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A Shrine to the Forgotten Alexander D’Agostino

ATTENTION: THIS EXHIBITION CONTAINS NUDITY AND ADULT CONTENT. VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

On View in Target Gallery

April 22 – July 15

Reception and Artist Talk: May 12, 7-10 PM & Special Performance: June 9

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION:

Through an Artist Research Fellowship at the Folger Shakespeare Library I am reimagining the magic and rituals outlined in an 16th Century Book of Magic, Manuscript Vb.26, The Book of Magic with instructions for invoking spirtis,etc, while considering needs and beliefs of LGBTQ people today. Magic and LGBTQ activism both employ imagination and action to bring about change and attention to the unseen and invisible. LGBTQ people have always used secret-codes and magic to survive and exist.

To this day there are 14 pages missing from Manuscript Vb.26. I am curious about where those pages are and why they were missing. In this exhibition, I imagine them found in a box that may have been stored in the Torpedo Factory when it was being used as a storage facility for the FBI and Smithsonian Institute before it was turned into an artist space. The missing pages are presented as torn fragments of pages, scattered throughout the exhibition.

This site-specific installation in the Target Gallery consists of large textile prints, artist books and sculptural works that explore hidden and erased stories, witch-hunts, book-bans and don’t say gay bills. Images from Manuscript Vb.26 and my own ritual practice are collaged with images sourced from the National Archives of the Torpedo Factory when it was used as a Federal Records Center shortly after WW2, along with witch hunting documents and an archive of vintage gay pornography that was discovered by a neighbor in a box of an old antique shop in Baltimore.

This body of work is created using light and shadow to present works that explore hidden often erased stories. The prints on textiles, which I call Queer Shrouds, are made using cyanotype chemicals and solar fast dyes. I store them Leather books called Queer Shroud Grimoires, and install them on walls in grids called Queer Shroud Grids. The chlorophyll prints (prints on leaves) use sunlight, shadow, and the chlorophyll in the plant to print images on the surface of the leaves. The large textiles, dried lavender, and other organic materials create a shrine-like environment to hold people in the space. Small intimate objects allow people a quieter sense of discovery and storytelling. The Smaller books, are used for bibliomancy, a form of divination that involves randomly selecting a page from a book to extract meaning and guidance. I encourage people to lead with emotional curiosity when viewing this exhibition, because I truly believe that connection to our own feelings and senses is crucial in understanding the collective needs of others.

In this current moment, a moral panic where misinformation and fear of the other informs a grotesque and divisive political landscape, it is important know that LGBTQ+ people are omnipresent throughout history and will always exist. This show proudly celebrates magic, queerness and the power of the hidden and mysterious. A Shrine to the Forgotten is a spell of remembrance.

This exhibition contains material sourced from the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington DC, The Torpedo Factory Art Center’s National Archives, and a performance with Siren Arts and Transformer DC in Ashbury Park, New Jersey.

About the Artist

Alexander D’Agostino is an interdisciplinary artist and teacher based in Baltimore, Maryland. He graduated from the Maryland Institute College of Art in 2009 with a BFA in painting. He investigates the queer and otherworldly through dance, ritual, teaching, and visual art. His work has been presented at Vox Populi in Philadelphia, VisArts in Rockvillle, Maryland, the Center of Contemporary Art of Afghanistan in Kabul, the Baltimore Museum of Art, Chashama’s summer performance series in Manhattan, Itinerant Performance Art Festival at the Queens Museum, the Walter’s Art Museum, Transformer DC, the Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington Spring 2022 Solo Exhibitions, and most recently Siren Arts Summer Performance Series. He is currently an Artist Research Fellow at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC.

