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Alex W. Rader

Jeffrey Morabito

 

Flat Theater

 

Curated by Bowie Bo Gyung Kim

Exhibition Assistant Mary McGee

 

November 29 - December 18, 2024

  

Opening Reception: Friday, December 6th, 6 PM - 8 PM

37-39 Clinton St NEW YORK

ABOUT

Space776 New York is pleased to present Flat Theater, a two-person exhibition featuring artists Alex W. Rader and Jeffrey Morabito. Showcasing 20 paintings, this exhibition explores time- and space-based approaches to viewing and engaging with flat, canvas-based artwork. Curated by Bowie Bo Gyung Kim, this project highlights emerging New York-based painters and their unique perspectives.

Paintings are often described as scenes within a narrative. Interestingly, whether or not the artist intends it, a painting’s narrative heavily depends on each viewer’s individual experiences. When viewers bring their own perspectives to the storyline suggested by the artist, a unique connection happens between the artist, the artwork, and the viewer. This dynamic relationship adds an intriguing layer of context to flat artwork. With the exhibition Flat Theater, curated by Bowie Bo Gyung Kim, Space776 invites viewers to experience painting as a form of theater, taking on each viewer’s personal interpretation. This two-person exhibition features works by Alex W Rader and Jeffrey Morabito, showcasing their distinctive approaches to form dialogues.

 

The title Flat Theater draws inspiration from the "experimental theater" movement that emerged in the 1950s and 60s. Unlike conventional theater, experimental theater sought to create avant-garde productions, often incorporating elements of performance art and time-based moving images without a detailed narrative. This approach invited audiences to interpret the plot or storyline based on their own perspectives and experiences, observing each moment as it unfolded. Similarly, the works in Flat Theater merely suggest scenes with a sense of intrigue. Through the imagined contexts of each piece, Rader and Morabito’s paintings encourage viewers to construct their own narratives, drawing actively from each artwork or series to interpret the stories within.

 

In this way, their artworks in this exhibition can be viewed as spaces through the lens of linguistic tenses. Rader’s paintings capture moments at their conclusion, representing an unfolding future and prompting questions about causation rooted in the past. In contrast, Morabito’s Lost series portrays moments in the midst of the story, embodying the already-unfolded present and sparking curiosity about what might happen next. Yet both artists bring these moments from the physical present, grounding their works in the “now,” where the viewer engages with them. Through this time-space based approach, Rader and Morabito offer a new perspective on “watching” paintings, inviting viewers to interact with their works as they would a theatrical performance—not merely as static images, but as dynamic scenes unfolding over time, where the viewer becomes an active participant in interpreting the narrative.

 

Both artists, Rader and Morabito, primarily invite viewers into the space within the canvas. They not only depict space as a background for the physical painting but also transform the canvas into an arena where events unfold. These events—whether drawn from real narratives in their lives or shaped by the artists' imaginations—feature objects arranged to tell their unique stories. Rather than capturing hyper-realistic moments like a photograph, they create moments re-envisioned through the artists' narrative lens. Just as viewers experience a sense of reality when immersed in a carefully crafted TV show, Rader and Morabito's paintings bring us to a point where the narratives we uncover resonate with a powerful sense of reality.

SELECTED IMAGES

ABOUT ARTISTS

Alex W. Rader (b. 1996) is an artist born in New York City, raised as a third culture individual in Madrid and rural Pennsylvania. She graduated with her BFA from Hunter College in NYC in 2022 and where she continues to live and work. Discovering the language of painting has been a vital component in her artistic development. Today, she uses painting as a means of expressing the ineffable anxieties around womanhood. Her practice begins with writing webs of potential visual metaphors, setting scenes both real and imagined. Then, through the scrupulous process of representational painting, her works become the recordings of the attention devoted to a problem verbalized in visual metaphor. The role of representational painting proves to be an effective tool to evoke care, devotion, and time. With this, the theme of home has entered her work, providing new combinations of objects in uneasy domestic interiors. Rader has since exhibited in shows across Manhattan and Brooklyn. She also held a Kossak Painting Fellowship under Drew Beattie, and was the recipient of the Curator’s Choice Award (2021). Lastly, she has been featured in several publications, including interviews by Art Editor Michelle Quick, and Vie Darling.

Jeffrey Morabito (b. 1980) received his MFA in Painting from The New York Studio School in 2018. He has held nine solo exhibitions internationally and participated in numerous group exhibitions, with a current focus on New York. Born in Bronxville to Hong Kongese and Italian parents, Morabito spent his early years traveling between New York and Hong Kong. In 2006, he apprenticed with a calligraphy master in Seoul to deepen his appreciation for individual brush strokes. He spent six years in Beijing, beginning with a residency at Red Gate Gallery in 2009 and teaching art at Capital Normal University. During the 2020 lockdown, Morabito launched the artist interview podcast “I Know Strange People,” delving into the unconventional aspects of the creative process.

ABOUT CURATOR

Bowie Bo Gyung Kim (b. 1991, Seoul) is an art researcher currently based in both New York and Seoul. In the exhibition Flat Theater, she delves into the concept of time-tense within static images, particularly in painting. She stimulates the viewer's perception of time flow, creating an experience akin to participation in performative art with the curation of this exhibition. Through her research on audience awareness and cognition, she aims to unpack the imaginative experiences elicited by painting, offering fresh insights into the interplay between viewer and artwork. She earned an MA in Art History and Criticism from SUNY at Stony Brook and an MFA from Hongik University, Seoul.

INSTALLATION VIEW

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