The second of a two-part inaugural exhibition, A SENSE OF PLACE, explores our sense of recognition, familiarity, and self. This exhibition features a curated selection of artworks by seven emerging artists who capture the inevitable mutability of these dynamics. Influenced by the multiple identities that live within each of us, these works explore how our senses of place overlap and affect one another. Intersections that will never be exhausted, instead always in motion.

PARTICIPATING ARTISTS

JOSH CLOUD → (b 1999 San Diego, lives and works in Los Angeles, California) Josh was born in 1999 in San Diego, and lives and works in Los Angeles. He is a multimedia artist whose work is centered around his personal experience of the black and queer questioning of American life, and around the emotional power of being born under the Pisces sign. Josh’s practice emerges from the origins of his sketchbook, where the line is then translated to take up space in the physical world as sculpture and painting. Josh received a BFA from CalArts in experimental animation and art in 2021, and attended Skowhegan School of painting and sculpture in 2023. He has exhibited his work across the Los Angeles area, with selected solo exhibitions that include South Willard, Los Angeles, California. The current group exhibition, “A Sense of Place,” at ABRI MARS is his first showing in New York.

MARTYNA PINKOWSKA → (b 1997, lives and works in Katowice, Poland) frequently employs a fabric motif as a metaphor for exploring and documenting the changes that occur in life, alongside the ongoing evolution of her own self, both physically and emotionally. The feeling of uncertainty is the basis of her works, where fantasy and reality intertwine, reflecting what shapes her female identity. Pinkowska navigates the expectations and paradigms of femininity by focusing on her relationship with her mother, and as a daughter. Through her practice, she contemplates the nature of a "second skin," one constantly being reconstructed and redefined; as a friend, daughter, and artist, a transformation reflected by the passing of time. Pinkowska graduated from the Faculty of Painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Katowice, Poland in 2022. Selected solo exhibitions include Nada Villa, Warsaw, Poland, and Galeria Monopol, Warsaw, Poland. The current group exhibition, “A Sense of Place,” at ABRI MARS is her first showing in the United States.

MARLENA SZEWCZYK → (b 1997 Rybnik, Poland, lives and works in Katowice, Poland) focuses on depicting the mystery and captivating quality of the world she creates as a painter. Intertwined with her own experiences, Marlena explores the dichotomy of human relationships and the tensions that can occur in them. Marlena received a Master's Degree in painting from the Katowice Academy of Fine Arts in 2022. Selected solo exhibitions include Art Hub Rydzowa in Łódź, Poland. The current group exhibition, “A Sense of Place,” at ABRI MARS is her first showing in the United States.

SUSAN KIM ALVAREZ → (b 2000 Honolulu, Hawaii, lives and works in Miami, Florida) uses paint and mixed materials to create wondrous, detailed landscapes depicting the mythical juxtaposition of her current and childhood experiences. Using humor and satire, her works dig into existential and introspective exploration. Alvarez received an Interdisciplinary sculpture degree from Maryland Institute College of Art in 2022. Selected solo exhibitions include the NSU Art Museum, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Storage Archive Gallery, New York, New York. Alvarez attended Bakehouse Art Complex summer Residence, Miami, Florida and Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Skowhegan, Maine.

STEPHANIE LUCCHESE → (b 1991 São Paulo, Brazil, lives and works in Brooklyn, New York) works primarily on painting and drawing. Her work is inspired by medieval tapestries, the drama of religious art, the logical systems of sci-fi, witchcraft history, love, and cultural elements from the 90s and 00s. Lucchese makes paintings of velvety and haunting quality, depicting a fictional universe where forms, fruits, plants and figures appear to interact in constant movement, devouring themselves as time remains still. The result is the theatrical artificiality of a surreal use of color and light, and the unnerving feeling that even though everything here looks edible–from the fruits up to the people–something is ultimately off. All of her work is developed from original drawings to paintings, with no photographic references. Lucchese graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Visual Arts from Fundação Armando Alvares Penteado, São Paulo, Brazil. Selected exhibitions include Projeto Vênus, São Paulo, Brazil; The Hole, New York and IRL, New York.

JULIANE NOLL → (b 1991 Berlin, Germany, lives and works in Antwerp, Belgium) engages with various media in her practice, including painting, printmaking, video, and sculpture. She explores these mediums through the lens of the female, the feeling of other, examining her relationship with the ecologies, literature, and myths of the places she inhabits. Noll depicts fragmented moments in an intricate physicality, embodying vulnerable, pensive scenes. Her work has been exhibited in Germany, the Netherlands, France, Switzerland, and Belgium. The current group exhibition, “A Sense of Place,” at ABRI MARS is her first showing in the United States.

TOBIAS VETTER → (b 1985 Allgäu, Germany, lives and works in Berlin, Germany) began his career garnering recognition and acclaim for the monochromatic artwork he tattooed on people's skin, an experience that greatly informed his current practice as a painter and sculptor. Vetter explores the strange and unusual complexities of human existence, interwoven with individual introspective journeys. Vetter studied illustration and graphic design at the School of Fine Arts and Art Therapy in Bochum, Germany. Selected solo exhibitions include NBB Galerie, Berlin, Germany and Galerie Judith Andreae, Berlin, Germany. The current group exhibition, “A Sense of Place,” at ABRI MARS is his first showing in the United States.

Photography by Sam Orpol