Ancient Modern
March 7 – 30, 2025
Michael Barton-Sweeney, Angela Conant, a/d Gayle, Whit Harris, Kim Hoeckele, Steve Keister, Jennifer Macdonald, Shari Mendelson, Jasmine Murrell, Deirdre Swords, and Gabriela Vainsencher
Organized by Elisa Soliven
Opening reception March 7th from 6-8pm
Press Release
Underdonk is pleased to present “Ancient Modern”, a group exhibition with artists: Michael Barton-Sweeney, Angela Conant, a/d Gayle, Whit Harris, Kim Hoeckele, Steve Keister, Jennifer Macdonald, Shari Mendelson, Jasmine Murrell, Deirdre Swords, and Gabriela Vainsencher, organized by Elisa Soliven. Please join us for the opening on March 7th from 6-8pm.
In the mid-90s, Steve Keister evolved the idea of an “ancient-modern” correlation, seeing the connection between his collection of styrofoam cartons and the inspiration that he gathered from sculptural relief forms of ancient Mesoamerican architecture. Through casting and mold-making techniques, his work embodies the correlation of flatness found in ancient art and modernist abstraction.
Whit Harris’s work features exaggerated depictions of the black femme body that go between cartoonish forms and naturalism. Bringing the DuBoisian philosophy of “double consciousness” as part of the dialogue of contemporary black identity, she portrays figures in natural settings that recapture the rites of the ancient Mysteries.
Angela Conant’s stone sculpture is hand-carved to evoke softness and flesh. The stone is penetrated by latex tubing that emerges out of an orifice on its wooden base. Her work refers to ancient stone sculpture as well as her experiences of the medicalization of childbirth and neurodivergence.
Gabriela Vainsencher's ceramic wall reliefs combine archaeological and anatomical motifs drawing inspiration from mythology, motherhood, and ancient vessels. In “Bodytime”, 2023, referencing the body’s biological time, the form of the hourglass is conflated with the body and the cervix.
Shari Mendelson transforms the everyday plastic bottle into delicate and inventive sculptures of people and animals from Cypriot, Egyptian, and Islamic traditions. In “Ram-Bearer”, 2023, Mendelson uses as a starting point the stone sculpture, “Limestone Ram-Bearer”, second quarter of 6th century BCE, depicting a worshiper carrying a ram for sacrifice.
Jasmine Murrell creates living sculptures using earth and repurposed materials that aim to inspire "radical imagination and healing". She explores alternate narratives such as traditional black medicine, celestial memory, and weaving.
Michael Barton-Sweeney uses a combination of electronics and 3D printing to make tableaus populated by coral-like forms, referencing biomorphic forms found in ancient art. Working with embedded computation, Barton-Sweeney programs his coral so that they respond as if in a fluid state. By changing the scale between structures and their functions, this work brings to the viewer’s eye the connection between computation and cognition.
Deirdre Swords pulls her gestures out of the clay. Her glazes build on the expressions of her hands and fingers. Moving around a totemic structure, the work manifests both continuity and newness in the trials of human expression. Engaging in both ancient and African art’s processes and values, Swords carries on the conversation with a meaningful response to present work that has a presence of spirit.
a/d Gayle uses the ceramic technique of marbling different colored clay bodies, first done in ancient times that then incorporates modules of colored clay into a design. Their wall work is made with dense layers that are part of a narrative in comic book format. In this series, the work follows the odyssey of Sam, a character who comes across a shadow through the transformation of life.
Kim Hoeckele’s work brings together art historical, fashion, and vernacular images to construct photographs using the male gaze to examine how power and gender reverberate today. In the photograph, “Society of Diana”, 2024, Hoeckele creates connections between the varied depictions of Diana found throughout time—from the Goddess Diana, Princess Diana, Diana Ross, and Wonder Woman.
Jennifer Macdonald works within figuration and archeological abstraction. Her sculptures suggest industrial forms, body armor, or architectural fragments with a timeless sensibility. Working with an improvisational process and the lost-wax method, she combines multiple textures to make otherworldly forms.
The artists in this exhibition connect with the past as much as the present. They portray a nuanced, multifaceted experience, channeling an ancient timelessness while also being profoundly contemporary. As a whole, the exhibition serves as a reminder that the history of art is as long as the history of recorded time, itself, and we would not have arrived at the present had the past not been laid by the countless artists who came before us.
Michael Barton-Sweeney born in New Haven, CT is an artist, who has a background in philosophy and engineering. He has shown in group exhibitions at Artspace, New Haven, CT and Tappeto Volante, Brooklyn, NY.
