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“CONDITIONS” 2o25
How much can be held within a small form?
This exhibition begins with the notion of compacity: the condition of being dense, bound, contained. Across philosophy, aesthetics, and lived experience, compactness has signaled both wholeness and limit: a flower whose proportions calm the eye (Kant), a single sentence that gestures toward infinity (Wittgenstein), a finite proof that secures an infinite world (Gödel), a body that both grounds and opens perception (Merleau-Ponty).
The works assembled here explore what it means to press the infinite into the finite. They ask:
What happens when excess is compressed into form?
How do fragments sustain wholeness?
When does containment become sufficiency, and when does it become pressure?
In a time of overwhelming scale and sprawling networks, Compacity foregrounds gestures of reduction, condensation, and intensity. These are not minimalist gestures of erasure, but rather strategies of holding much in little: compressing narratives, sensations, or histories into compact vessels.
Visitors are invited to consider the compact as a paradoxical space:
a bound form that suggests expansiveness,
a dense object that holds openness,
a finite frame that gestures toward what cannot be fully contained.
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keep up with us. we are always interested in collaborations.
Flush Gallery LLC was created by Elle Gillette and Xiangni Song in the summer of 2022 after graduating from the Pratt Institute. Our vision is to create an artist run space for artists. We hope you will be along for the ride. ︎︎︎
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Flush is an independent artist-run gallery for *emerging* artists. Flush plays off the idea of a sudden rush of intense emotion. It also is a pun-the original space of the first show which took place in Elle’s bathroom in the East Village. We exist to curate shows from the artist's perspective- at Flush, we're all about site-specific bathroom installations. Whether it's a classic white box gallery, the public loos of Tompkins Square, or the Guggenheim Museum's 4th-floor restroom, we're intrigued by the interplay between art and its surroundings. Sure, most folks might gaze at art for just 15-30 seconds, but did you know we all spend an average of 12 minutes per bathroom visit? Just think of the possibilities!
Our goal with Flush is to have a complete immersive experience with art in its setting. We prioritize the art, not what goes in the pocket $$$.
Moral Injury - Summer 2024
Curated by Elle Gillette, the exhibition Moral Injury explores the diverse perspectives and techniques of artists working across painting, sculpture, photography, and mixed media. Drawing upon Susan Sontag's seminal work, Regarding the Pain of Others, the exhibition examines the portrayal of suffering and conflict in our image-saturated era. Sontag's critique of observing others' pain from a position of safety and privilege, extended into the digital age, prompts us to reflect on how we engage with these images without becoming passive observers.
Moral Injury addresses psychological, spiritual, and emotional harm that arises from exposure to actions or events that conflict with one's moral beliefs. This exhibition aims to counteract numbness and apathy by offering a different perspective on suffering. Each work reflects the artist's unique experience of suffering, emphasizing that form is not a passive reception but an active method of processing pain and making meaning.
By delving into how pain and suffering are represented through various forms and practices, Moral Injury challenges viewers to confront their responses and the ethics of depicting suffering. The exhibition invites a reflective engagement with artworks from diverse cultural and historical contexts, fostering a deeper understanding of how suffering is portrayed and perceived.
How do we continue to care for what we do not live through and witness with our own eyes? This question frames our exploration, urging viewers to examine their own roles in engaging with the pain of others.
The opening reception will be held on August 22nd, 2024, from 6 to 8 p.m. Many of the featured artists will attend, and the event is open to the public.
The exhibition is free and open to the public by appointment ONLY. For more information, please visit flushgallery.cargo.site or contact flushgallery@gmail.com.