Come Out & Play

Preview: Saturday 18 June (1-4pm)
Exhibition: 19 June – 16 July 2022

Curated by Andrew Salgado

Exhibition text by Russell Tovey

Press Release
PDF catalogue of works
Exhibition video

Participating Artists:

Adam Baker * Paul Booth * Katherine Bradford * J. Carino * Giorgio Celin * Wenjie Ding * KEEYA * Kris Knight * Navot Miller * Andrew Moncrief * Gori Mora * Emily Oliveira * Ally Rosenberg * Andrew Salgado * Logan T. Sibrel * Krzysztof Strzelecki * Brea Weinreb * Caleb Yono

Curated by artist Andrew Salgado the LGBTQ+ themed exhibition Come Out & Play, celebrates internationally-based queer artists whose practice prioritizes a bold approach and work that is celebratory, challenging, and progressive. The artists included present queerness as manifest through colour and play, a subject matter free from taboo or shame, and a greater practice that responds to the contemporary ideology of what it means to be a queer artist in society. Included works are primarily in – but not limited to – the form of figurative painting. The exhibition presents lesser-known LGBTQ+ artists alongside mid-career or more established artists at work today.

Exhibition Text by Russell Tovey, Collector & Author, Talk Art

You may or may not notice as your visit this gallery exhibition just how much hands and feet matter to these artists, they act as a real guide to us here. Powerful messages are grasped within each hand, whether they are large and cumbersome, out of proportion, powerful, or with a pointed toe, daintily extended, flexed, slender, fleshy, elegant, there is a strength in touch that every artist is exploring. Themes of Lifting, grappling, balancing counter-weight, the planting of a body on solid ground, appendages reaching out and around, stroking, holding, kissing, these figures are full of love, desiring for a connection, whether that be with us the viewer or within their own narratives, we notice this all via their extremities. Come out and play is an internationally diverse exploration of humanity. It’s themes, told through intimate figuration are highly personal, stories weaved by queer voices which can connect us all in a myriad of ways. These themes are universal. Love. At times we may feel like a voyeur standing in front of them, yet we have been invited in here, granted with the permission to stare, even though our characters rarely confront us with a direct eye-line. Our new friends are bashful, coy, shy, unable to look at us directly but agreeable to the passing glance over their contoured bodies. The timelessness of a look or of a memory, projects a strong nostalgic feeling throughout, it spins and weaves itself into every scene. With a beautiful sensitivity, and soft nurturing caress, this show is an exploration of the body, whether that be their own or of others, longing for touch is omnipresent. “Come out and Play,” brings artists from all over the world, The Bahamas, Canada, China, Colombia, Germany, Poland, Spain, UK, and the USA. This show’s roster of artists, from totally unique walks of lives and backgrounds, essentially make work to fill a space for when words aren’t enough. All working within a unique intensity and feeling, yet all riffing on the same themes that we witness here, and those themes are love.

ADAM BAKER (b. 1991, Ipswich, UK) currently lives and works in London. Baker completed his studies at the Wimbledon College of Art in 2015. Prior to this he studied at Parsons Paris, The New School 2011. Residencies include: SPACE Patrons & Friends (London) in 2018/19 and; Can7 (Formentera, Spain) in 2019. Past exhibitions include: Further from Heaven, Guise collective, London, (2019); Let us in: together, Clichy Paris (2019) and; QUEER ART(ists) NOW, Archive Gallery, Rose Lipman Building (2018).

PAUL BOOTH (b. 1978, Akron, Ohio) currently lives and works in New York City. He studied printmaking at Arizona State University, graduating in 2002. Duane Thomas Gallery presented Two by Two, the artist’s New York solo debut in 2022. Booth’s works have also been exhibited at NADA Miami (2020).

KATHERINE BRADFORD (b. 1942, New York, USA) currently lives and works in New York. Bradford completed an MFA at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Purchase, New York in 1987. Exhibitions have been held at: MoMA P.S.1, New York; the Brooklyn Museum, New York; Crystal Bridges Museum, Arkansas; The Nerman Museum, Kansas; the Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum, Skidmore College, New York. Bradford’s work is held in prestigious collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the Brooklyn Museum; the Dallas Museum of Art; the Menil Collection, Houston; the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, Overland Park and; the Portland Museum of Art, Maine. Bradford received a Guggenheim Award in 2010 and a Joan Mitchell Foundation grant in 2011 and two awards from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

J. CARINO (b. 1988, Colorado, USA) currently lives and works in Riverside, California, USA. Carino studied for his BFA at Parsons; The New School, completing his studies in 2011. Exhibitions include: A Species of Writing – Works on Paper, Auxier/Kline, NY (2021); Mana Exhibit,Fluffy Crimes, Chicago, IL (2021); Summer Stage: Act 2, Auxier/Kline, NY (2021); Summer Stage: Act 1 Auxier/Kline, NY (2021); Eye Candy, WB Gallery (Online) (2021); Queer Art Benefit, The LGBT Center (Online) (2020), NY and; Art Pride International, (Online) (2020).

