Fire & Ice: CUE Teen Collective 2019-20 by CUE Art Foundation

Fire & Ice an exhibition by the CUE Teen Collective September 12 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 13, 2020

Anayi Charles-Pierre Anna Dawn Anja Drakulovic Sophie Foley Aurora Hidalgo

Cassandra Junio Anastasia Mantel Diana Paniagua Oliver Sheehan Jiahe Wang

Curated by Amanda Adams-Louis, CTC Lead Educator and Program Coordinator 1

ABOUT CUE CUE Art Foundation is a dynamic visual arts center dedicated to creating essential career and educational opportunities for emerging and under-recognized artists of all ages. Through exhibitions, arts education, and public programs, CUE provides artists and audiences with sustaining and meaningful experiences and resources. CUE carries out its mission through its core programs, which include solo exhibitions for emerging and under-recognized artists; an annual fellowship for an emerging curator; mentorship and publication opportunities for emerging writers; professional development workshops for practicing artists; and arts education intensives for high school students. These programs make a profound difference in the lives of the students and artists who participate. Alumni have gone on to achieve such successes as museum shows, reviews in prominent publications, residencies, awards and scholarships, and commercial gallery representation. CUE is one of the few New York City arts organizations offering such transformative services to visual artists, providing them with the tools and resources needed to start and sustain a successful career as an artist. CUE was founded in 2002 by a group of visionary and entrepreneurial art enthusiasts who wanted to showcase a wide range of incredible artwork from across the country. Ever since, CUEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s founders have remained dedicated to supporting artists at all stages of their careers.

CTC students collaborate on an artwork during a studio class at CUE, 2020.

ABOUT THE CUE TEEN COLLECTIVE The CUE Teen Collective is a free, year-long after school program for NYC high school students who are passionate about visual culture and interested in exploring careers in the arts. Teens meet for two hours on Wednesday afternoons from October through May to attend field trips to local arts organizations, participate in workshops with arts professionals, and create artwork for a group exhibition at CUE. This year, due to Covid-19, the program was held online via Zoom from March through May 2020. In the fall, teens attend field trips and workshops to learn about the different career paths available to them in the arts and how to sustain their artistic practices long-term. In the spring, students focus on studio time in preparation for a group exhibition at CUE in May. Teens share their artwork in critiques and have the opportunity to provide and receive feedback with both students and teachers. Together they vote on a theme for their final exhibition, participate in the curation of the show, learn art handling techniques to install their own artwork, and contribute to an exhibition catalogue featuring installation images and photographs of their artwork alongside their written artist statements and biographies. Through this process, the CTC learn how to independently prepare for and install an exhibition.

INTRODUCTION The concept behind Fire & Ice is a testament to the foresight of our youth. In December 2019, 15 teen artists unanimously voted on “destruction” as the theme for the 2020 CUE Teen Collective final exhibition. A hot second before the world learned about an airborne and potentially lethal virus named ‘Rona (Coronavirus/COVID-19), a cohort of young artists chose to create individual works and series around the causes, impacts, effects, and consequences of destructive patterns, ideologies, beliefs, and actions they have observed in society. Anayi Charlies-Pierre’s prints explore how the lack or absence of power, collaboration, and justice within a given community can become a destructive force over time. Anna Dawn’s painting series depicts the bedside tables of three fictional characters experiencing destructive patterns in regards to their mental and medical health. Anja Drakulovic’s paintings explore how social Darwinism acts as a silent and corrosive force in society. Aurora Hidalgo’s painting symbolizes the human toll that exists in the nuances of war. Anastasia Mantel’s bust of Medusa is a contemporary depiction of a classic icon of destruction and terror. Cassadra Junio’s painting series explores how racial injustice and inequity has become a destructive force in American culture. Diana Paniagua’s illustration illuminates how the change caused by destruction can also be a form of rebirth. Jiahe Wang’s pieces satirize and observe how exploitation and destruction in human nature occur and how the natural world’s response to humans’ exploitative actions hurts us all. Oliver Sheehan’s sculpture depicts the Hindu god Shiva performing a dance that destroys the world in order to make way for a rebirth. Sophie Foley takes a pre-emptive view in her drawings; she highlights the mental states or attitudes that precede or cause destruction. The fact that this catalogue contains any content at all is a reflection of the resiliency of the 2019-20 CUE Teen Collective cohort. All of the artwork and text featured in the following pages were conceived, critiqued, and created during the COVID-19 shutdown in Spring 2020 and finalized over the summer while New York City was in the midst of police brutality and racial injustice demonstrations, protests, actions, and fireworks in response to the murder of George Floyd by former police officer Derek Chauvin. I am in awe of the ideas, aesthetics, and materiality evident in the pieces that comprise Fire & Ice. The artwork reproduced in this catalogue highlights the collective insights, observations, empathy, and knowledge of a diverse group of young people who’ve borne witness to a pivotal, political, and precarious historical moment. — Amanda Adams-Louis, CUE Teen Collective Lead Educator and Program Coordinator; curator of Fire & Ice

