Sworm: Balla Balaclava and the Shithead Baroque at Super Dutchess

Artists: ARTFORNOREASON, Vincent CY Chen, Jose Jimenez, Erik Probst, Dan Rizzo-Orr, Andrea Santos, Danilo Stojanovic, Emma Thomas

Exhibition title: Sworm: Balla Balaclava and the Shithead Baroque

Venue: Super Dutchess, New York, US

Date: June 5 – July 9, 2020

Photography: all images copyright and courtesy of the artists and Super Dutchess, New York

Here drops the palace of SWORM (Sensual Werewolfing Ornate RococcoShithead Materialists), a Baroque Effect created with shuriken and chains. An attempt at a new Scopic Regime, a hostile aesthetic takeover by the Soundcloud nouveau riche, the men and women your parents warned you about, James Franco playing Britney Spears to balaclava bikinis and assault rifles at sunset on repeat. It’s an ocular regime of ghost hands reaching for a touch they can’t know, reconfigured skin, phantoms, and it’s all violence baby, a scratch below the surface. It’s a language of a disenfranchised decadence, offseason beaches, and the reminders of fracture- broken bones and fixed teeth (the money maker pretty bones). The Sworm that comes out of its hibernation when history hits the ol’ reset button and literally anything is possible, bullet bikes left in drainage ditches. Smoke ‘em if you got ‘em.

Super Dutchess presents SWORM: Balla Balaclavas and the Shithead Baroque, an exploration of end-of-empire bling, the consequences and spoils of civilization. Euphoria on lean.

Jacquelyn E. Alberts, also known as ARTFORNOREASON, is a performance artist who sacrifices her body for the sake of art. A former professional cheerleader and dancer, Jackie is on a life quest to find out how best to let the universe flow through her. Her deep search for beauty, from photography to internet content, aims to help audiences experience a new vantage point on reality.

Vincent CY Chen (b. 1993, Taiwan) is a New York based artist who works in sculpture and installation. His work explores the tension between shame and desire, especially in the exotic. He explores these ideas in atmospheric, multimedia displays that borrow iconography from queer culture, children’s media, and Abrahamic religions. He received his BFA in Fine Arts from the School of Visual Arts in 2015, and his MFA in Studio Art at New York University in 2019.

Jose A. Jimenez (b. 1994) Is an artist who had a plan, until shit hit the fan. Now he is living in the Southwest Suburbs of Chicago, and working out of his parents garage; things could be worse. The objects of his multidisciplinary practice are an amalgamation of realism, and the abstract: prosthetic appendages, bronze cast lighters, the “Stussy S”, and ninja stars. These objects coalesce to create disjointed sculptures often driven by play-on word narratives that embrace the monotony of life.

Erik Probst (b. 1990, Raleigh, NC) is an artist living and working in Brooklyn, NY. His work explores surrealistic themes and narratives using traditional drawing techniques. He attended both Columbus College of Art & Design and Indiana University where he earned a BA in studio art in 2013. He’s participated in exhibitions at TAG Gallery in Los Angeles, Star Gallery in New York, and Gallery Shoshinkan in both Japan & New York.

Dan Rizzo-Orr b.1989 is a painter living and working in Chicago, Illinois. He received his BFA School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2013. His works are multilayered meticulous renderings of dream like narratives, psychedelic forms, and references to the history of painting. Recently he has been making diagrams of kites

Andrea Santos (b. 1987) lives and works in Philadelphia, PA. She studied at Massachusetts College of Art and Design and received her MFA from Rhode Island School of Design in 2016. Recent exhibitions include Over Under Room (Brooklyn), Miranda Kuo Gallery (New York) and Able Baker Contemporary (Maine). Andrea has attended residencies at The Studios at Mass MoCA and Vermont Studio Center, and has recently completed a studio apprenticeship at The Fabric Workshop and Museum. Andrea teaches printmaking at Tyler School of Art and Second State Press in Philadelphia.

Danilo Stojanovic (b. 1989, Croatia) lives and works in Venice, Italy. He obtained his BA/MA in Fine Arts (painting) at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia. Since 2013 he’s a member of the artist collective Fondazione Malutta. Recent exhibitions include; Be careful what you wish for (the fire is in the underbelly), U10, Belgrade; I was moved by the winds of the past, Karas, Zagreb; AIR4, Ravnikar gallery, Ljubljana; Torre Maluttona- Mercato Babelico, Monitor Gallery, Rome; Opera prima, Studio Tommaseo, Trieste.

Emma Thomas (b. 1994 WA, USA) is a Finnish-American artist living and working in Helsinki, Finland.

YAY x 2 is a celebration of chaos and destruction on paper. A flaming skull sits at the altar of an explosive ritual of happiness, decadence, and darkness. Diamonds and bananas float through the air and I imagine the soundscape to be the same as the noises that the decepticons make in the Transformers movies. Jjwweeaaauughhh guh guh guh ddddtt t tt t t tt tt t t t and everyone is smiling and rich. Xoxo

Installation view of Sworm: Balla Balaclava and the Shithead Baroque

Vincent CY Chen, Organs of the Utility, Silicon rubber, silicon paint, pigment, found tool box, 14 x 18 x 18 inches

ARTFORNOREASON, Life, Elegance, Beauty & Rage, Set of 4 Polaroids, 4,2x 3,3 inches 2020, For a coinciding performance film “Deprograming with Rage and The Demise of Ruler”