GIORGIO CELIN (b. 1986, Barranquilla, Colombia) currently lives and works in Barcelona, Spain. Solo exhibitions include: El Bolero Fue Mi Ruina, Taymour Grahne Projects (2021); Las Olas, Eve Leibe Gallery, London (2021) and; PÁJAROS DEL ATLÁNTICO, Eve Leibe Gallery, London (2021). Group exhibitions include: PAPERWORKS, NBB Gallery, Berlin, Germany (2022); Eve Presents #2, Eve Leibe Gallery, London (2022); IN US WE TRUST, Breach, Miami (2021); Hidden Message, Gallery Func, Shanghai, China (2021); Oh Baby, Breach, Miami (2021) and; Transcendental Group Exhibition, Cuturi Gallery, Singapore (2021).

WENJIE DING (b. 1967, Shanghai, China) currently lives and works in Dali, in the Yunnan province of China. Prior to focusing on painting full time in 2016, Ding worked in fashion design in Beijing.

KEEYA (b. Khia Poitier) is a multimedia artist and performer based in Nassau, Bahamas. Her diverse approach to art making includes digital + analog collage, painting, music, and motion media. She received her BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design and has exhibited at galleries in The Bahamas, The United States, and Germany.

KRIS KNIGHT (b. 1980, Canada) currently lives and works in Toronto, Canada. Knight completed his studies in Drawing and Painting (with Curating and Criticism) at the Ontario College of Art & Design, Toronto in 2003. Solo exhibitions include: Auscultate, Galerie Nicolas Robert, Montréal, Canada (2020); A Little Time Out, Galerie Alain Gutharc, Paris, France (2019); Throwing Shadows, Galerie Alain Gutharc, Paris, France (2016) and; Never-Never, Mulherin, Toronto, Canada (2015). Group exhibitions and fairs include: The Own In The Foreign, Museum Bensheim, Benshiem, Germany (2022); Art Paris with Galerie Alain Gutharc, Paris, France (2022); Vase, Galerie Alain Gutharc, Paris, France (2021); Art Paris with Galerie Alain Gutharc, Paris France (2021); Male, Galerie Thomas Fuchs, Stuttgart, Germany (2019); A Portrait Show, VIVIANART, Calgary, Canada (2019) and; As I Like, Galerie Alain Gutharc, Paris, France (2019).

NAVOT MILLER (b. 1991, Afula, Israel) currently lives and works in Berlin, Germany. Navot is studying at Weissensee Art School, Berlin, Germany and is due to graduate in 2022. Solo exhibitions include: ‘Everyone I’ve Ever Known’, Elektrohalle Rhomberg, Salzburg, Austria (2021). Group exhibitions include: ‘CHRONICLES 3’, Galerie Droste, Berlin, Germany (2021); ‘Visible Spectrum’, Projektraum 145, Berlin, Germany (2021); ‘The Invitational I’, Unit 1 Gallery, London, UK (2020); ‘You Can Do Better’, Elektrohalle Rhomberg, Salzburg, Vienna (2020); ‘Against the Wall’, HVW8 Gallery, Berlin, Germany (2020) and; ‘Juden Rein’, Werkstattgalerie, Berlin, Germany (2019). Fairs include: ‘Misa Discoveries’, König Galerie, Berlin, Germany (2021); ‘Messe In St. Agnes’, König Galerie, Berlin, Germany (2021) and; ‘Thessaloniki Queer Arts Festival’, Thessaloniki, Greece (2020).

