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2022 Post Grad Residency Exhibition December 17 – January 21, 2022

Reception & Gallery Talk: Friday, January 13, 2023, 6 – 8 pm

The Torpedo Factory Art Center presents the culminating exhibition for the 2022 Post-Graduate Residency co-hort: Kamille Jackson, Mrinal Joshi, Julia O’Bryan, and Kiel Posner on view in Target Gallery.

This residency provides a unique experience at a critical juncture in an emerging artist’s career after they graduate their BFA or MFA program, allowing them unlimited studio access and the ability to engage with the community outside of academic context. The work on view in this exhibition will spotlight the work and creative endeavors these four residents created during their three-month residency in studio #319.

Kamille Jackson

July – September

Kamille is an interdisciplinary artist from Alexandria, Virginia. She uses paint, graphite, and digital media to create imagery with symbols that point towards the mystic. This process aids her in meditation on spirituality, blackness, queerness, and class. She received an MFA from George Washington University’s Corcoran School of the Arts and Design and a BFA from Virginia Commonwealth University. She recently shared a visiting artist lecture with graduate students at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design. She also received the Outstanding MFA Award as a participant in the Next exhibition. She has exhibited work at Target Gallery, Anderson Gallery, Bronx Art Space, Gallery 102, Gallery 5, the Garden, Studio 23, Richmond Library, and the Refinery Creator Space.

"I make work that prioritizes the history of symbols rooted in or connected to mysticism. These symbols are embedded into a personal iconography made from paint, graphite, and digital media. My practice allows me to reflect on the ways spirituality, blackness, queerness, and class intersect. When I was a teenager, I attended exhibitions featuring the work of local artist, Renee Stout. Although some of her work was sculptural or more conceptual in nature, I was drawn to the elements in her work that referenced natural remedies, such as tinctures and potions. To this day, I research work in all disciplines that speak to a type of potent albeit unseen power.

A deciding factor for the work to remain in an abstract space, hinting at surrealism, came from bell hooks’ notion that abstraction provided “a decolonization of the mind” for black and otherwise marginalized folks. This would point me towards a direction that allowed for freedom of investigation of materials, shapes, color, process, and symbol. This abstract approach veered me away from a chiefly figurative or portrait-based form of black representation. In Adrian Piper’s words, abstraction afforded me ascension from “the socially prescribed.” It offered me the opportunity to provide a framework for my practice that felt more organic, imaginative, and healing in nature. Although the work stems from a false objectivity, it is ultimately a form of worldbuilding. In my imagery, I am often aiming to document a space that swings between remnants of wanting to perform a BIPOC visual excellence through technical rendering proficiency or craft perfectionism and conversely wanting to perform a BIPOC visual excellence through a “primal” abstract expressionism. One end of the spectrum relieves me from a sense of alienation, and the other embraces the freedom within it. I hope in the absence of representation of bodies, I make room for other forms of meaningful marks, my presence of spirit."

Whose Acceptance Have You Been After and for How Long?, 2022. Acrylic, graphite, and house paint on wood. POR

"This work features two central hourglasses floating in an abyss. It is a part of a series that more fully embraces symbols connected to spirituality, healing, and time as a finite resource. The cosmic or celestial color palate doubles as the bisexual lighting color palate with pinks, purples, and blues. These colors speak to the specificity of one’s identity and the vastness of the cosmos: reflecting one’s smallness and interconnectedness."

Gemini Moon, 2022. Acrylic, spray paint, house paint, graphite on wood. $280

"Gemini Moon features two crescent moons back-to-back. It highlights a deliberation on astrology, mirroring, and the ability to hold two things as true at once."

Untitled (Grids), 2019. Acrylic and primer on wood. $375

Untitled (grids) explores grid construction with white outlines and hazes of blue and yellow. It serves as a deliberation on the history and iconography of grids, found in imagery ranging from op art to ska album covers. The grid has become a symbol for both conformity and unconventionality. I am obsessed with how the conformity linked to grids, but branded as contemporary, unconventional, and modern can be made synonymous with the dangers of civility in my work."

Healing Star (study), 2022. Acrylic, graphite, and house paint on wood. $250

Healing Star (study) is a study for Healing Star, which features an eight-pointed star with two ellipses that form a heart behind it. The eight-pointed star references the star of the same formation that appears on the Star card in the tarot. This piece symbolizes an alignment with a guiding inner light. The star is pushed forward and receives a different type of paint application. The star remains a recurring mystical symbol because of its connection to the seemingly unreal and real."

