“Didn't I make you feel like you were the only man, well yeah
Didn't I give you nearly everything that a woman possibly can
Honey, you know I did
And each time I tell myself that I, well I think I've had enough
But what I'm gonna show you, baby, that a woman can be tough
I want you to come on, come on, come on, come on and take it
Take another little piece of my heart now, baby.”
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Excerpt from “Piece of My Heart” by Janis Joplin
The song “Piece of My Heart” depicts a lovelorn woman so enraptured by her lover that she's willing to break off yet another piece of her heart if only he will take it. With this group exhibition of the same title, 20 artists examine love, heartbreak, and the macabre that coincide with the lyrics once written by Joplin. Featured are works by Alberto Pazzi, Barbara Kruger, Carlos Betancourt, Christopher Tanner, Donna Napoli-Steele, Erika Keck, George Condo, Ghada Amer, Huma Bhabha, Jessica Harrison, Jimi Dams, Kim McCarty, Marilyn Minter, Marta Martino, Maynard Monrow, Raqib Shaw, Richard Gabriele, Robert Flynt, Stacey Lee-Webber, & Sterling Ruby.
Artists, for centuries, have created work that depicts love & loss. The curating teams self-diagnosed “romanticism” allows space for others to “fall in and out of love” - while the artists explore the wonders of personal and historic depictions of these experiences. The exhibition title’s double entendre shows that with matters of the heart, there is no more extraordinary “piece” than that of the connectivity that ties all the artists together. The curation explores the uniqueness within the sensations of yearning - that everyone has encountered throughout their lives. The works in Piece of My Heart oscillate between painting, drawing, sculpture, and installation. From inception to execution, the exhibition is a genuine question of individual concepts of the heart while further dissecting the the historical roots of a commercialized holiday known as a day to express admiration - that unbeknownst to most comes from the gruesome demise of Saint Valentine who defied Claudius the Cruel and married young lovers at a time of war.
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The Rocky Horror Picture Show original coffin clock
From the cult classic film, a deeper historically rooted story that takes us on a "time warp"
An excerpt regarding the coffin from Ken Paul Antique Property Hire (22/23 England's Lane NW 4TG) on December 20th, 1973
"The most bizarre item in the sale was an inlaid mahogany coffin shaped long-case clock. Behind the wheel dial is a human skull & skeleton & decorated crossbones ivory. The clock belonged to the Countess of Rosslyn, wife of the 5th Earl, who is said to have traveled everywhere with it (Rumor is that the skeleton was the man who was her lover.)
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Alberto Pazzi
The Brooklyn based artist has entered his blue period with this selection of new works -
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Richard Gabriele
Carpet of the Broken Heart: Inside Joke For Every Lonesome Hunter -
Christopher Tanner
The New York based artist embellishes his past and present experiences with a lustrous body of work -
Christopher Tanner
Marcella, 2002Glitter, paillettes, pearls, and mixed media on canvas
48 x 108 inches -
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Christopher Tanner - Jewel Boxes
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Carlos Betancourt - The Cut Out Army
The Cut-Out Army, 2006Multidisciplinary Artist Carlos Betancourt's site specific installation and print on canvas was first exhibited at Art Basel Miami Beach and at La Communidad Warehouses in 2006. Drawing from multiple sources of inspiration, the artist pays tribute to his muses and photographed most of his subjects in their homes.
The artist explains in a Q+A with Paul Laster: Each subject was invited to select and use an object that they could relate to, or to which they were attached by memory...The boundaries of the written word sometimes add or restrict the artwork, you never know. Maybe I was organizing like-minded people, which is something I respond to. When I walked the aisle of the installation, I was able to interact by seeing myself in each of the subjects as they stared back. The characters were warriors, gardeners, cooks, lovers, avatars, brides, representing a sort of celebration of the individual and their similarities. -
A video about The Cut-Out Army (2006), a site specific installation and print on canvas by artist Carlos Betancourt, exhibited in Art Basel Miami Beach 2006 and in La Comunidad, Miami. The video plays tribute to the artist's muses and multiple sources of inspiration.
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Erika Keck - Drawings (2023)
The Brooklyn based artist has created a prolific series of drawings that offer a multitude of interpretations containing hypnotic repetition of lines, color and tonal gradients, and anthropomorphic appendages. -
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Marta Martino - Brighton22
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Jessica Harrison - Broken Ladies
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Unknown Artist
Pair of Paintings of Headless Saints, Circa 1870sOil on canvas in original gold gilt frame
44 x 37 inches -
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