Drawing from the Spiral Galaxy

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In the cosmic expanse of her artistry, drawing was akin to embarking on a space voyage. It had a purpose, a means of expressing the majesty of the universe, yet it also embraced the idea of a journey with no predetermined destination. Each stroke was like a rendezvous with old friends—her thoughts, her memories, and her imagination, guiding her on a voyage through the limitless wonders of her own artistic galaxy.

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The page is a finite but unbounded space. Like the universe, it folds back in on itself, constantly reinventing what came before. It churns in infinite iterations, looking for novelty in the same molecular set and reshuffling into new meaning and objects. We collapse into the moment, we die and are reborn, leaving ourselves observable in red-shifted remnants to be discovered in the future. We are forever woven into the tapestry of cosmic history. Finding one another through folded space, we are drawn together, sensing each other as an essential part of a whole. Our mutual gravities clashing and coalescing; every piece spiraling onto its center.

Drawing from the Spiral Galaxy is a presentation of works from artists Darius Airo, Ruby Zarsky, Min Ji Son, CJ Shaw, Nereida Patricia, Trinity Bavaria and one anonymous artist, curated by Trinity Bavaria. These drawings and drawing-related works highlight the role of the preliminary stages of drafting in the creative process. Each work manifests as directly as possible between its conceptual origins and completion, evading the agonizing pedantry of finalizing or overworking. The artist by no means considers each work to be incomplete, but rather, finds resolution in the strength of action that conveys their ideas in its final form. Eager to take shape, these works express the initial potential creative energy, buzzing with the artists’ touch.

The exhibition invites the audience to experience the artists’ practice as it mirrors the interconnectedness of the cosmos itself: in the same way that galaxies form, evolve, and eventually fade away, this exhibition will bring together new works that inform each other and ultimately disperse. The act of creation brings forth new forms, inextricably bound, each with their own distinctive brilliance.

Drawing from the Spiral Galaxy is open November 10, 2023 to December 3, 2023 at Pop Gun.

 

Darius Airo (b. Chicago, 1995) is an artist currently living in Chicago. From an early age, Airo's artistic practice was influenced by his interest in animation and graffiti. Early influences include Martha Cooper's photography, Nickelodeon Animation, and R. Crumb. Airo worked as a studio assistant to Tony Fitzpatrick as a teenager before receiving his BFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2017. Airo has shown work across the US and internationally, with exhibitions in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago and Paris.

 

Ruby Zarsky is a New York City-based transgender artist, gallerist, and musician. She is the co-creator of the music project and instagram sensation Sateen. In 2021, she co-founded the experimental downtown NYC art gallery O’Flaherty’s. Her transgressive artwork centers around activism and discourse directly arising from her identity as a queer trans woman.

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Min Ji Son (b. 1994 Anyang, South Korea) is an artist and designer based in Los Angeles. She graduated from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2016, where she studied painting. Over the last couple of years, she began experimenting with fashion garments and digital technology while continuing her painting practice. She has since been featured in fashion editorials and culture publications such as Vogue and ARTNews. As an image-maker, she is a beloved and avid collaborator, working with filmmakers, stylists, musicians, and other creatives. 

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Trinity Bavaria (b 1994) is a New York based artist and curator. Her practice includes painting and sculpture, bringing together pop and personal sensibilities to create experimental and wide ranging works. Throughout her career Bavaria has worked both as a curator and collaborator on projects and believes nurturing connections between artist to be a generative force. Her recent exhibition history includes a solo show at Cleaner Gallery, group exhibitions at Hans Gallery, Tom of Finland Foundation and  a collaborative immersive installation at Rainbow Club Chicago. 

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Cj Shaw (b 1998) is a Chicago based artist. He recently received his BFA from Columbia College Chicago in 2023.

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Nereida Patricia (b. 1996, New York) is a visual artist and poet based in Brooklyn, NY. Patricia’s practice spans sculpture, painting, and performance. Her work draws from Peruvian and Caribbean symbolism, as well as autobiographical fragments, to explore gender, race and sexual politics. She is most well-known for her highly detailed glass beaded relief sculptures, which are collaged with concrete and glass dust to create multilayered images in bas-relief that chronicle transformation and power relations of the human and collective body. She has studied at The New School and holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the School of the Art Institute Chicago. Her work has been exhibited at venues such as Murmurs Gallery, Los Angeles; DUPLEX, New York; Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago; Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit; Eric Firestone Gallery, New York; Monique Meloche Gallery, Chicago; Annka Kultys Gallery, London; Museum of the Moving Image, Queens; and The Knockdown Center, Queens, among others.