Michael Barton-Sweeney, Angela Conant, a/d Gayle, Whit Harris, Kim Hoeckele, Steve Keister, Jennifer Macdonald, Shari Mendelson, Jasmine Murrell, Deirdre Swords, and Gabriela Vainsencher
Organized by Elisa Soliven
Opening reception March 7th from 6-8pm
Press Release
Underdonk is pleased to present “Ancient Modern”, a group exhibition with artists: Michael Barton-Sweeney, Angela Conant, a/d Gayle, Whit Harris, Kim Hoeckele, Steve Keister, Jennifer Macdonald, Shari Mendelson, Jasmine Murrell, Deirdre Swords, and Gabriela Vainsencher, organized by Elisa Soliven. Please join us for the opening on March 7th from 6-8pm.
In the mid-90s, Steve Keister evolved the idea of an “ancient-modern” correlation, seeing the connection between his collection of styrofoam cartons and the inspiration that he gathered from sculptural relief forms of ancient Mesoamerican architecture. Through casting and mold-making techniques, his work embodies the correlation of flatness found in ancient art and modernist abstraction.
Whit Harris’s work features exaggerated depictions of the black femme body that go between cartoonish forms and naturalism. Bringing the DuBoisian philosophy of “double consciousness” as part of the dialogue of contemporary black identity, she portrays figures in natural settings that recapture the rites of the ancient Mysteries.
Angela Conant’s stone sculpture is hand-carved to evoke softness and flesh. The stone is penetrated by latex tubing that emerges out of an orifice on its wooden base. Her work refers to ancient stone sculpture as well as her experiences of the medicalization of childbirth and neurodivergence.
Gabriela Vainsencher's ceramic wall reliefs combine archaeological and anatomical motifs drawing inspiration from mythology, motherhood, and ancient vessels. In “Bodytime”, 2023, referencing the body’s biological time, the form of the hourglass is conflated with the body and the cervix.
Shari Mendelson transforms the everyday plastic bottle into delicate and inventive sculptures of people and animals from Cypriot, Egyptian, and Islamic traditions. In “Ram-Bearer”, 2023, Mendelson uses as a starting point the stone sculpture, “Limestone Ram-Bearer”, second quarter of 6th century BCE, depicting a worshiper carrying a ram for sacrifice.
Jasmine Murrell creates living sculptures using earth and repurposed materials that aim to inspire "radical imagination and healing". She explores alternate narratives such as traditional black medicine, celestial memory, and weaving.
Michael Barton-Sweeney uses a combination of electronics and 3D printing to make tableaus populated by coral-like forms, referencing biomorphic forms found in ancient art. Working with embedded computation, Barton-Sweeney programs his coral so that they respond as if in a fluid state. By changing the scale between structures and their functions, this work brings to the viewer’s eye the connection between computation and cognition.
Deirdre Swords pulls her gestures out of the clay. Her glazes build on the expressions of her hands and fingers. Moving around a totemic structure, the work manifests both continuity and newness in the trials of human expression. Engaging in both ancient and African art’s processes and values, Swords carries on the conversation with a meaningful response to present work that has a presence of spirit.
a/d Gayle uses the ceramic technique of marbling different colored clay bodies, first done in ancient times that then incorporates modules of colored clay into a design. Their wall work is made with dense layers that are part of a narrative in comic book format. In this series, the work follows the odyssey of Sam, a character who comes across a shadow through the transformation of life.
Kim Hoeckele’s work brings together art historical, fashion, and vernacular images to construct photographs using the male gaze to examine how power and gender reverberate today. In the photograph, “Society of Diana”, 2024, Hoeckele creates connections between the varied depictions of Diana found throughout time—from the Goddess Diana, Princess Diana, Diana Ross, and Wonder Woman.
Jennifer Macdonald works within figuration and archeological abstraction. Her sculptures suggest industrial forms, body armor, or architectural fragments with a timeless sensibility. Working with an improvisational process and the lost-wax method, she combines multiple textures to make otherworldly forms.
The artists in this exhibition connect with the past as much as the present. They portray a nuanced, multifaceted experience, channeling an ancient timelessness while also being profoundly contemporary. As a whole, the exhibition serves as a reminder that the history of art is as long as the history of recorded time, itself, and we would not have arrived at the present had the past not been laid by the countless artists who came before us.