Despite a common assumption that art is a solitary pursuit, undertaken by single-minded visionaries, the art world maintains a privileged spot for artists who work cooperatively and relationally. Many artists work in cooperative groups such as the Guerilla Girls who took on social issues through like-minded activism, while others like Francis Alÿs collaborate with the environment itself, allowing his terrain and architecture to shape his artistic path. Others still, like the late Felix Gonzales Torres, create relational art that is only finally completed by the actions of the viewer and participant. In light of the upcoming presidential election, and in the shadow of the Republican National Convention, the 4 artists in this current exhibition cycle at Saint Kate-Nick Lamia, Colin Matthes, Sara Sowell, and Seth Ter Haar-will collaborate with each other to create their respective exhibitions as a symbolic gesture of social cooperation.
About Nick Lamia
Nick Lamia is an award-winning artist whose work includes drawing, painting, printmaking, installation, and sculpture. Despite its non-objective appearance, all of his artwork is based on real, lived experience--often involving outdoor adventures in the mountains and on the ocean. His artworks are metaphoric representations of the overlap of the natural world with the constructed world of man. He is the recipient of a Guggenheim fellowship as well as residencies at Wave Hill, The MacDowell Colony, the Robert Blackburn Print Workshop, and the Triangle Artists Association. 500 of his small-scale drawings were included in the inaugural Bronx Museum Biennial in 2011. Recent solo exhibitions include “Cloud Architecture” at Planthouse Gallery in NewYork and “The Tailwaters Project,” at the AVA Gallery in New Hampshire where proceeds went to supporting the Greater Upper Valley chapter ofTrout Unlimited and their ongoing effort to protect and restore coldwater fisheries and watersheds.
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