beLONGING - New LGBTQIA+ Installation to Open at InLiquid Gallery

What determines a person’s identity? What forms a sense of self? These are some of the themes examined in beLONGING, InLiquid Gallery’s first exhibition of the new year which highlights the work of four Philadelphia area LGBTQIA+ artists: Carmel Dor; THECOLORG; Abbey Muza; and Meg Wolensky.

Whimsical life-size stuffed teddy bears made of rainbow–colored QR codes; intricately layered handwoven textiles and fabric; colorfully fragmented oil paintings, and sculptures which challenge perceptions of time are all used by the artists to locate threads of connection and affirmation, pointing to the idea of identity as an act of self-realization between oneself and others.

Abbey Muza (they/them) uses weaving as a methodology for image-making centered in queer identity, haptics, and sensuality, incorporating organza, wool, silk, and cotton handwoven jacquard into her tapestries. Meg Wolensky, (she/they) is a queer visual artist who utilizes oil painting as a healing practice to accompany C-PTSD recovery. “Like many of us, my queerness was identified, rejected and suppressed long before I recognized it within myself,” explained Wolensky. “My survival depended on queer expression through nonverbal language. Through paint, I reconstruct a home in which my identity is welcome as I meditate on the impact of trauma.” Carmel Dor (they/them) uses painting, drawing, zine-making, and sculpture, specifically, how queer theories of identity map onto the Jewish Diaspora and Israeli Nationality. THECOLORG (she/her) is a millennial feminine queer interdisciplinary artist whose source of inspiration and play are rooted in comforting childhood memories that are translated in her site-specific installations of soft sculpture and plush.

“What makes this exhibition particularly unique is that we invite visitors to contemplate their own sense of identity and community through an interactive zine making station.” noted Rachel Zimmerman, founder & executive director of InLiquid. A zine, pronounced “zeen” (just like the end of the word magazine), is a homemade publication or a small handmade art book, often used to explore interests, express identity, or catalog experiences. “Visitors can use materials from the artists to make their own zine and also check out a pop-up reading room with books and zines that reflect the themes present in the exhibition, which is in alignment with the rich history of self-publication across LGBTQIA+ communities,” explained Clare Finin, InLiquid’s program director.

 

This exhibition is part of the citywide project (re)FOCUS, a collaboration among more than 25 of Philadelphia’s visual arts organizations to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of FOCUS, a milestone exhibition of American women artists that took place in Philadelphia in 1974. In revisiting FOCUS, (re)FOCUS includes a new generation of diverse artists working around themes of gender, sexuality, and identity.

beLONGING is on-view January 5 to February 24, 2024, and the public is invited to attend the opening reception on Thursday, January 11 from 6 to 9 p.m. Gallery hours are Wednesday through Saturday from noon to 6 p.m. To learn more, please visit https://www.inliquid.org.

About InLiquid

InLiquid is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1999 and committed to connecting artists and audiences in the Philadelphia region. InLiquid fosters the artistic practices of hundreds of visual artists each year. InLiquid makes the work of our region’s artists accessible to all, providing free contemporary art programming in their gallery space in the Crane Arts building in South Kensington, satellite spaces throughout greater Philadelphia, and on InLiquid.org. Increasingly, InLiquid connects communities by creating opportunities to use art as a catalyst for civic engagement and for calls to social change.

 

To post a comment, you must register and login.