David Antonio Cruz, “bybeingcarefulofthecompanyyoukeep” (detail, 2016) (courtesy the artist and Project For Empty Space @ Gateway Project Spaces)
BRIC, a nonprofit arts and media organization located in Downtown Brooklyn, is gearing up for a busy summer full of innovative programming. BRIC will present Look up here, I’m in heaven, a group exhibition of four artists highlighting the use of unconventional portraiture to question how identity is constructed. The exhibition opens with a free reception on Wednesday, June 29, from 7 to 9 pm and features paintings, works on paper, and mixed-media work by David Antonio Cruz, Yashua Klos, Tschabalala Self, and Yoon Ji Seon. On view through August 14, the exhibition unravels the traditional understanding of portraiture as a singular representation of an individual.
While cultural and political realities are central elements of the work on view, the artists in Look up here, I’m in heaven create imagery that aims to transcend the here and now to establish a more transcendent sense of self. In exploring issues of race and representation, the figures portrayed in the work by these artists also seem to be bound up in gazing upon or imagining a different reality.
A number of public programs will accompany the exhibition, including evenings dedicated to performance art, dance, and music; a panel discussion with the artists; and our third annual Summer Art Social open house event. To see a full calendar of events, click here.
BRIC is located at 647 Fulton Street in Downtown Brooklyn.
Gallery hours are Tuesday–Saturday, 10am–6pm; Sunday, 12–6pm; closed Mondays.
Admission is free.
To learn more about the exhibition, visit bricartsmedia.org/art-exhibitions/look-here-im-heaven.
