For this Artists at Work, ISCP artist-in-residence Lukas Marxt will be joined by curator Rachel Vera Steinberg. Marxt will present on his film practice and share excerpts from his seven-year research project about the Salton Sea in California, which explores connections between pre-atomic testing history and the current ecological and socio-political structures of the region. Marxt and Steinberg will discuss the sculptural possibilities of the moving image and navigate  the liminal space his work occupies between gallery exhibitions, film festivals and cinema screenings. Their conversation will also delve into how Marxt’s work addresses environmental transformation through a visual language steeped in surveillance and observation. A Q&A with the audience will follow. 

Lukas Marxt is an artist and a filmmaker living and working between Cologne and Lisbon. Marxt´s interest in the dialogue between human and geological existence, and the impact of man upon nature was first explored in his studies of geography and environmental science at the University of Graz, and was further developed through his audio visual studies at the Art University in Linz. His works have been featured in numerous solo and group exhibitions, most recently at Sonic Acts Biennial, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin, Germany; and Torrance Art Museum, Los Angeles, among others. His films have been presented in numerous international film festivals including Berlinale, Germany (2017 and 2018); Locarno Film Festival, Switzerland (2019 and 2023); and Curtas Vila do Conde, Portugal (2018 and 2023). This August, a selection of Marxt’s films will be screened at Anthology Film Archives, New York.

Rachel Vera Steinberg is a curator based in New York City whose work explores cultural mythmaking, the world-building methodologies found in science fiction, as well as political and historical distinctions between facts and fictions. Since the beginning of her career she has supported experimental practices, focused primarily on the presentation of time-based media. She is the Curator and Director of Exhibitions at Smack Mellon in Brooklyn where she oversees the production of ambitiously-scaled exhibitions. Previously, she was the Director of SOHO20 Artists Inc. and the Assistant Director of NURTUREart Non-Profit Inc, both in New York She has curated exhibitions locally and internationally, and she has taught at Fashion Institute of Technology, Rhode Island School of Design, and The New School. 

This program is supported by Federal Ministry for Arts, Culture, Civil Service and Sport of Austria; Hartfield Foundation; James Rosenquist Foundation; Joe Sultan; Lèna Saltos; Milton and Sally Avery Arts Foundation; New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council; Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso; New York City Council District 34; New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature; Dr. Samar Maziad; Sarah Jones; van Beuren Charitable Foundation; William Talbott Hillman Foundation; and Woodman Family Foundation.
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This in-person event will be live streamed through Instagram: @iscp_nyc

Accessibility information: Please note that the entrance to ISCP has seven steps and a ramp, which is ADA compliant. There are seven artist studios and one exhibition space which can be accessed on the first floor of ISCP. There is an accessible bathroom on the first floor at the end of the hallway, up one step, where the artist studios are located. A temporary ramp can be installed to cover the step. To access the second floor, there is a staircase with a grab bar installed on the right side with 22 steps. The second floor has 22 artist and curator studios, one exhibition space, and a lounge where remarks by our speakers will take place. To access the third floor there is a staircase with a grab bar installed on the right side with 24 steps. The third floor has five artist and curator studios. ISCP can access a freight elevator to bring visitors between the first and second floors on request.

ISCP can offer two reserved parking spaces on request for people with disabilities. Please email programs@iscp-nyc.org to request a parking space and/or freight elevator usage.