THE MOMENTARY
Associate Member Exhibition
curated by Georgina Lewis + Lior Neiger
August 4–29, 2021

Installation View L–R: "Real Communication" and "Twilight Time of Late Capitalist Culture" by John Baker; "Dwelling Revisited 5" by Leslie Zelamsky; "Unquiet City XXXIX" by Robert Hesse; "Translation of Michael Kiwanuka's 'My Hero'" by Shany Porras

"The Momentary" is a show that illuminates time as a marker, both absolute and arbitrary. Things can change in a minute. An instant can seem staggering. The momentary is consequential. The exhibiting artists consider how time functions in their respective mediums and art practices, and how their various approaches changed as a result of the pandemic.

Below artists John Baker, Shany Porras, and Leslie Zelamsky share their process, practice and approach in creating their work.

John Baker

Although I believe it is perilous to truth to speak or write historically about one’s own work, I do think it would be interesting to exhibit and contrast a painting I made in 2019 with one I made in 2021. This “Before and After 2020” pairing may show in the later work a greater conceptual bent, a more specific response to the psycho-political events of 2020, in contrast to the orientation of the earlier work toward the inner.

Shany Porras

These two paintings capture my in-the-moment perspectives on what was happening in the world with the Black Lives Matter movement and my later disappointment in the momentary nature of critical social issues shared around the globe. Social commentary and betterment action were interrupted or mixed into the tumultuous global pandemic. An overwhelming number of social issues came to light in a period of 12 months, February 2020–February 2021, and all of it became personally jumbled as I tried to juggle my new understanding of social issues, politics, and privilege. Unfortunately, there is no resolution. The difference between these two paintings is seen through my selection of song and color. The loose, painterly background on “[My] Hero” is in stark contrast to the singular orange stripe. In contrast, a year later, “Tearing Me Up” shows a closer relationship between the lines and the background, showing less definition and clarity of vision, much like the lack of control that I felt in early 2021 with the fleeting nature of positive action towards social issues by the US Government.

Leslie Zelamsky

The Dwelling Revisited series addresses the multiple definitions of the words dwell/dwelling. When the mind dwells on a specific topic, it has difficulty letting go. When the mind dwells on a specific topic, it runs the risk of obsessive thinking. One cannot let go. The mind becomes unhealthy. The act of dwelling is to have repetitive thoughts. The dwelling mind goes over the same topic over and over again. Think, repeat, think repeat, think repeat. The Dwelling Revisited series is the product of repetitive physical and visual processes. Cut, hammer, glue, nail, paint and sand. Again, again and again. Over and over again, I dwell on the work.

My materials are commonly used building materials. They are used to build homes/dwellings. My home is my place of solitude. It represents strength, perseverance and allows me peaceful solitude. It is in this dwelling that I am able to dwell on the layers of my life that brought me to this moment.

The Momentary: John Baker, Shany Porras, Leslie Zelamsky

John Baker

Shany Porras

Leslie Zelamsky