to dictate where hair is allowed to go on my body and where it’s not,” but also, importantly, “making fun of the institutional constructs and ideals of the body, how it’s gendered and policed.”

The project emerged from a profoundly personal area for them–they described that growing up “with curly, dark hair, I was made to feel that my hair is not beautiful or insecure about having a mustache when I didn’t necessarily identify as a man.” The bias they

experienced led them to think more deeply about how hair “dictates what people perceive to be male or female” and how “certain colors and textures of hair are not seen as beautiful or are seen as less than” by society.

Through this exhibition, Aljefri hopes to address those questions with playfulness. The texture of the magnetic hairs reminds them of one of their favorite childhood games, Wooly Willy. The artist aims to make “a really serious thing that affects peoples’ well-being and women who remove their body hair around the world” a lighter, more accessible topic to talk about.

While this is Aljefri’s first group show in New York, they’ve been an artist for over ten years, working as a photographer with Federico Savini, and graduated from Savannah College of Art and Design with a focus on illustration. They spent time working as an illustrator in Chicago and began exhibiting their work in Saudi Arabia before moving to New York City for their master’s degree, which they are completing at Pratt Institute’s School of Art.

Another artist, 45-year-old Bang Geul Han, also decided her art would be a platform for her outrage over how society, namely through elected politicians, attempts to control women’s bodies. Her contribution to the exhibition included a large display of letters that make up a quote from Henry Hyde, the former U.S. Republican representative who spearheaded the Hyde Amendment, a set of federal laws that can withhold insurance coverage of abortion, particularly for low-income women.

Her exhibition focuses on one of his quotes, “We cannot save the unborn of the rich. If the pregnant woman wants to destroy the child in her womb, she can, but thank God we can save some of the children of the poor,” but with a twist–it’s printed on dark paper that the viewer needs to get close to read. The aim, Han said, is “not to amplify what

he said, but highlight it.”

“It’s almost like revealing his real intentions behind the Hyde Amendment,” Han added, “which is really about controlling women’s bodies.”

True enough, the fight to control women’s rights to their reproductive care has been spearheaded by many more Republicans since Hyde, too. More than 34 states have passed restrictions on reproductive rights since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research and policy organization that advances sexual and reproductive rights, and in February, Alabama’s Supreme Court held that frozen embryos created through IVF would be considered children under state law.

Han believes that the restrictions are harmful for everyone–but the risks they present for minority and low-income women are worse. “It’s a very blatant revelation of how abortion and reproductive justice is never separate from the questions of class, questions of race,” she said and she hopes her piece will emphasize the flagrant bias of the politician who founded the legislation.

Han’s piece is also accompanied by small speakers, which play on a loop of voice recordings of Han revealing the ways women have historically tried inducing abortions or miscarriages. The methods range from old wives’ tales –like if you hang from a ladder until you fall or boil pokeweed, a highly toxic herb– to methods that people she knows have tried themselves, like a common Korean myth to drink eight cups of soy sauce to induce an abortion.

Han has been a professional artist for the last 15 years and currently teaches as a professor of digital art and media at the College of Staten Island. Her current projects include mediums like weaving and video projection, and previous installations of this piece have been

shown at the Bronx Museum.

Like Han, artists with a connection to the Bronx were an important element for this show, according to the exhibition’s curator, Natalie De Jesus, who said, “I wanted to center and highlight artists that are showcased within the Bronx because it’s worth showcasing in the Bronx.” Sure enough, the borough’s artistic connections run deep, with several long-standing institutions, like the Bronx Council of the Arts and Hostos Community College, offering support to artists.

Her favorite part of organizing the show was engaging with the art, she said, offering praise for the artists’ work. Of Aljefri’s piece, she said, “Seeing their work progress and expand in such elaborate ways has been nothing but a blessing.” She also admired a painter in the exhibition, Andre Green, who she described as an artist whose “subject matter is incredible, the way he exhibits memory and recollection of his emotions while connecting it to his ties in Jamaica.”

