"RULE OF FIVE" - 522 W 19th Street, New York

SLAG&RX proudly presents Rule of Five, an exhibition that brings together five distinguished artists to showcase their unique approaches to contemporary painting. Chellis Baird, Tirtzah Bassel, Luiza Gottschalk, Tamara Kostianovsky, and Naomi Safran-Hon each contribute a single piece that, collectively, forms a discourse on the multifaceted nature of painting today.

The exhibition's premise is simple yet powerful: by bringing together these five distinct artistic voices, Rule of Five offers a comprehensive view of current trends in painting that challenges and subverts traditional notions of the medium. Baird's sculptural textiles, Bassel's politically charged pieces, Gottschalk's abstract compositions, Kostianovsky's works that prompt viewers to consider the impact of human actions, and Safran-Hon's mixed-media pieces that weave together a complex narrative, all come together to create a rich and nuanced dialogue.

Rule of Five provides a platform for diverse approaches to materiality, subject matter, and conceptual frameworks within painting, fostering a space for intellectual engagement, critical examination, and artistic exploration. By juxtaposing these five artistic languages, the exhibition encourages visitors to engage with the artworks and consider the various ways in which painting is evolving and being reinterpreted in the contemporary art world.

Rule of Five will be on display at SLAG&RX - New York from September 6 through October 12. 

ABOUT THE ARTISTS:

CHELLIS BAIRD

Chellis Baird (b.1983, Spartanburg, SC) blurs the intersection of painting, sculpture and textiles through her handwoven canvas constructions. Baird received her BFA in textiles from Rhode Island School of Design and studied studio art at the Art Students League in New York City. Her work has been exhibited at the Myrtle Beach Art Museum, Nassau County Museum of Art, the Oculus, the Louise Nevelson Chapel at Saint Peter’s Church, among others. Baird’s work is featured in the collections of Joan Horning and Francis Greenburger, and has been reviewed in the New York Times, TheArtGuide, Forbes, WhiteHot, Art Net, and Art News, as well as many others. Chellis  Baird lives and works in New York City.

• Baird's work is on view this fall at Nassau County Museum of Art.

TIRTZAH BASSEL

Tirtzah Bassel (b. 1979, Boston, MA) is a visual artist who through her series "Canon in Drag," subverts the authority of canonical images, through gender-flipping and alternative narratives. Bassel received an MFA from Boston University. Her work has been exhibited in solo exhibitions at Galerie Thomas Fuchs, Ortega y Gasset Projects, Open Source, and the BRIC Arts Media Center, as well as group exhibitions that include Kunstverein Viernheim, the FOR-SITE Foundation, The Visual Arts Center, and 601Artspace. Bassel's work has been reviewed in Frieze Magazine, Hyperallergic, The Boston Globe, Huffington Post, and BBC Radio 4: Front Row among others. Tirtzah Bassel  lives and works in Brooklyn, NY.

• Bassel's work will be on view this fall at 601 Artspace, NY curated by Gabriela Vainsencher.

LUIZA GOTTSCHALK

Luiza Gottschalk (b. 1984, Brazil) is an artist based in São Paulo whose paintings explore the power and visceral character of the woods of the Mantiqueira Mountains, where she spent the first 9 years of her life. Gottschalk received her master's in visual arts from FAAP. She has exhibited work at Praça das Artes; Estação Satyros; and Brazilian Art Museum (MAB), among others. In 2022, twenty-two of her works were brought into Oscar Niemeyer's Building in a solo exhibition curated by Denise Mattar. Gottschalk has participated in Residencies at the Agora Collective in Berlin, Siena Art Institute, Atelier do Centro, and SWA. Luiza Gottschalk currently lives and works in São Paulo, Brazil.

• Gottschalk work on view at the Museum of Brasilian Art, RJ and, this fall, at Gloria Maria, RJ, Brasil.

TAMARA KOSTIANOVSKY

Tamara Kostianovsky (b. 1974, Buenos Aires, AR) is an artist whose work addresses themes such as the environment, consumer culture, and violence. Through alternating softness and aggression, her installations identify the nuances of violence that exist between a personal encounter and its normalization on a social and ecological level, hinting at human culture's all-too-comfortable intimacy with violence toward all living species. Kostianovsky received a BFA from the National School of Fine Arts, Buenos Aires, Argentina, and an MFA from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia. She has presented solo exhibitions at institutions such as Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature, Paris; Baker Museum, FL; Denver Botanic Gardens, CO; Smack Mellon, NY; Fuller Craft Museum, MA; Ogden Contemporary Arts, UT among others. Her work has been exhibited in group exhibitions at UMOCA, UT; El Museo del Barrio, NY; The Jewish Museum, NY; Nevada Museum of Art, NV; Musée du Textile et de la Mode, FR; just to name a few. Kostianovsky is the recipient of distinguished awards including a Guggenheim Fellowship and grants from New York Foundation for the Arts, the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, The Virginia A. Groot Foundation, and others. Her work has been reviewed in The New York Times, The Boston Globe, WBUR, the Village Voice, Marie Claire, La Repubblica, El Diario New York, Colossal and Hyperallergic and many others. Selected Residencies include Yaddo, L'AiR Arts, Wave Hill Gardens, LMCC, Socrates Sculpture Park, and Franconia Sculpture Park. Tamara Kostianovsky currently lives and works in Brooklyn, NY.

• Kostianovsksy's work will be on view this fall at The Armory Show 2024, Booth S3; The Brooklyn Museum, NY; The Rockefeller Center, NY; and Fuller Craft Museum, MA.

NAOMI SAFRAN-HON

Naomi Safran-Hon (b.1984, Oxford, England) creates work that makes gripping statements about the fragility of human experience, the complicated nature of one's home, and the vicissitudes of collective identities. Safran-Hon received her BA Summa Cum Laude from Brandeis University, 2008 and an MFA from Yale University School of Art in 2010. She is a 2023 recipient of Joan Mitchell Foundation Grant. Safran-Hon attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, the LMCC Residency, and the OMI Art Residency, where she was awarded the Francis Greenburger Fellowship. Her work was also awarded with the Joan Mitchell Foundation Fellowship and Colene Brown Art Prize, among other accolades. Safran-Hon's work has been exhibited in both solo and group exhibitions at institutions such as MARFA Contemporary, TX; Silber and Rosenberg Art Galleries, MD; Bonisson Art center, FR; Les Franciscaines Art Center, FR; Queens Museum, NY; Islip Museum, NY; Baltimore Jewish Museum, MD; Haifa Museum of Art, IS; Brooklyn Museum, NY just to mention a few. Naomi Safran-Hon currently lives and works in Brooklyn, NY.

• Safran-Hon completed a site specific mural this summer during her residency at op.cit./foundation, Mexico City, MX.