Fairy King Spell to Win the Battle Against Witch Hunting, Solarfast dye on cotton, 2023. $2,500

Queer Shroud Grimoires, Cyanotype and solarfast dye on cotton, archival paper, leather, 2022. $10,000 Each

Forgotten Triptych 1: Shroud 1: Words that Harm, Solarfast dye on cotton, 2023. $2,500

Forgotten Triptych 1: Shroud 2: You Keep Quiet, Solarfast dye on cotton, 2023. $2,500

Forgotten Triptych 1: Shroud 3: Cruising Zone, Solarfast dye on cotton, 2023. $2,500

Queer Shroud Grimoires, Cyanotype and solarfast dye on cotton, archival paper, leather, 2022. $10,000 Each

Leaves: Spells from Manuscript VB26, Chlorophyll print on leaves, 2022. $300 (8x10 Frame with 2 Leaves)

Books for Divination: Small Books to Read Fortunes With, Mixed media book: cyanotype and solarfast dye on archival paper and cotton, magnetic clasp, 2023. $650 (Small)

Books for Divination: Small Books to Read Fortunes With, Mixed media book: cyanotype and solarfast dye on archival paper and cotton, magnetic clasp, 2023. $750 (Medium)

Full Moon, Solarfast dye on cotton, 2023. $2,000

Leaves: Spells from Manuscript VB26, Chlorophyll print on leaves, 2022. $150 (5x7 Frames)

2 of 6 SOLD

The Fairy King’s Grimoire, Unbound book: solar fast dye on archival paper, concentrated under the full moon, 2022. $12,000

Queer Shroud Grid: The Torpedo Factory, Cyanotype and solarfast dye on cotton, 2023. $120 Each

4 of 84 SOLD

Glory Hole, Solarfast dye on cotton, 2023. $2,000

Leaves: Spells from Manuscript VB26, Chlorophyll print on leaves, 2022. $200 (8x10 Frame with 1 Leaf)

Books for Divination: Small Books to Read Fortunes With, Mixed media book: cyanotype and solarfast dye on archival paper and cotton, magnetic clasp, 2023. $650 (Small)

Books for Divination: Small Books to Read Fortunes With, Mixed media book: cyanotype and solarfast dye on archival paper and cotton, magnetic clasp, 2023. $750 (Medium)

Forgotten Triptych 2: Shroud 1: Witch Hunting Words, Solarfast dye on cotton, 2023. $2,500

Forgotten Triptych 2: Shroud 2: Muzzle Mouth, Solarfast dye on cotton, 2023. $2,500

Forgotten Triptych 2: Shroud 3: Weapon Factory, Solarfast dye on cotton, 2023. $2,500

Fairy King Spell to Keep Quiet and Sacred that Which is None of Your Business, Solarfast dye on cotton, 2023. $2,500

Queer Shroud Grimoires, Cyanotype and solarfast dye on cotton, archival paper, leather, 2022. $10,000 Each

Leaves: Spells from Manuscript VB26, Chlorophyll print on leaves, 2022. $150 (5x7 Frames)

More from Alexander

Exhibition photos by Catie Leonard

Select artwork photos courtesy of the artist

ABOUT THE JURORS

Hoesy Corona is an uncategorized queer Latinx artist of Mexican descent living and working in the United States. He creates work across a variety of media spanning installation, performance, and video. He develops otherworldly narratives centering marginalized individuals in society by exploring a process-based practice that investigates what it means to be a queer Latinx immigrant in a place where there are few. He choreographs large scale performances and installations that oftentimes silently confront and delight viewers with some of the most pressing issues of our time. Reoccurring themes of queerness, race/class/gender, nature, isolation, celebration, and the climate crisis are present throughout his work. Hoesy has exhibited widely in galleries, museums, and public spaces in the United States and abroad.

Hoesy lived in Mexico, Utah, and Wisconsin, before moving to Baltimore, MD in 2005 to establish a professional practice in the arts. He is a recent GKFF Artist Fellow 2019 & 2020 in Tulsa, OK. And is a former Halcyon Arts Lab Fellow 2017-2018 in Washington, DC. He is a current Nicholson Project Artist in Residence in SouthEast DC and is a resident artist at The Creative Alliance in Baltimore, MD where he lives and works.

"The jurors unanimously selected to celebrate Alexander D’Agostino’s A Shrine to the Forgotten for Target Gallery’s 2023 Solo Exhibition. The artist’s clear vision for the exhibition proposal is supported by sophisticated visuals that bring attention to seldom told queer histories. Alexander D’Agostino is digging deep in the archives to create compelling artworks that make direct connections between anti-queer historical movements to the present-day weaponization, defamation, and politicization of queer and trans identities in the U.S. As seen through the implementation of draconian policies that police, suppress, and stir disdain for the livelihoods of LGBTQIA+ people. Using bookmaking as a metaphor for the construction of history D’Agostino utilizes exciting and innovative solar print collages to create haunting images layered with texts that disrupt our complacency in the dehumanization of our fellow gender-non-conforming Americans."

