(AWS in Review) BIO TECH: A Group Exhibition at The Hole in NYC’s Bowery

AWSWatch

9 Jan

Words by Emma Grayson

Exhibition, BIO TECH
Sculpture by Audrey Large
Photograph taken by Emma Grayson

BIO TECH: The exhibition Anne Vieux, Audrey Large, And Vickie Vainionpää is the “embodiment of a gorgeous and seductive virtual world” hosted by NYC’s Hole Gallery. Exhibiting from October 14 - November 14, this three-woman show brought together sculpture, painting and video seamlessly. From the tiny, precise ridges in Large’s 3D-printed forms, Vainionpää’s digitally-informed, delicate oils to Vieux’s captivating, abstract paintings and video work, each piece fits together to weave a story of contemporary, technologically-advanced history as it is being written.

Exhibition description, BIOTECH
Photograph taken by Emma Grayson

Curated by the Owner of The Hole, Kathy Grayson, the exhibition brings together artists from all over the world. Vieux hails from New York City, Large is based in The Netherlands, and Vainionpää works from Canada. Despite these geographical differences, the general sense of cohesion flows from artist-to-artist and from artwork-to-artwork effortlessly.

Painting by Anne Vieux
Photograph taken by Emma Grayson

Walking through the back gallery where the works are being shown, one couldn’t help but think how perfect of a space to feature these artists. New York’s Bowery has the reputation for being a melting pot of cultures, art, and experiences in the Lower East Side. For up-and-coming artists, there is nowhere more suitable. Being in this place, established only recently by a gutsy young woman, and while surrounded by this new art, is undeniably special. It puts you right in the middle of considering how one might reconcile the juxtaposition between traditional and digital practices.

Painting by Vickie Vainionpää
(Source: Vickie Vainionpää, The Hole - Contemporary Art Gallery (NYC)

For example, what is it about Vainionpää’s canvases that awes us, specifically because these practices are coming together so subtly? It draws into question the viewer’s role, as art nearly always does. These cycles of disruption in the art world rely heavily on public reaction, and digital art is beginning to capture that. Arguably, the digitization of life itself has become the most influential cataclysm for the history of art.

With the rise of NFT’s, the future is undoubtedly getting more difficult to decipher. Art needs to remain analog on some level, however, as we make the transition to accepting these hybrid works of art and each of these artists recognize that. In this moment, BIO TECH is encouraging us to discover what it is that we can learn to accept across a multitude of practices. Imagine telling someone fifty years ago that an artist would be able to create a 2D image online and then print it - yes, print it - into a 3D sculpture. Imagine telling them that art galleries would be dotted with screens displaying fluid, indecipherable forms and everyone would love it. Imagine telling them about abstract oil paintings first brought to life on a tablet. You would probably have to start off by explaining what a tablet is...

Painting by Anne Vieux (back)
Sculpture by Audrey Large
Photograph taken by Emma Grayson

Now, imagine telling these people that the artists were all women. Whilst the majority of female artists are marginalised in the traditional, and even digital, art world, technology opens up an entirely new market for women to create and to experiment. Prime examples include notable women like Krista Kim, Alycia Rainaud, even Allie Harvard - all of whom are quickly making a name for themselves in the digital art world. AWS Gallery is excited to see how this new period in the history of art will unfold.