CTC students visit artist Chantal Feitosaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s studio at Smack Mellon, 2019.

CTC students participate in a studio art class at CUE, 2020. 5

Anayi Charles-Pierre Anna Dawn Anja Drakulovic Sophie Foley Aurora Hidalgo

Cassandra Junio Anastasia Mantel Diana Paniagua Oliver Sheehan Jiahe Wang

Art historian John Tyson leads an art history classification activity, 2019.

Conservator Diana Hartman demonstrates the painting conservation process at MoMA, 2019. 8

Artist Chang Yuchen leads a bookmaking workshop at CUE, 2019.

Lead Educator Amanda Adams-Louis teaching an image transfer workshop, 2020. 9

Assistant Educator Phyllis Yao leads a painting workshop, 2020.

Artist Steve Parker leads a sound art workshop, 2020. 10

CTC student Anastasia Mantel introduces her cat to the collective via Zoom, 2020.

Jillian Steinhauer, art critic at The New York Times, discusses her career path over Zoom, 2020. 11

CTC STUDENT STATEMENT CUE Art Foundation is proud to announce the third annual CUE Teen Collective final exhibition. The subject of destruction comes up again and again in the year 2020, as global catastrophes—both literal and figurative—flood the headlines and invade our consciousness. We are bombarded by news of environmental disasters, political upheaval, a global health crisis, and much more. In Fire & Ice, ten teenagers from all over New York City explore the difficult topic of destruction and transform trauma into art. Made in a range of mediums such as drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, and illustration, the artworks in this exhibition also vary in their content; some depict narratives of personal destruction—investigating family issues and subjects like substance abuse—while others portray broader or collective notions of destruction, exploring the impacts of climate change and racism. The works also differ in their approach to destruction: some are fable-like warnings of future destruction, some are eulogies of things past, and others are flat depictions of ruination without offering any solutions. Unifying the pieces are the artists’ roles as both creators and destroyers. They examine and harness their powers to expose, initiate, and terminate destruction through their artistic practices. The exhibition includes work by Anayi Charles-Pierre, Anna Dawn, Anja Drakulovic, Sophie Foley, Aurora Hidalgo, Cassandra Junio, Anastasia Mantel, Diana Paniagua, Oliver Sheehan, and Jiahe Wang. Curatorial statement by Jiahe Wang, CTC 2019-20

Installation view of Fire & Ice at the Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural & Educational Center, LES Gallery. On view September 12-13, 2020. Photo by Adam Reich.

Installation view of Fire & Ice at the Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural & Educational Center, LES Gallery. On view September 12-13, 2020. Photo by Adam Reich. 13

Installation view of Fire & Ice at the Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural & Educational Center, LES Gallery. On view September 12-13, 2020. Photo by Adam Reich.

Installation view of Fire & Ice at the Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural & Educational Center, LES Gallery. On view September 12-13, 2020. Photo by Adam Reich. 14

Installation view of Fire & Ice at the Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural & Educational Center, LES Gallery. On view September 12-13, 2020. Photo by Adam Reich.

