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Bortolami, James Cohan, kaufmann repetto, Anton Kern, Andrew Kreps, and kurimanzutto are pleased to present the inaugural exhibition at their new shared space, The Campus, in Claverack, NY. Embracing a collaborative model, the galleries have turned an abandoned former school building into a platform for dynamic cultural exchange. Organized by Timo Kappeller, the inaugural exhibition will run from June 29 through October 27, 2024.

Vacant since the ‘90s, the 78,000-square-foot building of the Ockawamick School, built in 1951 and largely unrenovated, has been ripe for reanimation. Colorfully-painted classrooms, mid-century architectural details, and generous natural lighting create a compelling context for artists to engage with the space, the original purpose of the structure, and one another.

In recent years, a reconsideration of values has led many artists toward the long-established creative community of Upstate New York. The Campus embraces this environment of spirited exchange with a sweeping exhibition that fills 40 rooms and the surrounding grounds with artwork. Within each room, thoughtful groupings offer moments of focused dialogue amongst diverse voices from within and beyond the six gallery programs.

In the spirit of collaboration, The Campus is partnering with NXTHVN’s Cohort 05 Studio and Curatorial Fellows. Founded by Titus Kaphar and Jason Price, NXTHVN’s annual fellowship works to mentor and uplift underrepresented artists and curators. The exhibition will feature the work of Studio Fellows Adrian Armstrong, Alexandria Couch, Eric Hart Jr., Fidelis Joseph, Jamaal Peterman, Eugene Mackie, and Alex Puz, organized by Curatorial Fellows Marquita Flowers and Clare Patrick.

The inaugural exhibition connects new, historical, and site-specific works by over 80 artists:

An urgent installation of film, neon, and sculptural work by Andrea Bowers activates artwork into a resonant call to inform, educate, and mobilize on climate change.

Miguel Calderón reflects on the juxtaposition between making art within the comforts of school and the life of an artist post-graduation. Drawing from his own school experience, filled with toxic information, his sculptures and photographs encourage spectators to transcend the formalized structures we so often live and learn within.

Jim Denomie’s (Lac Courte Oreille Band of Ojibwe) first comprehensive New York presentation brings notable works from the artist’s striking oeuvre to a new audience. In his vivid palette and gestural brushwork, figures and scenes express the spiritual and the dreamworld.

Installations by Nathalie du Pasquier and Barbara Kasten mingle in a transformative response to the former school’s architecture. As du Pasquier stretches the boundaries of what a painting is, Kasten explores the nature of photography, perception and materiality. Together, their interventions investigate an object’s presence within illusionistic and real space.

Evocative and cinematic representational paintings by Bendt Eyckermans turn the nuances of daily life unearthly. Drawing upon his own memories, five new works respond to the innately nostalgic atmosphere of the former science lab.

A newly-commissioned instructional work by acclaimed choreographer William Forsythe, installed on the grounds of the school, will ask participants to engage with an “assignment” that prompts them to navigate a complex accumulation of simple physical directives.

An outdoor sculptural installation of archetypal steel “vessels” from Maren Hassinger’s series, Steel Bodies, will activate the grounds. Using the metaphor of vessel as body, the formal simplicity of the five open, 3-D line drawings on view express the artist’s assertion that we are all made equal.

Recent sculptures by Diane Simpson playfully oscillate between two and three-dimensional space, translating her subjects into schematic drawings and then, using the same tricks of pictorial illusion, transforming them back into curiously flattened versions of familiar objects in the actual space of the classroom.

Rebecca Morris’s process-driven abstract paintings echo the textures and tenor of the classroom within which they’re situated. In her practice of juxtaposing thin, matte washes of color with shimmering impasto, each composition combines organic patterns and geometric motifs to generate new outcomes and possibilities.

Ricci Albenda, Leonor Antunes, Adrian Armstrong, Nairy Baghramian, Georg Baselitz, Robert Bordo, Andrea Bowers, Cecily Brown, Daniel Buren, Tom Burr, David Byrd, Miguel Calderón, Brian Calvin, Gianni Caravaggio, Talia Chetrit, Anne Collier, Alexandria Couch, Abraham Cruzvillegas, Jim Denomie, Francesca DiMattio, Thea Djordjadze, Nathalie du Pasquier, Shannon Ebner, Kevin Jerome Everson, Roe Ethridge, Bendt Eyckermans, Spencer Finch, William Forsythe, Lloyd Foster, Aaron Fowler, Martino Gamper, Roberto Gil de Montes, John Giorno, Renée Green, Petrit Halilaj, Anthea Hamilton, Trenton Doyle Hancock, Rachel Harrison, Eric Hart Jr., Maren Hassinger, Madeline Hollander, Jenny Holzer, Fidelis Joseph, Sanya Kantarovsky, Barbara Kasten, Annette Kelm, Caitlin Keogh, Jutta Koether, Ella Kruglyanskaya, Gabriel Kuri, Roy Lichtenstein, Richard Long, Eugene Macki, Goshka Macuga, Liz Magor, Chris Martin, Josiah McElheny, Marta Minujín, Dianna Molzan, Rebecca Morris, Lee Mullican, Eamon Ore-Giron, Gabriel Orozco, Virginia Overton, Philip Pearlstein, Manfred Pernice, Jamaal Peterman, Alex Puz, Marina Rheingantz, Bárbara Sánchez-Kane, Raymond Saunders, Shinichi Sawada, Lara Schnitger, Paul Mpagi Sepuya, Yinka Shonibare CBE, David Shrigley, Diane Simpson, Michael E. Smith, Joan Snyder, Cheyney Thompson, Rirkrit Tiravanija, Fred Tomaselli, Alice Trumbull-Mason, Daniel Turner, Lily van der Stokker, Erika Verzutti, Bill Viola, Pae White, Beatrice Wood, Haegue Yang, XU ZHEN®.