ANDREW MONCRIEF (b. 1987, Vancouver Island, Canada) currently lives and works in Berlin, Germany. Moncrief completed his BFA in Painting and Drawing at Concordia University, Montreal, Canada in 2013. Prior to this he completed a Fine Art Diploma at North Island College, Comox, British Columbia in 2007. Solo exhibitions include: Viral Bodies, On Center Gallery, Provincetown, USA (2021); Put on a Happy Face, On Center Gallery, Provincetown, USA (2019); Man Enough, Youn Gallery, Montreal, Canada (2018); Losing Face, Never Apart, Montreal, Canada (2017) and; A Strange Feeling, Utah Museum of Contemporary Art, Salt Lake City, USA (2016). Group exhibitions include: Lines in the Snow: Canadian contemporary Drawing, New Art Projects, London (2022); Figuratively Speaking, Am Tacheles curated by Amir Fattal, Berlin, Germany (2021); Natural Habitat, On Center Gallery, Provincetown, USA (2019); Late Summer Group Show; On Center Gallery, Provincetown, USA (2018) and; FLORA, Youn Gallery, Montreal, Canada (2017).

GORI MORA (b. 1992, Mallorca, Spain) currently works and lives in Glasgow, Scotland. In 2011 Mora moved to Barcelona to study his degree in Fine Arts at Barcelona University. In 2017 he moved to Glasgow to study the Master of Letters in Fine Art Practice at The Glasgow School of Art. After completing his Master’s programme he was awarded by the Royal Scottish Academy of Edinburgh with the Scholarship John Kinross, to spend a period of research in Florence. Mora has exhibited his works with: Tuesday to Friday Gallery, Valencia, Spain (2022); the Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh, UK (2021); BEERS London Gallery, London, UK (2021); V2React, Miami, US (2020); AIR Gallery, Manchester, UK (2020); TRAMWAY, Glasgow, UK (2019); AN Contemporary Art Festival, Mallorca, Spain (2019 and 2016); Casa de Cultura, Felanitx, Mallorca, Spain (2019); Museum and Art Collection, Porreres, Mallorca, Spain (2017); Konvent Punt Zero, Cultural Center of Art, Barcelona, Spain (2016) and MUTUO, Cultural Center of Art, Barcelona, Spain (2015). His project My Florence Souvenir is part of the Royal Scottish Academy of Edinburgh collection, UK (2018).

EMILY OLIVEIRA (b. 1990, USA) currently lives and works in New York. Oliveira is currently studying for an MFA at the Yale School of Art. Previously Oliveira completed a BFA at the Rhode Island School of Design in 2013. Solo exhibitions include: What a Glory to be So Euphoric and Weak, LaMama Galleria New York (2022); Red Velvet, Orange Crush, Geary Contemporary, New York (2022); I Saw God and She Wasn’t Made of Money, BRIC, New York (2021); Mundo Irrealis, Vox Populi, Philadelphia (2019); The Party Es Para Todos, The Java Project, New York (2019) and; Dick Van Dick: Everything Louder Than Everything Else, Soho20 Gallery, New York (2018). Group exhibitions include: By Tomorrow, Jackson Institute for Global Affairs, New Haven (2022); Out, 1969 Gallery New York, New York (2021); if still ourselves, a thing to become, Baik + Khneysser, Los Angeles (2021); Other Worlds, UICA Grand Rapids, Michigan (2021); even there, there are stars, CUE Art Foundation, New York (2021); Scylla, Attleboro Arts Museum, Attleboro (2020) and; Love 2020 Perfect Visions, LeRoy Neiman Gallery Columbia University, New York (2020).

ALLY ROSENBERG (b. 1991, Manchester, UK) currently lives and works in London. Rosenberg completed a master class at the Zabludowicz Collection in 2020. Prior to this he studied MSc Neuroscience, Language and Communication at UCL in 2014. Rosenberg also completed a BA in Fine Art at Central St. Martins in 2013. Forthcoming solo exhibitions to be held at Plain Gallery, Milan and; Dio Horia Gallery, Athens (2022). Solo exhibitions include: On Solid Ground, Bomb Factory Foundation, London (2021). Group exhibitions include: The Fiction, Gallery Func, Shanghai (2021); Bums, Dio Horia Gallery/Skip Gallery, Mykonos (2021); Origin, Delphian Gallery, London (2021); Five Hides, Thorp Stavri, London (2021); Much too Shy, A.I.R Gallery, Altrincham (2021) and; Reinventing the Future, Plain Gallery, Milan (2021).

