Downtown, Los Angeles
Group Exhibition
Elegy
As It StandsTed Gahl, Filip Henin, Merlin James, Tomasz Kowalski, Rastislav. Podhorsky, Erica Vincenzi, Konrad Zukowski As It Stands is pleased to present Elegy, a group exhibition organized in collaboration with Reilly Davidson. The works in Elegy present not a journey through the looking glass, but a catalogue of abutting worlds. In an attempt to contend with the contemporary interlocking of truth and fiction, these images relay fractured and false memories, blending the personal and the mythic. Stringing along historical conceits like impressionism, surrealism, and subtle mannerism, kaleidoscopic mind matter becomes the fodder for visual poetries. Where Merlin James’s unpeopled landscape simmers into limbo, Filip Henin’s human subjects drift off into a chromatic seascape and, apparently, to slumber. Tomasz Kowalski’s bodies interlock with their environs just as Konrad Żukowski’s lovers collapse into each other. Ted Gahl tracks the periphery of representation, aligning with Erica Vincenzi’s subtle pictorial investigations. Rastislav Podhorský brings it all home, with a feminine subject overwhelming the canvas as she tolls a diminutive bell. In alignment, these artists submit to uncertainty and strive to imagine new painterly architectures. —Reilly Davidson Ted Gahl (b. 1983) lives and works in Brooklyn, New York and northwest Connecticut. He received his BFA from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY in 2006 and his MFA from Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, RI in 2010. Solo shows include Harkawik (Los Angeles and New York), Mamoth, (London, UK); Halsey McKay, (East Hampton, NY); Towards, (Toronto, Canada); Alexander Berggruen, (New York, NY,) and Zach Feuer gallery, (New York, NY). Group exhibitions include Ceysson & Bénétière, (New York, NY); Lindon & Co, (London, UK); Freddy, (Harris, NY); Matthew Brown, (Los Angeles, CA); and The Journal, (Brooklyn, NY). Gahl is a 2022 recipient of a Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant. Filip Henin (b. 1986, Mayen) lives and works in Berlin, Germany. He earned a diploma from the Hochschule für Bildende Künste Braunschweig in 2015. Solo exhibitions include Robert Grunenberg (Berlin, DE); Robert Grunenberg (Berlin, DE); and Painters Painting Paintings (UK). Group exhibitions include Dans les yeux d’Elsa (Paris, FR); Robert Grunenberg (Berlin, DE); Hilbertraum (Berlin, DE); Bergérie des Arts (Düsseldorf, DE); Kunstgruppe Cologne (Cologne, DE); Fahrenheit Berlin (Berlin, DE); Conzenhof Cologne (Cologne, DE); and Contemplation Gallery (London, UK). Merlin James (b. 1960, Cardiff) is a painter based in Glasgow, Scotland. He received his Honors BA at the Central School of Art, London, in 1982, and his MA in painting at the Royal College of Art, London, in 1986. Recent solo exhibitions have been held at Chris Sharp (Los Angeles), Anton Kern Gallery (New York), the Philadelphia Art Alliance (Philadelphia), Sikkema Jenkins & Co., (New York), and Kerlin Gallery, (Dublin). His work is included in the collections of the Tate, London, UK; Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, France; Dallas Museum of Art and San Antonio Museum of Art, Texas; and the National Museum of Wales, Cardiff. Tomasz Kowalski (b. 1984, Szczebrzeszyn, PL) lives and works between Warsaw and Antwerp. Solo exhibitions include CLEARING (New York), Contemporary Art Museum (St. Louis); Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art (Warsaw); Dawid Radziszewski Gallery (Warsaw); 15 Orient (New York); Arcadia Missa (London); and Carlier | Gebauer (Berlin).Group exhibitions include Centre Pompidou (Paris); Kunsthalle Wien and MUMOK (Vienna); De Appel (Amsterdam); S.M.A.K (Ghent); Museum of Modern Art, National Museum, and Zacheta Gallery (Warsaw); La Casa Encendida (Madrid); and Contemporary Art Centre (Vilnius). Kowalski’s work belongs to the collections of Centre Pompidou and Pinault Collection (Paris); Frac des Pays de la Loire (Nantes); MUMOK (Vienna); Boros Collection (Berlin); X Museum (Beijing); and MOCAK (Krakow). Rastislav Podhorský (b. 1990, Bratislava, Czechoslovakia) lives and works in Bratislava, Slovakia. He received a doctoral degree from the Drawing Cabinet at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava in 2021. Solo exhibitions include Galerie Michael Bella (Vienna, AT); Gandy Gallery (SK); Galerie Garáž (Zlín, CZ); and Phoinix (Bratislava, SK). Group exhibitions include Cabin Berlin (Berlin, DE); Galerie Michael Bella (Vienna, AT); Moravany Castle (Moravany nad Váhom, SK); and Galerie ExPost (Praha, CZ). Erica Vincenzi (b. 1995) lives and works in Los Angeles, California. She received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Los Angeles, CA, in 2017. Her first solo exhibition was held at Giovanni's Room (Los Angeles) in 2023. Select group exhibitions include Guerrero Gallery (Los Angeles, CA); LaLoma (Los Angeles, CA); and Harkawik (New York, NY). Konrad Żukowski (b. 1995, Poland) lives and works in Paris, France. He graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow in 2019 and the University of Applied Arts in Vienna in 2018. His recent solo exhibitions include The Breeder (Athens) in collaboration with Ewa Opałka Gallery / Razem Pamoja Foundation (Warsaw) and HOS Gallery (Warsaw). Group exhibitions include the National Gallery of Art (Warsaw); Stefan Gierowski Foundation (Warsaw); and BWA (Wroclaw).