April 9– May 9, 2004

Covivant Gallery is pleased to present From New York with Love, an exhibition curated by Trong G. Nguyen. FNYWL is a selection of works by artists residing in the Big Apple that in one semblance or another contains association to the city itself and/or the big L. It is intended as a sweet and indirect portrait of the metropolis seen through the creative output of its diverse artists-inhabitants. The exhibition is in turn a love letter of sorts, but of a slightly skewed variety -- a love connection that is at times sentimental, compulsive, strained, exciting, dark, funny, impossible, attached, intimate, and fluid.

Artists:
Fritz Chesnut: paintings of spectators and fans at daily shows and “events” like Total Request Live and the Today Show. Young and old alike are rendered photo-real, displaying the emotion and devotion our celebrities and rock gods command.

A Constructed World: collaborative Jacqueline Riva and Geoff Lowe contribute paintings from the Fresh History Painting series, generated from their participatory workshops, video performances, and digital photography.

Rodney Dickson: installation of fictitious 42 year-old bachelor Patrick B.’s shrine to the actress Tanya Roberts, complete with an obsessive-compulsive collection of ephemera, memorabilia, drawings and paintings made in homage to the b-movie sex kitten. Irish-born Dickson will have a retrospective exhibition in England later this year.

Eric Doeringer: artist who makes and sells “bootlegs” of works by art stars, made cheaply and efficiently just like the goods sold by vendors on Canal Street. Doeringer regularly sets up shop outside museums and galleries in Manhattan. He has sold pieces to collectors who own real works by some of the artists he has copied.

Katy Grannan: Poignant photographs of individuals that are sometimes awkwardly pastoral, sincere, and occasionally pure sweet romance. Grannan is counted among a crop of celebrated young women photographers that includes such artists as Justine Kurland, Malerie Marder, Jenny Gage, and Nikki S. Lee. She is included in the 2004 Whitney Biennial.

Humanitarians Not Heroes: New Yorkers love their politics. This artist-as-company project by Trong G. Nguyen examines the last and next presidential elections with an eye on the love-hate relationship between Dubya and the sunshine state.

Lisa Kereszi: beautiful and keen-eyed photographs capturing the resurgent New York burlesque scene and mermaid attraction at Weeki Wacchi. Her works are in major collections including the Altoids Curiously Strong Collection of the New Museum of Contemporary Art, Yale University, and the Whitney.

Terence Koh: klepto-provocateur whose works are directed by his personal sensitivity, inviting us to come along on a journey into a super exclusive all boys club. His visual statements swing between fragility, absurdity, and kitsch. Under the name Asianpunkboy, Koh has been lauded for his underground self-titled magazine and website (www.asianpunkboy.com). He is included in this year’s Whitney Biennial.

Jana Leo: Spanish ex-pat who makes videos, installations, and objects that overlap the public and private spheres of intimacy. Here she has contributed a portable make-out closet as spectator sport, where people are invited to come inside and get it on. Leo was recently included in the 2003 International Center for Photography Triennial exhibition Strangers.

Dan Levenson: painter who uses a 3-d modelling program to create precisely arranged geometric shapes into semi-abstract compositions, often employing recognizable elements such as clouds and holes. Both are visible yet untouchable; a hole is composed of absence and the cloud’s form is in a constant flux, like many other things we all relate to.

Jillian McDonald: video installation where the artist inserts herself into footage from film scenes starring Billy Bob Thornton. There is an implied romantic relationship between the two, yet the desire remains unconsummated.

Ryan McGinley: artist’s photographic portraits of exuberant and tender youth culture in the Lower East Side, recording everyday activities of friends and lovers. McGinley is the youngest artist ever to have received a solo show at the Whitney Museum of American Art (2003, The Kids Are Alright).

Buxton Midyette: self-taught artist who uses the traditional retablo style of Latin American devotional art as the framework for his Miracles of New York paintings.

Gabriele Picco: Italian-born artist’s paintings and drawings of characters situated in whimsical daily scenarios and offbeat situations. His Since 1974 is a body of work detailing his relocated life in New York City. Picco’s works are in prominent European collections and is the recipient of several prestigious awards including the Michetti Prize.

Praxis: husband and wife duo Brainard Carey and Delia Bajo’s interactive and performance project The New Economy closes the distance between aesthetic and audience, initiating intimate contact between strangers. Praxis was included in the 2002 Whitney Biennial and recently performed at the Reina Sofia Museum (2003).

Ashkan Sahihi: Cum Shot series of photographic portraits reveal the warm integrity of its sitters whose semen-spotted faces test the sensibilities of decorum.

Karen Sorensen: brings her Love Research project to the gulf coast.

Charmaine Wheatley: virtuosic draftswoman and performance artist presents her series of mixed media paintings entitled 50 Loves, an ongoing project she hopes to augment to 1,000,000 loves.

Edwina White: Australian born artist whose works linger in the fashion forward fantasy realm. As an illustrator, she has contributed work for major publications including Vogue, GQ, Flaunt, Elle, and Remix.

Abbey Williams: Yes video of the artist scoping out and rating men on the L train.

For more information, please contact Trong Nguyen at 718-797-1645 or email trong@cameandwent.com