ON GUARD 2018 Chicago

On Guard Chicago

Exhibition Dates: 11.02.18 - 12.02.18
Opening Reception: Friday, November 2, 2018

Matthew Rachman is located at 1659 W. Chicago Avenue, Chicago, Illinois.

Gallery Hours are Tuesday – Sunday 11-6 pm.

For information contact 773.245.3182 or info@matthewrachman.com

On Guard was inspired by “Life Doesn’t Frighten Me,” a book that combines a poem by renowned author and activist Maya Angelou with illustrations by artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. Angelou’s simple and empowering sentences, accompanied by the visually strong images of Basquiat’s works, deliver the overall message that life’s fears can be dispelled through the power of faith in ourselves.

On Guard is meant to be a reminder of the courage within all of us and to empower viewers to fight for their rights on both personal and collective levels.

The exhibition brings together a group of contemporary artists exploring the sport of boxing in relation to the nature of life that always keeps us on our feet and on guard. Boxing is a performance business and, in this sense, it easily translates to an exhibition. The sport once represented masculine destructivity, but nowadays it is one of femme empowerment and self-defense.

While On Guard centers on female-identifying artists, the multifaceted components of their identities and practice are to be present in the exhibition as well. With a multi-sensory experience that features multidisciplinary works, the show examines not only courage and fears, strength and vulnerability, but also notions of gender equality, safety and violence, as well as the sport’s poetic contradictions, all through traditional and non-traditional depictions of boxing-related imagery.

On Guard artists: Katya Bankowsky with Maya Angelou, and Katya Bankowsky with Michele Lamy, French fashion icon, designer and creator of Lamyland, Zoë Buckman, Megan Euker, Kasia Kay, Cheryl Pope, and Marcela Torres.

Kasia Kay Art Projects presents curatorial projects and pop-up shows in collaboration with art and cultural partners while exposing both local and international artists at various stages of their careers.  Founder and curator Kasia Kay was a highly respected gallerist and art dealer prior to focusing on curatorial projects. She has worked with an international clientele and participated in renowned international art fairs since 2006. Interested in eliminating a conventional experience from the gallery space, she has curated and produced exhibition projects and site-specific installations at venues in Chicago, Miami and New York.

For information or images visit www.kasiakayartprojects.co or contact Kasia Kay at 312-543-6783.

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Monday March, 4th, 6PM

SOHO HOUSE

113-125 N Green St, Chicago, IL 60607

Join curator Kasia Kay and artist Katya Bankowsky for a viewing and conversation about the multidisciplinary exhibition “On Guard” a project that features sport, poetry, fashion, and film. View scenes from Bankowsky’s three films”: “Shadow Boxers” that focuses on the fighter Lucia Rijker, “Battle Royale” staring Michele Lamy and Bankowsky herself, and “Amazement Awaits” with Maya Angelou.  A conversation about the power and inspiration when collaboration of different mediums take place will follow the screenings. The event is open to all SOHO HOUSE Film Club Members.

PRESS

2018 | Crain’s Chicago Business, Best Art Exhibits at Local Galleries This Winter
2018 | Scarpi Magazine, Scapi DIY Theater and Performance: December 2018