SQUISH
Beth Livensperger and Estelle MaisonettCurated by Janine Polak
January 9 - 31, 2021
Estelle Maisonett The New Yorker 2019, 16x16x1.5 inches, mixed media on panel
Compressed spaces and bodies inhabit the settings of both Beth Livensperger & Estelle Maisonett’s paintings. Comprised of skewed compositions and investigations of overlooked places, we find a gum-stained sidewalk, a brick wall of a Bronx apartment building, the administrative assistant’s corner desk, or the empty ubiquitous plastic chair in a waiting room.
A large paper and ink installation by Livensperger will be shown across from three of Maisonett’s found object paintings, all of which examine labor and assumptions about identity, class, and worth. Bodies and perspectives are flattened, confronting the viewer with fullness and details, simultaneously and without hierarchy. Both artists build upon negative space without signifying omission; rather, these characters and sites are quietly begging to not be forgotten or trampled upon.
Beth Livensperger's recent works on paper depict scenarios in which women navigate the psychologically charged, yet banal, space of office interiors. Originally from the Midwest, Livensperger holds a BFA from The Cooper Union, and an MFA from Yale University. She has exhibited widely, including at The Abrons Art Center, the American Academy of Arts and Letters, RISD’s Memorial Hall Gallery, and The Painting Center. Her work has been reviewed in Politico, Two Coats of Paint, and WNYC’s Culture Datebook. She has attended residencies at the Lower East Side Printshop, Sam and Adele Golden Foundation, Virginia Center for Creative Arts, Vermont Studio Center, and The Abrons Art Center.
Estelle Maisonett is a Mexican Puerto-Rican mixed-media interdisciplinary artist born and raised in the Bronx, New York. Her work is an investigation of how personal relationships to objects and materials inform preconceived notions of identity, economic status, accessibility, race, sexual orientation, and gender. Maisonett received her BFA from SUNY Purchase College in 2013, was a 2018 Artist in the MarketPlace Fellow at the Bronx Museum of the Arts, a 2018 BronxArtSpace Summer Artist in Residence, and is a current New Wave artist in residence. Estelle has exhibited with Chashama, Silent Barn, Field Projects, Bronx Art Space, El Barrio ArtSpace at PS109, Latchkey Gallery, Longwood art Gallery, The Andrew Freedman Home, and SUNY Purchase College, among others.
Photo credit Masaki Hori
Photo credit Masaki Hori
Photo credit Masaki Hori
Estelle Maisonett, No Smoking, 2019, 60x 50.5x4.5”, Mixed Media on plywood
Estelle Maisonett, The Bronx Is Not For Sale, 2017, 40x64x.5”, Mixed Media on pine wood
Estelle Maisonett, The New Yorker, 2019, 16x16x1.5, Mixed Media on panel
Beth Livensperger, No Real Plan, 2021, ink & silkscreen on paper, 235 x 132 inches
Beth Livensperger, No Real Plan, 2021, ink & silkscreen on paper, 235 x 132 inches