Installation view of Fire & Ice at the Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural & Educational Center, LES Gallery. On view September 12-13, 2020. Photo by Adam Reich. 15

ANAYI CHARLES-PIERRE It’s not my fault, from the “Destruction” series, 2020 Printmaking, oil pastel, and paint on paper 11 x 15 inches Red, White, & Blue Against Humanity, from the “Destruction” series, 2020 Printmaking, oil pastel, and paint on paper 11 x 15 inches ARTIST STATEMENT I have been drawn to art ever since I was a little girl. I felt free when I used my first paintbrush. I knew art was meant for me and that’s where I shined. It wasn’t easy for me to come up with my idea for the theme of “destruction.” It took time for me to examine what destruction meant to me. I decided to represent this piece of destruction in printmaking, my favorite form. It gives me the opportunity to draw, carve, and use thick messy ink. I find it complex, like life; my art is a reflection of what is around us, what is really truly around us, the things we cannot touch, but are present. I wanted my culture to be represented in an art form that is personal. We are currently living in a period of destruction that the COVID-19 pandemic has brought. Destruction, for me, has always been there because our lives are constantly disrupted by different injustices. Therefore, my art pieces represent a divided community and lack of power. ARTIST BIO Anayi Charles-Pierre is a junior in high school with a passion for music and art. She loves learning new things and spends her free time reading. A seventeen-year-old girl from Bed-Stuy who surrounds herself with a diverse community of people, she is open about the many social and political injustices that affect people of color and has begun to get more involved in the activist community. Charles-Pierre is influenced by the work of James Baldwin and the impact he has had with his powerful words. Through a podcast that she created, Charles-Pierre explores Baldwin’s writings and representations as an African American living in a complicated, beautiful world. She wants to create art that makes people think about today’s reality and the hope of the future.

ANNA DAWN Untitled, from the “Bedside Tables and Destruction” series, 2020 Acrylic on canvas 20 x 24 inches Untitled, from the “Bedside Tables and Destruction” series, 2020 Acrylic on canvas 20 x 24 inches ARTIST STATEMENT “Bedside Tables” portray the most intimate spaces of fictionalized characters experiencing different types of “destruction” in their lives. Each has a unique story and comes from a different background. The paintings subtly depict how depression, alcoholism, and disease may affect a person’s life. My approach is quiet and realistic. I have an affinity for making art that portrays the interiors of homes, and I chose to paint bedside tables because they are a very intimate part of someone’s space that holds a great deal of information about that person. The message of this project is that humans have great complexity and should not be defined by their labels. ARTIST BIO Anna Dawn is a sixteen-year-old artist. She is a rising junior at the Chapin School in New York City, where she was born and raised. Dawn is a multimedia artist who works in painting, drawing, photography, video, sculpting, and collage. She has completed pre-college courses in figure drawing, digital photography, and film photography at The School of Visual Arts. Dawn has also completed the intensive art summer program at The Oxbow School, where she specialized in video art. She is interested in studying fine arts in college and is invested in learning more about New York City’s rich arts culture and history.

ANJA DRAKULOVIC Survival of the Fittest, from the “Destruction: Capitalism” series, 2020 Acrylic on canvas 40 x 29 inches Bacteria, from the “Destruction: Capitalism” series, 2020 Acrylic on canvas 6 x 6 inches Pest, from the “Destruction: Capitalism” series, 2020 Acrylic and cardboard on canvas 14 x 11 inches Human, from the “Destruction: Capitalism” series, 2020 Acrylic on canvas 24 x 20 inches ARTIST STATEMENT I decided to respond to the theme of “destruction” through the capitalist idea of “survival of the fittest.” At first, I thought about making a piece to express what jealousy would look like as a person, but then I thought about the question of where that person would be and what they would be jealous of. Darwinism is a good example of jealousy: people constantly compare their worth to other people based on what their social status is. From my point of view, Darwinism prevents people from working together, and this lack of cooperation is destruction. Therefore, I made an acrylic on canvas painting in a style inspired by traditional American pen and ink illustrations. I believe that America is famous for having the society depicted in the painting. ARTIST BIO Anja Drakulovic is a seventeen-year-old art student at Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School. At age fourteen, she moved to New York City from a small country in Southeast Europe. Drakulovic enjoys every form of art and takes advantage of its lack of rules. She has had her work exhibited in Manhattan and Queens. Drakulovic’s goal is to major in art and she is currently interested in graphic design and painting.