Green’s painting on display at the gallery, he said, is an “homage to my father” and their “rocky relationship.” Beyond that, it’s a tribute to Kingston, the Bronx neighborhood he grew up in. He described how, after becoming a dad himself, “that’s when I realized how important having a father was.” He said the painting’s materials, made of acrylic paint and concrete, “are the things that are the heart and soul of being in Kingston.”

Green’s father was a mason and a teacher, which Green said is indicative of how many people he impacted before his death from a heart attack in his sleep in 2000.

In his painting, Green depicts a silhouette of a man sitting on a ledge over a sea. Green described drawing the piece and thinking about the man “admiring the people jumping” while “imagining my dad, behind me, saying, you can do it.”

Green currently teaches painting, drawing, and printmaking at Mount Holyoke College and graduated from the New York Academy of Arts. His work has been shown internationally in Jamaica, Canada, France, Switzerland, and Beijing.

The current exhibition at Longwood Art Gallery @ Hostos is sponsored by the Bronx Council on the Arts. The gallery is open Tuesday through Friday from 12:00 PM - 6:00 PM, and admission is free.

The exhibition will close on Wednesday, May 1, with a reception. Longwood Art Gallery @ Hostos is located at 450 Grand Concourse, Bronx, NY 10451.

The gallery’s website is: https://www.bronxarts.org/programs/ connector/longwood-art-project/longwood-art-gallery

MELIKA ABIKENARI

Melika Abikenari is an Iranianborn artist who works in various mediums, including performance, sculpture, textile, and video. Her practice investigates the enduring and evolving nature of the intergenerational inheritance of memory, matrilineality, and the body in relation to state violence and the forces and consequences of displacement. Through research, material investigation, and siteresponsive installations, she explores safety and protection about individual and collective processes of somatic and psychological healing.

Abikenari is an artist and educator based in Brooklyn. She holds an M.F.A in sculpture from Cranbrook Academy of Art (2021) and a B.A. from UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture (2017). She is a recipient of the Creatives Rebuild New York grant and NYFA’s Immigrant Artist Mentoring Program. Abikenari is an artist-inresidence at Art Cake and completed an artist residency program at Textile Arts Center. Her work will be shown at BOB’S Gallery and New York Live Arts. She has exhibited at Cranbrook Art Museum (Bloomfield Hills, MI), The Sculpture Center (Cleveland, OH), PØST (Los Angeles, CA), The Main Museum (Los Angeles, CA), Noysky Projects (Los Angeles, CA), and New Wight Gallery (Los Angeles, CA), among others.

Melika Abikenari, Klotho, 2023-2024, Performance Installation Mixed Media: clay, felt, 70 x 50 x 45 in.

Obadah Aljefri is a transdisciplinary artist who employs various mediums encompassing the traditional and the contemporary. They earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.) in Illustration with Magna Cum Laude honors from the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) and are currently pursuing a Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) in Integrated Practices at Pratt Institute in New York City.

Aljefri’s confrontational and oftentimes satirical works navigate Sapien’s ideologies, pedagogies, and semiotics, and examine its histories and futurities. The work constructs and deconstructs selfhood, belonging, perception, and behavior blurring the line between real and mythical through questioning and diving deep into what it means to exist on either side of an imbalanced relationship or marginal power dynamic within a broader environment. Their work boldly challenges societal norms and pressures, inviting viewers to engage with the intricacies of identity and the gaze while nurturing compassion and connection.

With a diverse professional background, Aljefri has seamlessly transitioned through roles such as an artist, art director, art production assistant, and illustrator. Their creative contributions have included exhibitions at the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra), the Saudi Art Council (SAC), and Volta Basel. Aljefri was part of the production team for Artist Muhannad Shono’, realizing works across biennales and exhibitions globally, firmly establishing their foothold in the contemporary art scene as an individual and a collaborator.

