Leroy Neiman Art Centre, New York

September 5 -October 19, 2014

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The Way Out Is Through is a multidisciplinary exhibition that addresses the shifting landscape of urban environments. Through video, interactive media, installation, performance, and sculpture by participating artists—Nobutaka Aozaki, Peggy Buth, Free Breakfast Program, Paloma McGregor, Akeema-Zane, Nicko Nogués, Kyla Marshell, Mark Salvatus, and Phan V.,—the exhibition asks what is the relationship between home and communities in flux. The works explore narratives of belonging, public space, and nostalgia—challenging what it means to belong to a community, and our connectedness to shared memories of a neighborhood. In the exhibition title, “the way out is through” is a reflection of our relationship between the transient nature of the urban city and how we respond to tensions between our home interiors, exteriors of public space, and the act of letting go.

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The exhibition brings together works by artists living in cities around the world, ranging from an interactive piece by Phan V. that deals with the transitory aspects of life amid seemingly more permanent surroundings, to Free Breakfast Program’s interventional breakfast for dinner event that “brings the outside in,” to Nicko Nogués’ Thank You, Harlem, a thank you phone line number where people call to leave a voice message to express their gratitude. Non-participatory works include Peggy Buth’s examination of the destruction of East Berlin’s buildings and an animated commentary on globalization, commerce, and cultural exchange by Mark Salvatus.

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Also featured in the exhibition is a dance installation by Paloma McGregor/Angela's Pulse, and social interventions by artist Nobutaka Aozaki.

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Curated by Leticia Gutierrez, Ladi’Sasha Jones, Kirstin Kapustik, Zena Koo, John Kenneth Paranada, and Maurizzio Hector Pineda. 

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