- Hoesy Corona

Laila Abdul-Hadi Jadallah is a seasoned arts administrator, writer and exhibition producer, and curator with more than 15 years of experience. She is the Director of Programs at the Qatar America Institute for Culture (QAIC), where she oversees the overall strategic and executive direction of QAIC programs and exhibitions. Prior to joining QAIC, she was the inaugural Managing Director of Washington Studio School and has previously held senior-level positions at the Fabric Workshop and Museum, Art Fraud Insights, and International Arts and Artists, where she worked with numerous arts and cultural partners to lead communications, program development and manage more than 20 major exhibitions. As an independent art consultant and arts writer, she has worked with numerous organizations, partners, and artists to produce or curate exhibitions and programs.

Past projects include curating Art In Isolation: Creativity In the Time of Covid-19 (Middle East Institute, 2020/2021) and Through Their Eyes: Moments Photographed by Syrian Children (US Fund for UNICEF, 2017), and producing Tania El-Khoury’s Gardens Speak (Middle East Institute/National Building Museum, 2016). As a researcher, Jadallah is interested in cultural diplomacy; the alternative histories and contributions of diaspora communities from the Middle East and North Africa to the art historical canon; and the new visual languages introduced by contemporary MENA artists’. Her most recent projects include curating More Than Your Eyes Can See: Contemporary Photography from the Arab World an exhibition organized in partnership with Tribe Magazine at the Middle East Institute.

She has presented about her work, the role of arts in education, and as a tool for social change and cultural diplomacy at programs organized by Montgomery College, The Middle East Institute, ArtTable, Inc., Hillyer Art Space, and the College Arts Association Annual Meeting. She recently served on the Executive Committee of the Washington, D.C.-region chapter of ArtTable, Inc. and co-chaired State of Art5/DC: A Conversation at the Smithsonian American Art Museum (2019). Jadallah is a member of ArtTable Inc., Arts Administrators of Color, the Brokering Intercultural Exchange Group, and Museum HUE. She was in the inaugural cohort at Georgetown’s Laboratory for Global Performance and Politics’ Student Fellows program (2020/2021) and a 2017 and 2019 D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities Artist Fellow.

Claudia Watts has been a lover and patron of the arts since childhood. In 2016, Claudia assumed the role of strategic planning and partnerships at the Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum (ACM). In this role, she co-authored the museum’s case for revitalization with the former director Lori D. Yarrish. Claudia also worked with community organizations, educational institutions, and artists to create programs that supported museum initiatives. She collaborated with ESPN’s The Undefeated to produce an All-Star 2018 pop-up exhibition and developed a community documentation program for teens that received funding from Coca-Cola. She also commissioned artist, Adrienne Gaither, to create a mural inspired by ACM’s collection for the newly renovated community lounge. In December of 2020 Claudia accepted a new position as the Director of Culture at Eaton Hotel.In addition to her work in the arts, she served as the Managing Editor of the Washington Informer’s Bridge Magazine, an arts and culture-focused publication, from 2018 – 2020. Claudia continues to freelance as an arts writer and curatorial consultant.

Claudia received her B.B.A. with a concentration in marketing from the Howard University School of Business in 2010 and her M.S. in marketing from the University of Maryland Global Campus in 2019. She will attend American University as the Caroly Small Alper fellow in fall of 2022 while pursuing her M.A. in Art History.

"I was truly excited to see so many talented artists within D.C., Maryland, and Virginia submit applications for the 2023 Target Gallery solo exhibition. Each member of the selection committee brought unique perspectives and experiences to the table, invested deeply in the reviewal process, and advocated for the candidates we believed presented the strongest submissions. Throughout the juried process, I kept innovation in technique and material, cohesiveness of storytelling, and community impact at the forefront of my selections. These priorities, along with those of my fellow jurors, coalesced so beautifully, Alexander D’Agostino became the unanimous choice. Alexander’s reclamation of LGBTQ histories through myth-making merges research, performance, and handmade objects to create a much-needed conversation about surviving narratives of the unseen."

- Claudia Watts

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