SPRING/BREAK Art Show New York

March 3 - 9, 2020

625 Madison Ave, Room 1108

VIP Opening: March 3, 11 AM - 9 PM

Regular Hours: 11 AM - 8 PM

Tickets

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Preview of the Works

Marisa Newman Projects is delighted to present the inaugural installation of Levan Mindiashvili’s ongoing project “Levani’s Room,” at SPRING/BREAK Art Show NY.  

Referencing James Baldwin’s “Giovanni’s Room” (1956) – a seminal book in the history of queer literature, it is a love story between two men, that begins and ends in a rented room. Within this space, David tells his story all the while looking at a reflection of himself, with the window acting as a mirror. 

As the opening paragraph makes it clear, the book is as much about race as it is about desire, colonial history and guilt, class inequality, and supremacy. “Giovanni’s Room” is also the first queer story Mindiashvili read in which he could relate to the protagonist’s fears, and to the personal struggle with imposed cultural structures. After his journey in Argentina first, and now in New York, where he can finally claim a room in Bushwick as his home, Mindiashvili is starting to narrate his own story of becoming, told through the reflections of his culture, history, and experiences. A real-size print of his room on a sheer curtain will become the setting for most of the presentations - “Rooms,” that will entail exhibitions, performances, podcast, communal dinners, and raves. It will culminate in an all-encompassing artist book and an online archive. 

The first iteration, “Home” held at Spring/Break NY, explores the sense of belonging and community, and the role of Brooklyn’s underground rave culture in Mindiashvili’s inclusion of New York’s creative scene. Playfully titled “HOME EP,” a set of 15 “tracks” depict architectural details of Mindiashvili’s apartment along with the logos of underground venues and clubs, parties, and mailing lists, flyers, and other memorabilia. Hand-painted in a liquid mirror on glass and mounted on a steel frame, these objects, though formally situated within the tradition of a two-dimensional image, also act like literal mirrors. As the artist says: “They become a meeting point of the viewer, surrounding and the work itself, a constantly changing and updating archive of the very now.”

The soundscape, co-curated with Arthur Kozlovski, features full sets from the raves that had significant importance for the artist, along with specially created sets and tracks. Full list of contributing artists and a special collaboration with BASEMENT NY will be announced shortly.

“I’m interested in re-contextualizing the ways in which we experience art and rave, and how both languages - cultural ready-mades if you will - can expand into something new,” says Mindiashvili.

*The artist would like to extend a very special Thank You to Eriola Pira for her help in developing the overall concept of “Levani’s Room.”