SOPHIE FOLEY Waiting I and II, from the “Waiting” series, 2020 Collaged paper on cardboard 13 x 8.5 inches each ARTIST STATEMENT For my piece in this exhibition, I thought it would be a little more interesting to focus on what drives destruction, rather than how destruction manifests itself. Destruction is omnipresent, it is constantly occurring, and this fact overwhelmed me. Over a couple of weeks, I tasked myself with finding a common thread in all the examples of destruction I had taken from my own life and the world at large. In this search, I landed on the idea of “instant gratification”—the need to be constantly satisfied, to have our way and have it quickly. We relish efficiency and ease. Often, the thought of true hard work scares us. From there, a word popped into my head: impatience. We yearn and yearn for certain things, and when they don’t simply drop into our hands, we get restless, jittery. To get what we want as soon as possible we might cut corners, and our inability to wait is ultimately very ruinous in the long run. These pen and ink drawings, superimposed onto different pictures of physical spaces, are my attempt to visually represent impatience. In the first image, it is my hope that the multitudinous thin black lines shaping the figure’s various body parts convey a sort of manic energy, though still contained by the relatively recognizable anatomy. The second image is, to me, the aftermath of an explosion. Unable to suppress their anticipation any longer, the figure has sprouted a series of extraneous limbs, becoming more beast than human. ARTIST BIO Sophie Foley has lived in Brooklyn her entire life and is a junior at the NYC iSchool in Manhattan. Her house is very close to the Brooklyn Museum, which she visits often with her family and friends. Currently, she is a work-study assistant in the museum’s Gallery-Studio Program, helping with younger students’ art classes. She has taken a variety of art classes since middle school, primarily at the Pratt Institute, Art Studio NY, and the Brooklyn Museum. Foley carries her notebook around with her everywhere she goes, and for the past year and a half, she has published a variety of zines which she distributes at school to her friends and teachers. Foley uses art as a way to channel her anxieties about the world.

AURORA HIDALGO Amidst the Ruins, from “The Marring of Innocence” series, 2020 Acrylic on canvas 16 x 20 inches ARTIST STATEMENT There are three definitions when someone looks up destruction: “the action or process of causing so much damage to something that it no longer exists or cannot be repaired,” “the action or process of killing or being killed,” and “a cause of someone’s ruin.” With those definitions in mind, I cannot help but to think of war because it often involves killing people and ruining their lives and futures. My piece attempts to capture how I feel in regard to war and its impact on people. I see war as senseless destruction. It is often orchestrated by those who do not care about the ones they hurt, and destroys the lives of many innocent individuals. Symbolism, like the burning background and a disheveled, frustrated child with wings, is used to show the physical destruction and how it looks in reference to an innocent person. I primarily use the ongoing Kashmir conflict and Syrian war as examples because they are being greatly ignored by U.S. media. Destruction is as dependent on those who let it unfold in silence as those who are actively creating it. I believe in using my art to reach a wider audience and to raise awareness that will help inform others. ARTIST BIO Aurora Hidalgo is a sixteen-year-old junior and fine artist who works primarily with acrylics, charcoal, and graphite. She is a first generation Latina raised in Queens and finds a lot of inspiration from her experiences as a person of color as well as that of those around her. Her work often incorporates themes about the challenges people of color face and mental health. Hidalgo focuses on facial expressions and body language to create a sense of empathy and sympathy in her work.

CASSANDRA JUNIO Evol, from the “Revolution” series, 2020 Acrylic on canvas 16 x 13.75 inches Hate is a Virus, 2020 Acrylic on poster paper 11 x 3.5 inches each ARTIST STATEMENT I wanted to focus primarily on racial injustice in my work. In school, we were always taught that America was built on the backs of those that were stolen from their home—to not only be exploited for economic means, but to also be manhandled and systematically slaughtered. African American lives continue to be jeopardized, and for years racism and hatred has been a tool of destruction that has cost the lives of many Black people as they continue to be victims of an unjust institution. In this exhibition, I wanted to display how racism continues to taint this country, creating an homage to the Black Lives Matter Movement. Despite attempts from corrupt power to silence the people through fear, the recent acts of racial injustice sparked a dynamic revolution to seek justice for those lives that were lost. The use of smoothly painted portraits in contrast with roughly manipulated muted paint in the background demonstrates the determination of the people to support the evolution of the United States. As an ally of the Black community, I will continue to support the movement by translating my passion for social justice into my art to bring awareness to this issue. I aim to encapsulate the importance of unity among the people to continue to strive and fight for what’s right during the revolution, using justice and peace as a beacon of light.