ANDREW SALGADO (b. 1982, Canada) graduated with an MA in Fine Art from Chelsea College of Art in 2009, and is regarded as one of the United Kingdom’s leading figurative painters. Since 2010, he has had over 15 sold-out international solo exhibitions in London, New York, Toronto, Miami, Cape Town (South Africa), Basel (Switzerland), and Zagreb (Croatia). Salgado has a forthcoming solo exhibition at MAKI, Tokyo, Japan, entitled, Tomorrow I’ll Be Perfect (autumn 2022) and is currently participating in PINK, a group exhibition with PIERMARQ*, NSW, Australia (2022). In 2017, Salgado was the youngest artist to receive a survey exhibition at The Canadian High Commission in London. He has received press both online and in print, including GQ, The Evening Standard, The Independent, Artsy, METRO, Attitude Magazine, Globe and Mail (CAN), and Macleans (CAN). He frequently donates to charities, most notably to the Terrence Higgins Trust, having raised over £135,000 since 2014. In March 2019, he entered the secondary market with a piece in a Strauss & Co auction in South Africa that doubled its estimate; and went to auction at Phillips (NY) in June 2021 with a piece selling for five times its estimate. His works have been collected extensively in private and public collections worldwide, including the Government of Canada, The Jordanian Royal Family, Simmons & Simmons, the Esquinazi Collection, Edwin Oostmeier Collection, and more. He lives and works in London, England.

LOGAN T. SIBREL (b. 1986, Jasper, USA) currently lives and works in New York, USA. Sibrel completed an MFA at the Parsons New School for Design, New York in 2011. Prior to this he completed a BFA at Indiana University, Bloomington in 2009. Solo exhibitions include: Brake For Your Sweetheart, Auxier Kline, New York (2022); 2 Nite Yr Mine, Auxier Kline, New York (2021); Shade, 1969 Gallery, New York (2020); Better Loser, Leslie-Lohman Project Space, New York (2019) and; Now I’m in that Place Again…, The Captain’s Daughters, Provincetown (2018). Group exhibitions include: Das Eigene im Fremden, Museum Bensheim, Bensheim, Germany (2022); IRL, Auxier Kline, New York (2021); Nice to See You Again, Underdonk, New York (2021); A Species of Writing, Auxier Kline, New York (2021); RETOUR DE FLAMME, 342 Rue des Pyrénées, Paris, France (2021) and; Palazzo Monti: Transatlantico, Mana Contemporary, Jersey City (2020).

KRZYSZTOF STRZELECKI (b. 1993, Świdnica, Poland) currently alternates between Świdnica and London. Strzelecki completed his BA at Camberwell, University of the Arts London, graduating in 2019. Previous group exhibitions include ‘Love my way #2’ at the 35^th International Festival of Fashion, Photography and Fashion Accessories at Villa Noailles, France (2020) and; ‘Queer Art at Camberwell’, Camberwell Student Gallery, London (2019).

BREA WEINREB (b. 1994, Long Island, New York) currently lives and works in Los Angeles, USA. Weinreb completed her B.A. in Art Practice & English at University of California, Berkeley (USA) in 2016. Solo exhibitions include: Between Men (virtual solo), Taymour Grahne Projects, London (2022); when you lay your body on mine, CounterPulse, San Francisco (2019) and; cosmologies of care, Merced College Art Gallery, Merced, USA (2018). Group exhibitions include: Women of Now: Dialogues of Memory, Place & Identity, Green Family Art Foundation, Dallas (2022); Intimacy, Taymour Grahme Projects, London (2022); You Had Me At Hello, Steven Zevitas Gallery, Boston (2022); It’s Much Louder Than Before, Anat Ebgi Gallery, Los Angeles, (2021); Interconnected, John Wolf Art Advisory & Brokerage, Los Angeles (2021); Good Bones, I Like Your Work Podcast Spring 2021 Group Online Exhibition & Catalogue; THIS MUST BE THE PLACE: SoEx’s Digital Benefit Art Auction, Southern Exposure, San Francisco (2020) and; Introduction, Root Division, San Francisco (2019).

CALEB YONO (b. 1981, Detroit, USA) currently lives and works in Chicago, USA. Yono completed their MFA at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago/Painting and Drawing in 2015. Prior to this they completed a BFA at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2007. Solo exhibitions include: 2022 Interdimensional Femmes, James Fuentes, New York (2022) and; Sarafemme, Produce Model, Chicago (2018). Group exhibitions include: Drawers, Adult Contemporary, Nashville (2022); THEM, Roots and Culture, Chicago (2022); Without Batten,Without Skin, Baby Blue, Chicago (2018) and; Council, Andrew Rafacz, Chicago (2017).