BEYOND FACE VALUE

November 1 - December 1, 2024

Opening: Friday, November 1, 6 - 8 pm

Participating artists: Nicole Awai, Henry Chung, Nick Ghiz, Clara Nartey, Rigo (José Rigoberto Rodríguez Camacho), Elise Siegel, Kim Weston, and Daniel Wiener Curator: Lesley Heller

More than meets the eye in Beyond Face Value, a group exhibition of paintings, sculptures, photographs, works on paper, ceramics, textiles, and mixed-media works by eight contemporary artists that challenge traditional assumptions about portraiture. Moving beyond a surface reading, the works on view address themes surrounding belief systems, cultural heritage, and the current political climate along with the realms of fantasy, memory, inner turmoil, and self-expression. About the Artists: Nicole Awai’s mixed-media abstract works conjure up folklore from the artist’s native Trinidad surrounding a feared female witch called Soucouyant, who sheds her skin at night and turns into a fireball. Awai uses the Soucouyant’s transformation as a metaphor for the shaping and reshaping of resources (material and human) and culture throughout the history of the Americas. Henry Chung’s anonymous portraits formed from stacks of hand-punched paper explore the experience of memory. While registering at a distance, facial features become mere impressions close up thus alluding to the fracturing and fading of recollections through time. Nick Ghiz’s intricate, acrylic-on-wood paintings depict fantastical worlds in which faces serve as compositional elements rather than as centerpieces. While his choice of imagery reflects influences ranging from Northern Renaissance painting to personal photographs, his unconventional sense of scale and clever use of perspective defies direct interpretation. Clara Nartey’s digital-based, mixed-media paintings explore universal themes within the context of her Ghanaian roots and contemporary experiences. Highlighting the beauty and intricacy of Afro-textured hairstyles in her vibrant depictions of Black women, she explores seemingly contradictory themes including strength versus vulnerability. Rigo’s richly colored and textured paintings, punctuated by bold loose brushstrokes, bring raw emotion to the surface. Responding to restrictive government regulations as an artist working in Cuba, his portraits examine anxiety’s hold over the human condition. Elise Siegel’s ceramic busts embody familiar emotional states, particularly those moments of inner conflict, disquiet, ambivalence, and unease. Resembling objects including idols, reliquaries, masks, and puppets, her sculptures are animated by facial expressions that hint at underlying psychological complexities. Kim Weston’s large-scale photographs of dancers from various tribes taken at powwows held in New England delve into themes of heritage, cultural identity, and complex narratives surrounding the Black Indigenous experience that have shaped her personal history. Taking the viewer on a meditative journey, she utilizes long exposure to capture the essence of spirit in motion. Daniel Wiener’s highly expressive visages formed from Apoxie Sculpt evoke the artist’s emotional state of loss, shock, and panic over the rise of authoritarian nationalism in the current era. About the Curator: Lesley Heller established her first gallery, The Work Space, 30 years ago in Soho as a non-commercial, curatorial venue presenting thematic group exhibitions. After 10 years of programming, she moved to the Upper East Side and reopened as Lesley Heller Gallery presenting salon-style solo exhibitions. In 2010, she was among a handful of pioneering dealers who opened galleries on the Lower East Side. Combining her two past programs, she opened Lesley Heller Workspace.