𝘐𝘯 𝘎𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘊𝘰𝘮...

𝘐𝘯 𝘎𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘺 Matthew Cronin, Carlos Franco, Wieteke Heldens, Alexandro Silver, Anika Todd, Catalina Tuca, Joseph Wilcox, Huidi Xiang, and Alisa Yang November 11 - December 18, 2022

Lydian Stater, Queens, NY

A little over a year ago, we started this curatorial project using Anthony Huberman’s 𝘛𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘦 essay as our point of departure. In it, he calls on contemporary alternative spaces to strive towards maladjustment:

“𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘥𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥: 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘥𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘣𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦, 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘦. 𝘐𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱 𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘷𝘶𝘭𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦.”

Our main goal was to explore the use potential of NFTs for emerging contemporary artists creating challenging and thoughtful work. Since then, we have hosted seven exhibitions, helped over twenty-five artists make their first NFTs, produced thirty podcast episodes, and built a community of maladjusted individuals. We’ve worked to implement sustainable models that honor individual’s labor including a 60/40 sales split, compensation for guest curators, and appropriate production budgets. But we are looking for something more maladjusted than that.

The artists presented in this exhibition represent the first group that will take part in our "Collector Pass" initiative, an annual pass issued in the form of an NFT that guarantees ownership of exclusive physical and digital artworks from every participating artist for the year, in addition to other community benefits. The proceeds from this initiative will help to secure artist funding up front and maintain gallery operations, while strengthening a collective spirit. Please join us.

Matthew Cronin lives and works in New York’s Lower East Side. He holds an MFA in Studio Art from University of Texas at Austin as well as a BFA in Photography from Massachusetts College of Art and Design. Cronin reimagines pre-existing images in order to explore the invisible functions of commercially produced photographs.

Carlos Franco is trying to make his existence as anonymous as possible.

Wieteke Heldens graduated from the Royal Academy of Art, The Hague and has alternately lived and worked in The Hague and New York since 2010. Painting is her primary medium, though in practice, she is a conceptual artist. She uses abstract visual forms and processes to explore systems of meaning and states of mattering.

Alexandro Silver is a multidisciplinary Dominican American artist, curator, and facilitator. His work focuses on emergence, entropy, and finding joy in the impossibility of trying to impose order onto nature.

Anika Todd received her BFA from Massachusetts College of Art and Design, and her MFA from The University of Texas at Austin. Todd is a sculptor/media artist investigating landscape and ownership; Todd’s work functions through acts of trespass — simultaneously enacting and challenging systems that oppress, compartmentalize, and own in order to control.

Catalina Tuca is a multidisciplinary Visual Artist, educator and independent curator, born and raised in Santiago, Chile. After earning a BFA and a degree in Art Education, she developed her career in Santiago, showing her work in solo and group exhibitions since 2004.

Joseph Wilcox adopts the roles of image gatherer, entrepreneur, documentarian, object-maker, and organizer to explore how institutional control, political systems, and social power structures undermine individual & collective autonomy.

Huidi Xiang is an artist and researcher currently based in Brooklyn, New York, USA. In her practice, Huidi makes sculptural objects, installations, and systems to examine the spatial and temporal effects of inhabiting both virtual and physical worlds in late capitalism.

Alisa Yang is an antidisciplinary artist and independent filmmaker with a research based practice exploring alternative ways art can be a currency for care. Centering the body as a site of geopolitical and social conditionings, she works across video, installation, and situational specific projects in orienting oneself towards social change.