Aljefri’s honors and awards include receiving the Masaha Artistin-Residence residency from the Misk Art Institute in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and the honorable recognition as an AI39 Chosen Online Winner by American Illustration, and most recently the Cultural Scholarships from the Ministry of Culture of Saudi Arabia.

Obadah Aljefri, WILLY NILLY, 2024, wood, acrylic, metal dust, magnet, photo print, 54 x 44 in.

Jasmin Penelope Charles (b. 1987 Miami Beach, Florida) is a violinist and painter who uses pigmented acrylics, aerosols, fluid mediums, and textiles to accomplish meditative works of depth and expression. She is an autodidact and a synesthete with formal education from Berklee College of Music where she specialized in violin and music production. She often refers to her painting style as “visual jazz.” Her works have been shown at the PULSE Contemporary Art Fair (New York), Hampton Fine Arts (New York), Catinca Tabacaru Gallery (New York), Art is Bond Gallery (Texas), and Centrum Berlin (Germany). She was awarded the prestigious Harvard Barbara Deming Memorial Fund in 2022 to advance her practice in largescale paintings. Charles currently works and lives in Los Angeles, CA.

Jasmin Penelope Charles, Forgiveness, 2023, acrylic and house paint on canvas, 46 x 42 in.

PATRICIA ENCARNACIÓN

Patricia Encarnación (she/ they) is an Afro-Dominican interdisciplinary artist and scholar whose work critically examines the impacts of colonialism on various sociocultural layers within Afrodiasporic communities, with a particular focus on the Caribbean and Latin America. Drawing from her upbringing in her homeland, Encarnación reinterprets everyday objects, landscapes, and aesthetics to explore the nuances of Caribbean identity.

As a Van Lier fellow at Smack Mellon and through participation in residencies like MuseumsQuartier Vienna and Kovent Catalonia, Encarnación has honed her artistic practice. Her artwork has been showcased at prestigious events and venues, including Documenta 15th, the Tribeca Festival Artists Award Program, the NADA Art Fair, Afro Syncretic at NYU, and I am New Afro Latinx at MOLAA, CA. Notably, she has been selected twice for The Centro Leon Jiménez Biennial in Santiago, DR, and received the Cádiz Prize for cultural immersion from the city of Cádiz, Spain. Additionally, she earned a special invitation to a fellowship sponsored by the French consulate in Martinique as part of the Tropiques Atrium Caribbean art program. Recently, Encarnación was part of the 20212022 cohort at the Silver Arts Project residency at the World Trade Center.

Beyond her work as an exhibiting artist, Encarnación has ventured into curatorial endeavors in spaces such as ChaShama, WHOPHA, and various alternative galleries and cultural hubs in NYC, Dominican Republic, and Miami.

Encarnación’s educational journey began with an AAS degree in Illustration and Fine Arts from Altos de Chavon, the School of Design, paving the way for a full-tuition scholarship to complete her BFA at Parsons, The New School of Design, New York, in 2014. Recently, she received another full-tuition scholarship for the graduate program, specializing in Latin American and Caribbean Studies with a concentration in Museum Studies at NYU, where she graduated in 2022. Encarnación is based in The Bronx.

Patricia Encarnación, Tropical Limerence II: Our Hands, 2019 ceramic casts, approximately 8.5 x 6 in. Dimensions vary per participant hand.

ANDRAE GREEN

Andrae Green is a Jamaicaborn artist living and working in Western Massachusetts. Green’s oeuvre is marked by a nuanced exploration of the existential and phenomenological aspects of living a meaningful life through the lens of family relationships. Rather than merely depicting events and experiences that occur over time, Green conveys the emotions and impressions they generate, filtering them through imaginative allegory. His work is not nihilistic but rather hopeful and reflective. Through his paintings, Green seeks to unearth liminal feelings of vulnerability, hope, and desire, often drawing on human experience and the collective unconscious.