Triangle Painting, 2020. Acrylic, graphite, and house paint on wood. $425

Triangle Painting features a checkered pattern, curved marks, and a cosmic color palette. This piece serves as a decidedly abstract exploration into queerness. I paint on an irregular surface shape, a triangle, to queer the painting surface. I utilize a bisexual lighting color palette that also doubles as a cosmic color palette. The grid motif pops up as a symbol in unconventional or countercultural spaces, despite its predictability in appearance or form and roots in modernity. The checkered grid is paradoxical in nature, just as queerness is. Despite queerness’ tendency towards expansiveness, it continually seeks to categorize, demarcate, and name itself."

Drawing Table, 2021. House paint, spray paint, primer, graphite on wooden table. NFS

Drawing Table blends abstraction with installation. It features a disassemble ddrawing table given to me by a queer mentor and former boss. It slowly fell apart, and I thought I could transform it into a work of art. Disassembling it after its natural deterioration and spreading out its parts symbolized my slow process of deconstructing my own practice and decentering drawing in a traditional sense—let alone its pointers to a certain institutionalized pedigree. I made the surface of the drawing table unusable by painting and drawing on it with motifs I would normally employ on a piece of paper: a grid, a curve, a gradient."

Black Radiant Son, Black Radiant Sun V2, 2022. Acrylic, graphite, and house paint on wood. $675

SOLD

Black Radiant Son, Black Radiant Sun V2 features a bright orange sun with pops of neon pink, blue, and purple with a background that fades into black. This piece serves as a deliberation on the connotations of the terms: sun and son. Both terms connect to vitality, masculinity, and chronology. I have an older brother and at the origin of this piece considered more heavily the societal dangers and familial expectations he and other black sons face. Blackness as a quality tends to obscure, yet it attracts and illuminates through its obscurity."

Healing Star, 2022. Acrylic, graphite, and house paint on wood. POR

"Healing Star features an eight-pointed star with two ellipses that form a heart behind it. The eight-pointed star references the star of the same formation that appears on the Star card in the tarot. This piece symbolizes an alignment with a guiding inner light. The star is pushed forward and receives a different type of paint application. The star remains a recurring mystical symbol because of its connection to the seemingly unreal and real."

Kiel Posner

October – December

Kiel Posner is a queer Jewish ceramicist currently living in Bethesda, Maryland. Their work investigates the legacy of the button factory their great grandfather worked his way up to owning after immigrating to NYC, from Eastern Europe, in 1912. 109 years later, after producing for Macy’s and Disney, what’s left of the now defunct factory are some ceramic decals and a dusty kiln. Kiel received their BFA in Craft and Materials Studies in 2020 from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA. While in Richmond they were awarded a Fellowship from the Virginia Museum of Fine arts and rented space at Shockoe Bottom Clay. Since relocating to the DMV, they have started teaching ceramics classes at Vis Arts Rockville and The District Clay Center.

"'Schlemiel' and 'schlimazel' are Yiddish terms that refer to a person who spills their coffee (schlemiel) and the person who gets spilled on (schlimazel) (spoiler everyone is one-I think I’m both). My latest body of work explores the role of humor in creating positive change in individuals and larger systems. I was inspired by the self-deprecating humor that emerged in the stand-up comedy scene of the "Borscht Belt" in the 1930s and 1960s. I use light-based porcelain installations and photo collages of insurance claims, addictions, and trash/litter to create a safe space for me to process (and laugh through) feelings of shame and failure."

Brenna’s Pills, 2022. Ceramic photo decals on porcelain, brass, light kit. POR

"A photo collage of my brother and sister sorting through her antidepressants. While sorting, my brother couldn't believe how many bottles there were. They were both amused when they realized there was a medication that they were both taking."

Abandoned Balloon, 2022. Ceramic photo decals on porcelain, brass, light kit. 2022. POR

"This is iPhone photo of a Mylar pug balloon that I saw stuffed under a car in a parking garage."

Geico Deductible, 2022. Ceramic photo decals on porcelain, brass, light kit. POR

"This is a photo collage of my past car insurance claim images. It looks like a lot, but there are only two claims!"

Camera Roll, Ceramic photo decals on porcelain, brass, light kit. POR

"An array of iPhone photography including, from top to bottom, a blurry picture of me and an attempted picture of the inside of my mouth."

Julia O’Bryan

April – June

Julia O'Bryan is a graduate of Southwestern University in Georgetown, TX. Her work stems from her childhood growing up in southwest Missouri as well as from her struggle with an aggressive auto-immune disease. Her work is an accumulation of her experiences; from her childhood, from her struggle with an aggressive auto-immune disease, all of the things that have made her who she is. Based on the destroying and scarring found throughout her lungs and body from her struggle with her autoimmune disease, the coral reflects the beauty that can be seen through decay. The wide range of color throughout the coral on her work is meant to reflect the passage of time through the “bleaching” effect it creates. Gold accents throughout the work is meant to draw attention to the beauty in the human body over time and the beauty through brokenness that can occur throughout life.

