What artists are up to in Ridgewood: Regina Rex

Regina Rex is no ordinary artist collective/exhibition space. They find themselves listed in the New Yorker, have been selected for inclusion in the New Museum of Contemporary Art’s global Art Spaces Directory, and they regularly include established artists alongside the emerging in their shows.

Founded in June 2010, Regina Rex (Latin for “Queen King” – Brooklyn was King’s County before it was the Borough of Brooklyn) is based in Ridgewood with a one-room studio space in the enormous industrial building at #329 in 17-17 Troutman Street (GMAP). It’s a neighborhood where many artists keep studio spaces, as well as live conveniently nearby; so naturally, communities develop. This building is also happens to be near Brooklyn’s Bushwick gallery scene.

The thirteen participating artists of Regina Rex created a venue in which they can try out curatorial ideas in the context of an open, flexible program. In doing so, the collective joins the greater community of contemporary artists with a presence in the broader dialogue; in the marketplace they establish a system of mutual support; and they acknowledge ownership of their budding careers.

By the way, this is not a non-profit, nor is it a retail gallery. So, if you see something you like, ask – it is likely available through the artist or his/her representing gallery.

The current show on display is Yesterday Amphoric, a beautifully mounted and readily comprehensible presentation featuring eight works by three artists, Ginny Cook, David J. Merritt, and Rosemary Mayer. The exhibition aims to examine “the impact of historicity, memory and death on the corporeal and material life of objects.” Through a group of finely crafted “apparitions, effigies, relics and shrouds” rendered in video, photography, clay and formed cloth sculpture, the physical manifestations of mortality – both future and past – are conveyed.

Image source: Regina Rex

Ginny Cook’s silver gelatin prints feature base objects related to the funerary process positioned on stark platforms. Although the framing of the photographs are purposefully inartistic and place-holding by design, the distant and evasive quality of the prints evoke nostalgia and longing.

Image source: Regina Rex

David J. Merritt, who just last year achieved an MFA from NYU, contributes works that are intensely physical – evidence of his actual manual process are left apparent in his clay pieces, leaving roughly hewn negative spaces in their wake. Nirvana, 2010, gives us no less than nine hours and fifteen minutes of looped video as a heap of clay slowly and hypnotically – yet uncomfortably – morphs.

Image source: Regina Rex

Rosemary Mayer has been making work since the 1970s. Her biomorphic structures of a feminist strain are congruent with the sensibilities of other female artists – including Louise Bourgoise and Eva Hesse – working with the body, as well as other natural forms and raw materials. Shown here are three deceptively delicate-looking, sweet vessels constructed from rag vellum, sticks and glue.

Yesterday Amphoric is on view through October 14, 2012; the gallery is open Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 6 pm, and by appointment. 347-460-7739

This Friday and Sunday, Regina Rex will be hosting lectures by the performance collective Lucky Pierre, part of an event entitled Emerson Takes a Walk: Self Reliance. On Friday, the great American philosopher Emerson (Michael Thomas) will walk from Coney Island to Regina Rex, ending the journey by speaking at 8pm. On Sunday he will walk from Grant’s Tomb in Harlem to 17-17 Troutman Street and give a talk at 4pm. It’s free but advance reservations are suggested to secure a space.