Thierry Goldberg Gallery is pleased to present Vitruvian Woman, a group exhibition of paintings by Tsioianiio Galban, Noomrah Jamal, Johanna Mirabel, and Jusun Jessie Seo. The exhibition opens on June 11th, with a reception from 6-8pm, and will run through July 12th, 2024.
Vitruvian Woman unites four artists who explore and abstract the body as a means of social deconstruction and investigation. Though all these artists bring a distinctly individual style to this exhibition, each imbues new meaning into concepts of humanity and connection. Through their diverse perspectives, they invite viewers to reconsider the feminine body's role in contemporary social discourse.
In her recent body of work “Her and I,“ Tsioianiio Galban depicts herself along with a blond doppelgänger on the backdrop of expansive landscapes. The paintings capture moments of intense emotional and physical conflict, while exploring standards of beauty, censorship, and gender roles. Galban's use of color and form conveys a dynamic interplay between freedom and constraint, creating a visual dialogue that resonates with themes of resistance and resilience. The sweeping vistas and dramatic compositions invite viewers into a world where personal and collective histories intertwine, revealing layers of meaning and experience.
With her undulating brushstrokes and bright, disarming colors, Noomrah Jamal channels fluid and meditative lines to explore the nuanced realms of trauma and the body. Her work dexterously navigates the space between innocence and harsh reality, using playful yet profound imagery to address the viewer’s own sense of humanity. Jamal constructs a visual lexicon that speaks to the complexities of identity and the resilience of the human spirit. Her compositions invite viewers to engage with the layered textures of her experience and allow the audience to bask in their eccentric surfaces.
Jusun Jessie Seo prompts viewers to reconsider the spatial representation, using her own body as a touchstone. Each work, with its dynamic distortions, probes the concept of the ideal American woman, metaphorically suggested by the physical constraints imposed on her form. Drawing from her experience of immigration, Seo navigates the internalization and resistance of social standards. In Seo's hands, every canvas becomes a battleground where the personal and political collide, inviting viewers to unravel the very fabric of societal norms.
Johanna Mirabel’s pensive, shadowy figures haunt their mundane environments, exploring life on the precipice. Straddling the line between precise detail and fluid sketches, her compositions blur the boundaries between reality and abstraction. Her enigmatic, earth-toned spaces envelop viewers, evoking a serene, dreamlike quality. Mirabel’s work is in constant flux, with figures that seamlessly oscillate between fading into the background and peeling off the canvas. Her art invites contemplation on the ever-changing position of the body in both physical and social spaces, offering a poignant investigation of borderlines.
Tsioianiio Galban (b. 2000, Rochester, NY) is from the Akwesasne Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe and currently lives and works in Rochester, NY. She holds a BFA with highest honors from Pratt Institute. Galban’s work has been exhibited in the Seneca Art and Culture Center (ongoing), and at Pratt Institute’s Steuben Gallery (2024). Her work has won awards in the Cattaraugus art show, and she is the recipient of the Easton Pribble Memorial Award for overall excellence at Pratt Munson in Utica, N.Y. (2022).
Noomrah Jamal (b. 1992, Peshawar, Pakistan) lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. She holds an MFA in painting and drawing from Pratt Institute, New York, NY, and a BFA in Mughal Miniature painting from The National College of Arts, Lahore, Pakistan. She has exhibited at the Rietberg Museum, Zürich, Switzerland; Rajiv Menon Contemporary, Los Angeles, CA; Kates Ferri Projects, New York, NY; Aicon contemporary, New York, NY; and Twelve Gates, Philadelphia, PA. Jamal’s work has been featured in various publications and media including Hyperallergic, the Herald, the news Pakistan, the Karachi collective and the Aleph review. She was an artist in residence at VASL Karachi, for the Taaza Tareen 2019 cycle and was awarded the Imran Mir art prize in 2019. Currently she is a member of the Elizabeth foundation for the arts, Manhattan studio program and is an artist in residence with the Children’s museum of the arts in NYC and Project art.
Jusun Jessie Seo (b. 1995, Seoul, South Korea) lives and works in New York, NY. She holds an MFA from the School of Visual Arts, New York, NY, and a BFA in painting and printmaking from the San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, CA. Seo has had group exhibitions at SVA flex space, New York, NY; Moosey Gallery, London, UK; Tchotchke Gallery, Brooklyn, NY; and Root Division Gallery, San Francisco, CA among others.
Johanna Mirabel (b. 1991, Colombes, France) lives and works in Paris, France. She received her Bachelor's from Ecole Nationale des Beaux-Arts, Paris France. Mirabel has had solo exhibitions at Fondation H, Paris, France; Luce Gallery, Torino, Italy, and Espace des Femmes, Paris, France. She has participated in group exhibitions at Thierry Goldberg Gallery, New York, NY; Espace Aimé Césaire, Gennevilliers, France; Villa Belleville, Paris, France; Véronique Rieffel Gallery, Paris, France; Lieu 37, Paris, France; and Mayfly Gallery, Paris, France among others. Her work is included in numerous foundations and public collections such as The Museum of African Art, Marrakech, Morocco; Fondation H, Antananarivo, Madagascar; The Green Family Art Foundation, Dallas, TX; and The X Museum, Beijing, China.