As our collective tether to reality becomes ever more tenuous, we find ourselves drawn to a peculiar and often disorienting path where the definition of “truth” is increasingly subjective. Human Mountain presents the work of fourteen artists, each navigating their own unique stage in their creative journeys. Inspired by Edvard Munch's monumental mural of the same name, which he described as “a mass of naked human beings straining towards the light, forming a column that reached towards the sun,” these pieces are the artists’ interpretations of the vast, often chaotic spectrum of human emotion, spirit, temperament, and the raw intricacies of existence.

In just a quarter-century, humanity has experienced seismic shifts as our reality was irrevocably transformed by the rise of smartphones, the advent of social media, and the ever-encroaching presence of AI, such as ChatGPT. These shifts have fractured our once-fixed notions of “reality,” giving way to a new, fluid world where experiences are crafted, curated, and, in some cases, completely reimagined. Within this space of uncertainty, the artists featured in Human Mountain explore the liminal, mastering traditional techniques while unafraid to venture into the unconventional. The materials they use—whether it’s traces of olives once consumed, human hair, worn dance shoes, a crushed coke can, dried flowers, or references to body parts like disembodied eyes, or even a butthole—force us to confront the flesh and bone that tether the artist to the world, engendering a vivid articulation of human emotion, one that is unraveled, unshielded, and resistant to the conventional modes of representation.

Artist Bios:

Calvin Burton Calvin Burton lives and works in Brooklyn.  Exhibitions of his work include Reynolds Gallery (Richmond), Tappeto Volante Projects (NY), Essex Flowers, (NY) Present Company (NY), Jack Hanley Gallery (NY), Cuchifritos (NY), Branch Gallery (Durham), Samson Projects (Boston), The Bronx Museum (Bronx), ADA Gallery (Richmond), Raw & Co. (Cleveland), and Second Street Gallery (Charlottesville)

Tucker Claxton Tucker Claxton, from Kansas City, has recently received their MFA from Hunter College (2024). Their installations explore desire, commodity, disrupting spaces, and finding god in a glory hole.

Jen P. Harris Jen P. Harris was born in Virginia and currently lives and works in Cleveland, OH. Harris received a BA from Yale and an MFA from Queens College (CUNY). Their work will be featured in TEXTILExART, a major Thames and Hudson AU publication scheduled for international release in late 2025.

EE Ikeler E.E. Ikeler (b.1986) received a BFA from The Cooper Union in 2008 and an MFA from Yale School of Art in 2016. They are currently a Lecturer of Painting and Drawing at Boston University. They live and work in Brooklyn, NY.

María José Maria Jose Garcia, is a sculptor and installation artist, making precarious amalgamations of materials sourced from Mexico, and the United States. Working with materials pertinent to her personal, cross-regional vernacular, opens a space for habitual observations to incite an uncanny slipstream of familiarity and belonging.

River Minju Kim (b. 1992, Columbus, OH) is a multi-disciplinary artist primarily working with silicone, latex, hair, fabric, and paint. Kim earned a BFA in Fine Arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and an MFA in Painting from Boston University.

Jason Lipow Jason Lipow is a multi-disciplinary artist and educator from southeastern Pennsylvania. He holds an MFA in Painting from Boston University (2022), and a BA in Studio Art and Creative Writing from Brandeis University (2017). Lipow currently teaches as an Assistant Professor of Art at Cedar Crest College in Allentown, Pennsylvania.”

Pooneh Maghazehe Pooneh Maghazehe has presented solo exhibitions at KinoSaito, Kathryn Brennan Gallery, and 17 Essex, along with group shows at ZKM, 798 Biennale, and DePaul University Museum. Select publications include Artforum and Flaunt Magazine. She earned her MFA from Columbia University in 2011.

Leeza Meksin Leeza Meksin is an interdisciplinary artist working in painting, installation, public art and multiples. Her work investigates parallels between conventions of painting, architecture and our bodies. Currently, Meksin’s site-specific exhibition Walls Wearing Worlds is up through March 16, 2025 at Ortega y Gasset Projects.

Julia Rooney Sensitive to the increasing power that digital realities command, Julia Rooney creates paintings and site-specific installations grounded in real space, analog material, and the human body. She has done residencies and received grants through The Joan Mitchell Center, MASS MoCA, Yale University Art Gallery, The Rema Hort Mann Foundation, and Lower Manhattan Cultural Council. Her work has been exhibited widely throughout the United States.

Motohiro Takeda Motohiro Takeda employs sculpture, photography, and installation to explore the impermanent nature of life. He examines the ephemeral qualities of time and memory, focusing on the cyclical nature of existence and the intricate relationship between humanity and the natural world. He received his MFA from Columbia University in 2023.

Rufus Tureen Rufus Tureen is an Artist living and working in New York.

Daniel Anthony Vasquez Daniel Anthony Vasquez was born in Canton Higueras, El Salvador. Vasquez’s works include sculptures, printmaking and drawings. He has had Residencies with NARS (2022); The Lower East Side Printshop (2013). He is currently working on his MFA at Hunter College. He lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.
Loretta Violante Loretta Violante is a New York based sculptor who has recently shown at Below Grand, Gallery Onetwentyeight, and Vox Populi. Violante received an MFA from City College and attended residencies at Guttenberg Arts, NJ, Monson Arts, MA, and will join the Manhattan Graphics Center this coming Summer as a Printmaking Fellow.

“Human Mountain” is curated by Chen Peng Helen Ran, Dino Takashi and Linnea Vedder