June 14, 2010  

“In a Plain Brown Wrapper”, 6.26.10

an exhibition curated by Barbara DeGenevieve and Anna Cerniglia
opening: Saturday, June 26, 7-10pm
June 26 – July 3, 2010





Johalla Projects is excited to work in collaboration with Barbara DeGenevieve to present In a Plain Brown Wrapper, a mixed media exhibition that explores themes of sex. Please be advised that this showcase contains explicit adult content which is graphic. Due to the nature of this exhibition, we ask that everyone who attends be at least 18 years or older. This is not an event for the prude.


In a Plain Brown Wrapper is an exhibition of work that would not be shown in many other venues. It is the end of the first decade of the 21st century and yet the discomfort of the majority of people in regard to naked bodies or talk about sex still fuels the debate about what is appropriate for public display, and whether it is pornographic, or worse, obscene.


Public offense and keeping the children safe from images that might “damage them” are the reasons invoked most often when art with sexual content is brought into question. This show opens for discussion the fact that pornography has become the filter through which imagery of the sexual/sexualized body is understood, analyzed, controlled by law, and condemned even by a population that regularly indulges in its fantasies.


The artists in this exhibition are aware of pornography’s grip on America’s cultural consciousness but are not interested in commenting on hypocrisy. Instead they make work that is related to porn and its numerous tropes, and in doing so, make defiant statements about sex, sexuality, gender, power and the role of fantasy in all our lives.



Featuring work by:

Steven Frost
Elisa Garza
Elise Goldstein
Emerson Granillo
Jesse Hites
Jacob King
Ivan Lozano
Joelle McTigue
Karina Natis
Clare O’Sadnick
Edward Rossa
Joshua Sampson
Talaya Schmid
Kristen Stokes
Jaroslaw Studencki
Bu Tu
Wayama Woo
Meredith Zielke




For more details, please contact: johallaprojects@gmail.com


Johalla Projects
1561 N. Milwaukee Ave., 2nd floor
Chicago, IL 60622
www.johallaprojects.com

About johallaprojects

Johalla Projects was established in the fall of 2009 by Anna Cerniglia as a venue for emerging and mid-career artists. Located in Chicago's West Town neighborhood, Johalla Projects is a collective space collaborating with artists, writers, and curators. In addition to presenting exhibitions in its gallery space, Johalla works to organize and execute public art projects in neighborhoods across the city of Chicago. Every exhibition and project undergoes a thoughtful selection process, assuring that each show presented by Johalla Projects is comprised of the finest contemporary work.

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