ARTIST BIO Cassandra Junio is a Filipina-American born in Honolulu, Hawaii. She moved to the mainland when she was one year old and was raised in the Bronx, New York. She is a straight-A student who currently attends Central Park East High School in East Harlem where she continues to be creatively involved within her school and home community. She seeks creative opportunities to test her artistic ability both in and out of school through her involvement in art programs such as CUE, as well as clubs and competitions. Junio takes major inspiration from local street art, using acrylic paint as her medium of choice to express her vast appreciation of street style contemporary art through her paintings and her shoe and denim customs.

ANASTASIA MANTEL What A Grey Life, 2020 Acrylic paint 30 x 30 inches Medusa, 2020 Polymer clay, earthenware clay, and acrylic paint 4 x 4 x 6 inches ARTIST STATEMENT Destruction often has a negative connotation. While going on this journey, I wondered what would best represent this topic for me personally. I received most of my inspiration from Greek mythology. In the beginning, Medusa was a beautiful young maiden seduced by Posiedon in Athena’s temple. Athena then punished Medusa, turning her into a monster with snakes as hair that could turn anyone into a stone figure. My clay sculpture of Medusa appreciates her femininity and pays her homage as she has been a symbol for strong women since the beginning of time. I feel that her story is associated with destruction because over time some people have twisted her story to portray her as a hideous beast. Her story of strength and ability should not be covered up—it should be explored and appreciated. In Greek history, sculptures were created to appreciate religious figures, so my goal through this piece is to appreciate Medusa by embracing her “destructive” characteristics.

ARTIST BIO Anastasia Mantel is a sixteen-year-old student at St. Jean Baptiste High School. Mantel was born and raised in New York. She is constantly influenced by artists who use their environment and history to build upon their work. For this exhibition, Mantel decided to work in a different medium—clay—instead of her usual watercolors and pencil. In the future, she hopes to become an art therapist to help children express themselves through different processes.

DIANA PANIAGUA cambio, 2020 Watercolor, markers, and Prismacolors 12 x 16 inches ARTIST STATEMENT My final interpretation of destruction was how good things can come through it. I chose this because destruction is usually portrayed as bad, and though originally I understood it as that, I had a change of heart at the last minute. I decided to make a single piece depicting change occurring after destruction in a personâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s life. Symbolism is used to help push the point and the positions of where everything was placed. To make this piece, I used watercolor, alcohol based markers, colored pencils, and pen.

ARTIST BIO Diana Paniagua is a fifteen-year-old sophmore attending St. Jean Baptiste High School. She makes manga art and watercolor illustrations. Paniagua grew up in Queens and has been drawing for as long as she could remember. She was influenced to draw in manga styles after watching Japanese TV shows and cartoons and uses watercolor, colored pencils, and markers to create illustrations. Paniagua aspires to be a manga artist.

OLIVER SHEEHAN A Comprehensive Symbol, 2020 Wire mounted on wooden stump 23 x 29 inches ARTIST STATEMENT This piece is a wire metal sculpture standing on a wooden stump. It is an interpretation of a traditional Hindu sculpture of Nataranja, the King of the Cosmic Dance. Nataranja is the depiction of the god Shiva performing a dance that destroys the world in order to make way for creation. The aspect of destruction that interested me was the idea that destruction can be necessary and beautiful, that rebirth in and of itself is a form of destruction. Hinduism, specifically the story of Shiva as Nataranja, perfectly captures this aspect of the theme. I chose to use wire to build the sculpture because I wanted it to seem frail. As the cycle of creation and destruction is an intangible concept, in my mind, the best way to emulate it was by using wire, a thin and delicate medium. The strength and power of the idea is highlighted by the ephemeral nature of the piece.