"Art can be a grounding force to those that appreciate its intricacies. It has a way of transcending time. It can bring joy, sorrow, and beauty even to the untrained eye. My work is inspired by my struggle with an autoimmune disease that has greatly altered my view on time, and what I fill my time, heart, and mind with. Much like the coral, I use as a metaphor to represent the destruction throughout my lungs, as it is slowly being choked by the toxins around it as it continues to fight for survival in its environment, I am trying to survive when the odds are stacked against me. I hope my work gives the sense of a beautiful life well lived. I hope my work will give joy, hope, and support to others in a similar position."

The Heart That’s Beating, 2022. Porcelain, wood, gold leaf. $680

Small Coral Bullet, 2022. Porcelain. $78

Coral Twist, 2022. Hand built porcelain sculpture. $260

Coral Bud Pods, 2022. Porcelain. $65 each

SOLD

Small Coral Vase, 2022. Porcelain. $112

Coral Vase, 2022. Porcelain. $312

Coral Bud Vase, 2022. Porcelain. $78

Coral Jar, 2022. Porcelain. $416

Small Coral Bowl, 2022. Porcelain. $260

Coral Brick, 2022. Porcelain. $364

Shelf Coral Bowl, 2022. Porcelain. $468

Coral Jar, 2022. Porcelain. $320

Coral Vase, 2022. Porcelain. SOLD

Coral Sculpture, 2022. Porcelain. $156

Bronchioles, 2022. Porcelain and gold leaf. $364

Large Coral Bowl, 2022. Porcelain. $768

Mrinal Joshi

January – March

Mrinal Joshi is an artist and graphic designer based in Washington, DC. Born in Kathmandu, Nepal, he emigrated to the U.S. at the age of 14. Mrinal’s artistic practice lies at the intersections of his lifelong fascination with culture and the collective consciousness.

The lighthearted synthesis and juxtaposition of classical western art and contemporary visual culture seen in his work become a vehicle to explore the temporal nature of existence with the digital era as the backdrop. His approach to and philosophy on artmaking is a meditation on mortality and change.

Mrinal holds two degrees in Studio Art and Graphic Design from Spring Hill College (2018). He has participated in several juried exhibitions throughout the country. Mrinal is currently a graphic designer with the in-house creative team at the Nature Conservancy. In his free time, he can be found reading, cooking, going to museums, hanging out or simply vibing.

"My artistic practice is a marriage of classical art and contemporary culture, the old and the new, the timeless and the transient. It is an exploration of time and space as I synthesize art history with contemporary visual culture to question where my generation fits in the collective psyche and the human experience. I have instilled in my work a sense of longing for the past and a desire to preserve the present while understanding that nothing lasts forever. The glaring appropriation creates a sense of familiarity and invokes times gone by while being veiled with lightheartedness. Underneath, however, is a ground to ponder the ephemerality of beauty, power, fame, glamour, and youth, and a sense of isolation and alienation."

Losing Game, 2022. Oil on panel. NFS

Two of Cups in Reverse, 2022. Oil on canvas. NFS

Outside Looking In, 2022. Oil on canvas. NFS

"These still life paintings take cues from the Dutch still life tradition of vanitas and synthesize that with our new-found interest in new age spirituality (as seen with astrology memes and tarot cards). They evoke metaphorical scenes of isolation, melancholy, and imbalances in romance while also framing personal symbols and narratives."

Where do we come from, what are we, where are we going, 2022. Oil on canvas. $777

AlieNation, 2022. Oil on canvas. $555

Take Me Home, 2022. Oil on canvas. $444

I want to Believe, 2022. Oil on canvas. $555

Self Portrait, 2022. Oil on dibond. $222

Legal Alien, 2022. Oil on dibond. $333

"These paintings reference the same alien balloon in various states of alienation and disassociation, and perhaps contemplation. Subsequently, they become a symbol of ourselves as we carry a sense of emptiness and as we float by, in the age of the social."

Abyss, 2022. Oil on dibond. NFS

3am Thoughts, 2022. Oil on canvas. $777

Nothing Beside Remains, 2022. Oil on canvas. NFS

Ariadne, 2022. Film photo. $333

Which Will, 2022. Film photo. $444

"Tinged with melodrama, these works are essentially contemplative scenes of excavations from water. Water is a symbol of the unconscious (in Jungian theory and many cultures around the world) harboring memories, traumas and childhood wounds, awaiting triggers for reemergence. Informed by personal experiences, these works are my attempt at confronting the human condition, through art, in a more direct way."

ABOUT TARGET GALLERY

Target Gallery is the contemporary exhibition space of Torpedo Factory Art Center, managed by the City of Alexandria's Office of the Arts, a division of the Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities.

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