Heavy Sauce

Fountain House Gallery Presents “Heavy Sauce”
On view: September 12 – October 23, 2019
Reception: September 12, 6-8 p.m.
Curated by Gerasimos Floratos

NEW YORK CITY – Fountain House Gallery, located at 702 Ninth Avenue and representing artists living with mental illness, announces the upcoming group show Heavy Sauce. The exhibition will open with a Reception on September 12, 2019, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., and will remain on view through October 23, 2019.

Heavy Sauce is curated by artist Gerasimos Floratos, who said, “Fountain House Gallery is located in the center of the two-block radius where I grew up and where I continue to live and work. I remember attending their openings during my teens and have closely followed the program over the years, and the Gallery’s artists and their artworks remain a source of inspiration to me. Before I selected the work for Heavy Sauce, Fountain House Gallery kindly invited me to become acquainted with their community of artists. What I learned from the artists is that we all have unique perceptions of our city and that as locals we are all a part of the ongoing tapestry of its history.”

For this show, Fountain House Gallery artists were presented with a quotation by the artist Lee Lozano (1930–1999) as a starting point for a discussion about the physical, psychological, and sociological nature of New York City. In her NYC 1960s notebook, Lozano wrote: “Every day thousands of pounds of paint are applied to buildings in NYC, signs, benches, etc., which can only mean that the city is getting heavier and heavier.”

Commenting on specific works in the show, Floratos said, ”In ‘Subway Trainman,’ Alyson Vega has fastidiously stitched together scraps from her everyday life to produce her vision of a dense and emotionally complex metropolis. In Susan Spangenberg’s ‘Homeboy,’ an unstretched canvas towers over the viewer at 12 feet tall, standing as a homage to the artist’s twin brother, who died tragically of a drug overdose. Using a casual and loose application of paint to depict figures and text calling for support of the community’s homeless population, Mercedes Kelly’s direct yet emotionally affecting work ‘Homeless Housing Now!’ blurs the line between a painting about local life and a protest sign demanding human rights for the oppressed of our society.”

Heavy Sauce features works in mediums including acrylic, mixed media, collage, and fabric.

This program is funded, in part, by generous support from the Hearst Foundation, Inc., the Renate, Hans and Maria Hofmann Trust, the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, the David Rockefeller Fund, and the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund.

About Fountain House Gallery
Fountain House Gallery and Studio provides an environment where artists living with mental illness can express their creative visions and exhibit their work. Founded by Fountain House in 2000, the storefront Gallery in Manhattan sells original artworks and collaborates with a wide network of artists, curators and cultural institutions. The Studio, located in Long Island City, is a collaborative workspace that furthers the professional practice of our artists. Embracing artists who are emerging or established, trained or self-taught, Fountain House Gallery cultivates artistic growth, makes a vital contribution to the New York arts community, and challenges the stigma surrounding mental illness.
www.fountainhousegallery.org