ARTIST BIO Oliver Sheehan is a sixteen-year-old abstract artist from Brooklyn, New York. His goal when creating paintings, collages, and sculptures is to give the viewer a glimpse into his thoughts and thought process. Sheehanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work often combines two or more mediums, usually collage and paint. Although most of his work is small, the pieces vary in size, the largest being a mural in a stairwell at his school. Sheehan likes to create abstract forms, exploring the fundamental relationship between the shapes and the space they occupy. He invokes the theme of connection in much of his work, specifically the connections between people or objects and their environment.

JIAHE WANG Spitfire Mask, 2020 Clay, rope, frustration, googly eyes, wire, and acrylic paint 13 x 13 x 13 inches The Ungraspable Phantom, 2020 Charcoal, Conté, paper, Moby Dick, and sleep deprivation 18 x 120 inches ARTIST STATEMENT Growing up without a permanent home country has led to much confusion and questioning of who I truly am. My art is autobiographical; all the subjects in my pieces can be seen as alter egos. I transform myself into caricatures, dissecting my somewhat complex identity one aspect at a time. These one-dimensional characters inhabit a world which, when viewed in its entirety, reveals a complete and perfectly nuanced depiction of Jiahe Wang. I am simultaneously the weary traveller Gulliver, Spitfire the alien, Nai Nai the thousand-year-old lady from Suzhou, and the jean jacket-wearing American Idiot. These characters often fight with each other, but sometimes they come together and make love, not war. For the theme of “destruction,” I created both serious works that are kind of funny and funny works that are kind of serious. Disgusted by the bigotry and hatred so prevalent during the COVID-19 pandemic, I imagined myself as Gulliver from the iconic satire by Jonathan Swift. Gulliver lands in Lilliput after a shipwreck and only wants to help its citizens. However, every attempt he makes is twisted by the close-minded people of Lilliput, ultimately resulting in his charge for treason—an apt metaphor for the rampant xenophobia and distrust between people during this time. I also made a charcoal piece on a long scroll titled The Ungraspable Phantom. Just having read Moby Dick, I wanted to explore the mutual exploitation between nature and man. The novel examines many different aspects of destruction, serving as a tutorial for catastrophe. ARTIST BIO Jiahe Wang is a typical third-culture kid. She was born in China, has lived in Nigeria and Los Angeles, and currently attends Stuyvesant High School in New York. She works with traditional mediums such as acrylic paint and charcoal, as well as mixed media pieces involving linoleum carvings and photography. Her work deals with her confusion about cultural identity, inspired by her travels around the world. Wang is the assistant curator of this year’s show. She is an editor of The Stuyvesant Spectator and has reported on events such as the TriBeCa Film Festival and New York Fashion Week. She has won a national silver medal and two Gold Keys for her photography in the Scholastic Arts and Writing Contest, and was the assistant director of costumes for the student-run theater production, SING!. 52

MAJOR PROGRAMMATIC SUPPORT FOR THE CUE TEEN COLLECTIVE IS PROVIDED BY: Anonymous, the Milton and Sally Avery Arts Foundation, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, and the William Talbott Hillman Foundation.

SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR FRIENDS AND COMMUNITY PARTNERS: The CUE Teen Collective is an experiential learning program for teen visual artists interested in pursuing careers in the arts. During the fall session, we meet with creative professionals working in the artworld/market at cultural institutions, galleries, studios, auction houses, offices, and other sites of artistic production. These experiences would not be possible without the generosity, grace, and expertise of over a dozen people working as artists, educators, creative producers, scholars, critics, and creative professionals. The following is a list of the people and places that collaborated with us to make the 2019-20 CUE Teen Collective possible: Apexart, Sara Amos, Camel Collective, Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural & Educational Center, Brian Fee, Chantal Feitosa, Gagosian, Camilo Godoy, Diana Hartman, Abbie Hebein, Leah Hokenson, Michael Lyons-Wier and LyonsWeir Gallery, Mitchell-Innes & Nash, MoMA Conservation Department, Amani Olu, Dionis Ortiz, Steve Parker, Performa 19, Phillips Auction House and Phillips Account Managers (William, Laura, Jennifer, and Marc), Jillian Steinhauer, Smack Mellon, Jack Shainman, Ylva Snöfrid, Teatro LATEA, Dr. John Tyson, and Chang Yuchen.