Green earned a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Painting from the New York Academy of Art in 2008 and his BFA from Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts in 2004. He was the 2019 Experience Jamaique in Geneva Artist-in-Residence, a fivetime representative of Jamaica at the Beijing Biennale, and the 2013 United States representative at the Salon de Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts at the Carrousel du Louvre, Paris. Green was a finalist for the Mass Cultural Council Artist Fellowship and the Sustainable Art Foundation Grant. His work has been exhibited both nationally and internationally including at the National Gallery of Jamaica, New York Academy of Art, Maddox Gallery Los Angeles (California), The Investec Cape Town Art Fair (South Africa), The Steffan Thomas Museum of Art (Georgia), University Museum of Contemporary Art

at UMass Amherst (Massachusetts), and the Southampton Arts Center (New York). In 2023, Green had his first museum solo show at the Art Complex Museum in Duxbury Massachusetts, entitled Palindrome: Back To Hope

Andrae Green, Diver XI, 2023, oil, acrylic and concrete on canvas 85 x 76 in.

BANG GEUL HAN

Born and raised in Seoul, Korea, in 1978 and based in the US since 2003, Bang Geul Han’s work has been shown in venues including The Bronx Museum of the Arts, Queens Museum, NURTUREart, A.I.R. Gallery, The 8th Floor at The Shelley and Donald Rubin Foundation, Smack Mellon in New York City, Perez Art Museum Miami in Florida, and Centro Internazionale per l’Arte Contemporanea in Rome. She is a recipient of several artist residencies and fellowships, including Creative Capital Award, Artist in the Marketplace program at the Bronx Museum of the Arts, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council’s Workspace program, A.I.R. Fellowship, MacDowell Fellowship, Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, and Center for Emerging Visual Artists in Philadelphia, PA. Han received her MFA (2005) in Electronic Integrated Arts from NYSCC at Alfred University in Alfred, NY, and her BFA (2002) in Painting from Seoul National University in Korea. Han’s work has been reviewed and featured in 4Columns, Art Papers, Art in America, The AMP, The New Yorker, The New York Times, and The Brooklyn Rail. Han works and lives in New York City.

Bang Geul Han, Bamboo Forest (Her Womb. She Can.), 2024, inkjet pigment prints, speakers, custom PLA speaker mounts, amplifier, sound.

Jeong Hur is a Seoul-born artist based in Brooklyn who explores the potential of images in individual memory amid the digital and analog eras. Using diverse mediums such as traditional darkroom techniques, digital collages, AI-generated images, and photo sculptures, he creates tangible ‘things’ that serve as catalysts for evolving memories. With a Master in Fine Arts (MFA) from the School of Visual Arts (SVA) and accolades from international photo competitions such as The International Photo Awards,The Prix de la Photographie de Paris, and the Moscow International Foto Awards (MIFA). Jeong has exhibited his works globally, connecting his thoughts and memories with others through exhibitions both nationally and internationally including at the Fora Arts Collective, Gallery MC (New York); 440 Gallery (New York); Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition (New York); Academy Art Museum (Maryland); KlanGalerie (Germany); UltraSuperNew Gallery (Japan); and floor__, (Korea).

Jeong Hur, It goes one ear and out the other, 2024, mixed media on paper pulp, 28 x 41 1/2 x 2 in.

YASMEEN NEMATT ALLA

Yasmeen Nematt Alla (she/they) is an Egyptian immigrant and settler living in Tkaronto, Turtle Island (colonially known as Toronto, Ontario). She has a BA in Fine Arts from the University of Waterloo and is an MFA candidate and a Gilbert Fellow at Cranbrook Academy of Arts. She has most recently exhibited at the Bronx River Art Center in Bronx, NY, Heaven Gallery in Chicago, IL, and Xpace Cultural Centre in Toronto, ON. She has previously been an artist resident in the Banff Centre, ACRE, STEPs Public Art, UKAI Projects, La Centrale Galerie Powerhouse, Ferment AI, and HXOUSE Creative Think Tank. As an artist worker, she supports art organizations in creating accessible and anti-racist modes of communication in their day-to-day operations.