NXTHVN ANNOUNCES ANNUAL CULMINATING FELLOWS EXHIBITION AT SCHOOL-TURNED-ART-SPACE UPSTATE

Double Down features work from seven Cohort 05 Studio Fellows and is organized by Curatorial Fellows Marquita Flowers and Clare Patrick

Claverack, NY — NXTHVN is pleased to present Double Down, the culminating exhibition for its Cohort 05 Fellowship. Continuing a tradition of collaborating with New York-area galleries on a concluding exhibition for Fellows, James Cohan and The Campus are partnering with NXTHVN’s Cohort 05 to present the cohort's annual exhibition. Double Down features the work of Studio Fellows Adrian Armstrong, Alexandria Couch, Eric Hart Jr., Fidelis Joseph, Jamaal Peterman, Eugene Macki and Alex Puz and is organized by Curatorial Fellows Marquita Flowers and Clare Patrick.

Double Down, NXTHVN’s Cohort 05 closing exhibition,joins presentations from Bortolami, James Cohan, kaufmann repetto, Anton Kern, Andrew Kreps and kurimanzutto for the inaugural exhibition at the galleries’ new shared upstate space, The Campus. The inaugural exhibition connects new and historical works by over 80 artists, including the seven participating in Double Down. Embracing a collaborative model, the galleries have turned an abandoned former school building into a platform for dynamic cultural exchange. The Campus is pleased to donate ten percent of sales proceeds from Double Down to NXTHVN in support of their ongoing initiatives.

Vacant since the '90s, the 78,000-square-foot building of the Ockawamick School, built in 1951 and largely unrenovated, has been ripe for reanimation. Colorfully painted classrooms, mid-century architectural details, and generous natural lighting create a compelling context for artists to engage with the space, the original purpose of the structure, and one another. 

“We’re thrilled that our Fellows will be part of the inaugural exhibition at The Campus. At NXTHVN, we strive to provide our Fellows with education, access and programming opportunities that nurture and advance artist careers. Exhibiting alongside established artists at an extraordinary new art space, Double Down is a fitting closing show for our Fellows,” said Dr. Kalia Brooks, NXTHVN’s interim executive director.

Set among six other gallery programs, Double Down enlivens blank rooms with works that burst forth color and intent. Eyes bounce around the room, tracing this deeply saturated exhibition that stretches the boundaries of material uses and physical convention. Two rooms are filled with paintings, photographs and mixed media installations that call to aesthetic maximalism and continued dialogic exchange. Large-scale pieces overload the space—charged with the sighs and cackles of late-night communing and studio hopping. The works reflect the osmosis that occurs when a cohort of artists find kinship. 

Saturation remains a central proposition: as a commonality of form, but also as a verb, describing a shared approach to making. Bridging the aesthetic and conceptual, the artists have become immersed in their own practice, pushing ideas and materials as far as they know how. Adrian Armstrong, Jamaal Peterman and Alexandria Couch build worlds in mixed media installations and densely painted colors, inspired by personal archives. Eugene Macki’s sculptures challenge the utility and value of material while Fidelis Joseph’s paintings explore instinct and the subconscious through formless abstraction. Alex Puz transfixes color theory as a tool through paint, as Eric Hart Jr. activates color in photography, speculating on other possibilities.

In Double Down, color and content drench the exhibition. Composite ideas penetrate individual practices, borne from and manifested in community. Set up in dialogue with each other, the exhibition leans into the visual weight of the room. The busyness of the exhibition intends to halt the viewer, challenging them to find time to arrive at nuance. By pushing into the saturation of color and material investigation, viewers can catch glimpses of the conversations shared. 

Founded by Titus Kaphar and Jason Price, NXTHVN’s annual fellowship works to cultivate creative connections. Since 2019, NXTHVN’s Fellowship program has served as a springboard for artist careers. Notable individuals who have completed the NXTHVN Fellowship include Felipe Baeza, Layo Bright, Kenturah Davis, Alexandria Smith, Vaughn Spann, Patrick Quarm, and many more.

ABOUT NXTHVN

NXTHVN is a new national arts model that empowers artists and curators through education and access to a vibrant ecosystem. Supported by intergenerational mentorship, cross-sector collaboration and local engagement, NXTHVN accelerates the careers of the next generation and fosters retention of professional art talent while helping catalyze New Haven into a world-class, sustainable arts community.