The International Studio & Curatorial Program announces the opening of The Earth Is Blue Like an Orange, a group exhibition featuring the work of eight artists in residence in ISCP’s Ground Floor Program. 

The Earth Is Blue Like an Orange, a title derived from poetry by French surrealist Paul Éluard (1895-1952), evokes the collective memory of 2020 through eight artists’ differing viewpoints. In an unparalleled period characterized by the COVID-19 pandemic, and a heightened collective awareness of widespread racial injustice, the individual works reflect a range of concepts and emotions. Largely comprised of newly created works, the exhibition presents Alison Nguyen’s speculative fiction telling the story of a simulacral subaltern who has been conceived by an algorithm and raised in isolation by the Internet; a cyanotype work by Bundith Phunsombatlert addressing the subject of border crossings, using national flags; Carlos Franco’s compilation of media landscapes without specific geolocation, showing divergent populations at odds with their habitats; an ongoing painting by Wieteke Heldens that catalogues colors based on personal experience; Svetlana Bailey’s visual representation of what are now everyday questions about human connection (e.g., how do we love without touch?); an account of a woman’s personal story mirroring communal experiences of suffering, violence, and memory in Civan Özkanoğlu’s installation project; Habby Osk’s sculpture highlighting the precarity between stability and tension; and a cinematic installation by Moko Fukuyama in which framing, illumination and other variables serve as metaphors alluding to the many responsibilities of the storyteller.

These artists in residence are all part of a program that offers subsidized workspace and professional development for New York City-based artists. Launched in 2015, Ground Floor at ISCP takes place on the first floor of the institution, in tandem with ISCP’s International Residency program, forming an integral part of a dynamic community of artists and curators from all over the world.

Artists in the exhibition: Svetlana Bailey, Carlos Franco, Moko Fukuyama, Wieteke Heldens, Alison Nguyen, Habby Osk, Civan Özkanoğlu, and Bundith Phunsombatlert. 

The number of visitors to ISCP galleries will be limited, with timed viewing. Visitor protocols are in the Visit section of the website here.

The Earth Is Blue Like an Orange is organized by Alexandra Sloan Friedman, Programs Associate, ISCP.

About the Artists: 

Svetlana Bailey (born Russia) often uses fruit to explore the flesh and gender of human embodiment throughout her work with installation, drawing and in-camera collage. Svetlana Bailey has exhibited work at Elizabeth Houston Gallery, New York; Blue Sky Gallery, Portland; and Artereal Gallery, Sydney; among others. 

Carlos Franco’s (born Puerto Rico) work is an exercise in cultural cross pollination. He has exhibited work at Diego Rivera Gallery, San Francisco; Nikolaj Kunsthallen, Copenhagen; and The Buffalo Institute for Contemporary Art (BICA), among others.

Moko Fukuyama’s (born Japan) work is driven by storytelling and narratives. Through film and sculpture, she questions how place can shape lived experiences and the intimate lives of her subjects. She has exhibited at The Shed, RECESS and SOHO20 Gallery, all New York, among other spaces.

Wieteke Heldens (born The Netherlands) works primarily with painting. She turns personal experiences and thoughts into abstract concepts, creating work according to a self-devised algorithm. Wieteke Heldens has exhibited work at Kunst Museum Den Haag, The Hague; Royal Palace Amsterdam; Borzo Gallery, Amsterdam, among others.

Alison Nguyen (born United States) explores the ways in which images are produced, disseminated, and consumed within the current media landscape, exposing the socio-political conditions from which they arise in video, installation, and new media works. She has presented work at Ann Arbor Film Festival; CROSSROADS, San Francisco Cinematheque and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Channels Festival International Biennial of Video Art, Melbourne; Microscope Gallery, New York and AC Gallery, Beijing, and OK Corral, Copenhagen, among others. 

Habby Osk’s (born Iceland) interests lie in basic physics: balance, movement, gravity, time and force. These factors play an important role as she creates works which test the limits of balance and stability and explore gravity’s influence over time using sculpture, photography and installation as her primary mediums. She has exhibited work at Gerðarsafn – Kópavogur Art Museum, Iceland; Akureyri Art Museum, Iceland; and Tina Kim Gallery, New York, among others.

Civan Özkanoğlu’s (born Turkey) interdisciplinary work traces seemingly mundane stories and daily absurdities, and their convergence in public space, mass media, the art world, politics and collective memory. He works with photography, sculptural and performative interventions that conceptually question  exhibition formats and artistic production. Civan Özkanoğlu has exhibited work at SALT, Istanbul; National Academy Museum & School, New York; and Istanbul Modern, among others.

Bundith Phunsombatlert (born Thailand) explores media archeology. His artworks examine how new and old media technology connect, and how their differing contexts subtly imbue everyday experiences with new layers of meaning. Bundith Phunsombatlert has exhibited work at Auckland Triennial Institution, New Zealand; Guangzhou Triennial, China; and Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art, Australia, among others.

This exhibition is supported by Alice and Lawrence Weiner; New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council; New York City Council District 34; New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature; NYC COVID-19 Response and Impact Fund in The New York Community Trust; William Talbott Hillman Foundation; Hartfield Foundation; Mondriaan Fund; Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation; Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF); and VIA Art Fund.

• Four visitors are allowed in the galleries at a time, and appointments are required. Please write to info@iscp-nyc.org to schedule an appointment.
• All visitors are required to maintain social distancing, keeping six feet from anyone not in their party.
• Masks or face coverings are mandatory.
• Hand sanitizer will be available for visitors.
• If you have fever, chills, cough, muscle pains, headache, loss of taste or smell, or think you may have been exposed to COVID-19 prior to your visit, please contact us to reschedule.
• An inherent risk of exposure to COVID-19 and other infectious conditions exists in any public space where people are present. Those visiting the International Studio & Curatorial Program voluntarily assume all risks related to exposure to COVID-19, other infectious conditions, and other hazards that may be present in a public space.