Yasmeen

Nematt Alla, Shisha, 2023, laser etched plexiglass, chandelier, mu’assel, brass chain, glass shades, image transfer, 84 x 36 in.

Sisi Yu is a Brooklyn-based artist and illustrator. Her work focuses on the convergence of the digital world with physical reality, with an emphasis on the intersections of technology, food culture, and emotional narratives. Yu grew up in Yantai, China, and considers New York City her second hometown. Her illustration work has been featured in various publications such as The New Yorker, The New York Times, New York Magazine, Harper Collins, and Sephora, just to name a few. After receiving her BFA in Illustration from The School of Visual Arts, she began working with various established artists in New York. Yu’s artwork has also been highlighted in several exhibitions such as in the New York Art Book Fair; International Print Center NY; MOCCA Art Festival; and Monstrueux Posters, Paris. She is a four-time American Illustration winner from American Illustration and American Photography (AI-AP).

Sisi Yu, Lucky Paradise!, 2023-2024, oil and acrylic on canvas, 36 x 24 in.

I STOOD MY GROUND

All works courtesy of the artists unless otherwise noted.

Klotho, 2023-2024

Performance Installation Mixed Media: clay, felt

70 x 50 x 45 in.

Melika Abikenari

Obadah Aljefri WILLY NILLY, 2024

Wood, acrylic, metal dust, magnet, photo print 54 x 44 in.

Jasmin Penelope Charles Forgiveness, 2023

Acrylic and house paint on canvas

46 x 42 in.

Patricia Encarnación

Tropical Limerence II, 2019 HD video, sound 4:30

Patricia Encarnación

Tropical Limerence II: Our Hands, 2019 Ceramic casts

Approx. 8.5 x 6 in. Dimensions vary per participant hand

Andrae Green

Diver XI, 2023

Oil, acrylic and concrete on canvas

85 x 76 in.

Bang Geul Han

Bamboo Forest (Her Womb. She Can.), 2024

Inkjet pigment prints, speakers, custom PLA speaker mounts, amplifier, sound

Dimensions fit according to the exhibition wall.

Jeong Hur

It goes one ear and out the other, 2024

Mixed media on paper pulp

28 x 41.5 x 2 in.

Jeong Hur

Purple rain, 2023

Mixed media on paper pulp

33 x 33 x 2 in.

Jeong Hur

What does the donut mean, 2023

Mixed media on paper pulp

21 x 13 x 2 in.

Jeong Hur

In the bush, 2023

Mixed media on paper pulp

10 x 10 x 2 in.

Yasmeen Nematt Alla

Shisha, 2023

Laser etched plexiglass, chandelier, Mu’assel, brass chain, glass shades, image transfer

84 x 36 in.

Lucky Paradise!, 2023-2024

Oil and acrylic on canvas

36 x 24 in.

Sisi Yu

The Bronx Council on the Arts is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council; New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature; Arts Midwest and the National Endowment for the Arts; the Coalition of Theaters of Color; the Cultural Immigrant Initiative; City Council Members Eric Dinowitz and Marjorie Velázquez; Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson; NYS Assemblymember Michael Benedetto and the NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services; and the Hispanic Federation, the City of New York, and the Department of Youth and Community Development. Also supported in part by the Howard Gilman Foundation, the Booth Ferris Foundation, the Altman Foundation, the Mertz Gilmore Foundation, Amazon, the Lily Auchincloss Foundation, the New Yankee Stadium Community Benefits Fund, the Tiger Baron Foundation, Claire and Theodore Morse Foundation, and Con Edison. Special thanks to Hostos Community College and the Hostos Center for the Arts & Culture for their support.

Bronx Council on the Arts

2700 E Tremont Ave Bronx, New York 10461

www.bronxarts.org

@BronxArtsOrg