80 Washington Square East, NYU

Introverse: Allegory Today

December 14, 2022 – February 4, 2023

80WSE

Opening Wednesday, December 14th 6–8PM

Visitors must be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 for entry and are encouraged to wear a mask.
 
Introverse: Allegory Today intimates the allegorical turn in current artistic practice characterized by the psychological interiorization, libidinal symbolism, and melancholic contemplation of contemporary life. Featuring 12 artists, the exhibition presents diffused figurations and extended metaphors that embody the spiritual and political complexities of our times, traversing individual interiorities to reflect on the immensity of the outer world.

With each work, the surplus of significations, narratives and affects implode to reveal radical uncertainty coupled with the will to persevere. These allegorical modes reference and estrange our current reality, offering forking paths towards negation and becoming.

Extending Walter Benjamin’s view of European Baroque and Benjamin Buchloh’s analysis of post-war collage and appropriation strategies, Introverse takes stock of emergent allegorical procedures that mediate our political and social reality, constituting different ways “to speak publicly with hidden meaning”.

with:
Peggy Chiang
Janiva Ellis
ektor garcia
Michael Joo
Cindy Ji Hye Kim
Kyung-Me
Guadalupe Maravilla
Libby Rothfeld   
Jacolby Satterwhite
Michael E. Smith
Sable Elyse Smith 
Stewart Uoo

Curated by 80WSE Curator Howie Chen and artist Alex Ito

Installation view of the exhibition featuring three artworks. On the left hand side there is a yellow rectangle mounted on the wall made of cardboard. It is covered in stamps of black ginko leaves. On the ground in the middle is a tile statue of the number 2. Behind the statue, mounted on the wall on the right is a white tire made of fiberglass with very light orange ginko leaves stamped on to it.
Gallery view of the exhibition featuring gallery one, and the hallway that leads into gallery two. On the ground, in the middle of the gallery before the hallway, is a tile sculpture of the number two. Behind the sculpture, is a white fiberglass tire. On the tire are light orange ginko leaf stamps. Leading into the hallway, into gallery two in the distance, there is a tile sculpture of the number 5.
Gallery view of the exhibition. In the middle, on the floor of the gallery is a tile sculpture of the number five. Behind it on the wall is a small drawing and next to the drawing is the hallway leading into gallery three.
Gallery installation view featuring two walls leading into two other gallery rooms. On the left wall, a mounted TV with a video still featuring bright colors and lights with dancing animated, computer animated images. On the right is a tannish wood sculpture featuring gourds and wood that spikes out around the center.
Gallery installation view of two walls. On the left wall, there is a black sweatshirt hung up at the corner shoulders. On the right wall, hangs from the ceiling, a copper knit-mesh sculpture. It is suspended about two to three feet off the ground and hangs down from the ceiling at about 70 inches or six feet tall.
Gallery installation view of two walls and an object on a pedestal. On the left is a white frame with a small image in the center of a young white boy wearing an American Flag durag. On the left, on top of the pedestal sits a small rectangular, foil take out box with plastic lid. Next to it is a sculpture of a napkin with a faux piece of sushi on top of it.
Photos by Carter Seddon