Angela Conant (b. 1982). Conant’s work has been shown at Swivel Gallery (Saugerties, NY), Electronic Arts Intermix (New York, NY), EFA Project Space (New York, NY), Planthouse (New York, NY), SPRING/BREAK art show (New York, NY); Glasshouse Projects (Brooklyn, NY), Interstate Projects (Brooklyn, NY); the Delaware Center for Contemporary Art (Wilmington, DE), Neter (Mexico City, MX), The Sunview Luncheonette (Brooklyn, NY), ICA Baltimore (Baltimore, MD), La Mama Gallery (New York City), SARDINE (Brooklyn, NY), Galerie René Blouin (Montreal, QC). She was awarded residencies at Recess (Critical Writing), Millay Arts, The Elizabeth Murray Artist Residency, Cill Rialaig Arts Center, the School of Visual Arts, Home School Hudson and Shandaken Paint School. She earned a BFA in Painting from Boston University in 2004, and an MFA in Art Practice from School of Visual Arts in 2013. and has an Advanced Certificate in Curatorial Studies from Hunter College as of 2023. She is an Adjunct Associate Professor of Fine Art at Pratt Institute.
a/d gayle (b. 1991) is a multidisciplinary artist currently exploring; boundaries, the spaces in between, and the limits of the human mind. Gayle received their BFA from Hunter College of the City University of New York in 2016.
Whit Harris was born and raised in New York City. She received a New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) 2024 fellowship in painting. Harris is represented by DIMIN and will present her first solo exhibition with the gallery in September 2025. Harris has held solo exhibitions at Peninsula, New York (2024); and Lauren Powell Projects, Los Angeles (2022); as well as group exhibitions at Brooklyn College, Brooklyn; Hauser and Wirth, New York; Galerie Christine Mayer, Munich; and Swivel Gallery, New York. Harris is currently an Adjunct Professor at Brooklyn College, Brooklyn, and holds an MFA from Hunter College, New York.
Kim Hoeckele (b. 1980) is an artist working primarily with photography. She has presented work at the Bronx Museum, Queens Museum, Storage Gallery, Smack Mellon, and NURTUREart, among other venues. In 2021, she was commissioned to create a series of public billboards across Toronto as part of the CONTACT Photography Festival. In 2022, she published Rosy-Crimson, an artist book designed in collaboration with Small Editions in Brooklyn, NY. She has participated in residencies and fellowships including Lighthouse Works, Bronx Museum AIM, Saltonstall Foundation for the Arts, and Woodward Residency. Her work is held in the collections at Harvard University, RISD, the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, and The Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia. Hoeckele holds an MFA in Studio Art from Hunter College.
Steve Keister (b. 1949) is an artist based in New York City and he received his BFA and MFA from Tyler School of Art, Philadelphia. He has received awards and grants from John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship, Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation Grant, National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship and Pollock-Krasner Foundation Fellowship. His work is in the collections of The Museum of Contemporary Art, LA, Miami Art Museum, Hood Museum, Harvard Art Museum, Portland Art Museum, The New Museum of Contemporary Art, NY, and many more.
Jennifer Madeline Macdonald lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. Born in Great Barrington, MA, Macdonald received an MFA in Painting from Hunter College, BFA from University of Pennsylvania, Certificate in Sculpture from Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and attended Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. Macdonald works in sculpture using the lost-wax casting method, as well as painting + handmade animation. Selected exhibits include Underdonk, Sala Projects, The Drawing Center, and Film Anthology Archives (NYC), Vox Populi, Philadelphia Art Museum and ICA (Phila). She has received fellowships from the Jacob K. Javits Foundation and Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. In 2025 Macdonald will mount a 2-person exhibition at Fahrenheit Madrid, Spain.
Shari Mendelson is based in Brooklyn and Upstate New York. She has had solo shows at Fahrenheit Madrid Gallery, Spain (2024), Tibor de Nagy Gallery (2020, 2023), Pamela Salisbury (2022 and upcoming 2025), The Hunterdon Museum (2019) and the Agnes Varis Art Center at Urban Glass (2018). The artist has received a 2024 Murray Reich Distinguished Artist Award, four New York Foundation for the Arts fellowships, and is a 2017 Guggenheim Fellowship recipient. Mendelson received her MFA from SUNY New Paltz and BFA from Arizona State University.
Jasmine Murrell (b. Detroit, MI) is based in Brooklyn, New York, and has a BFA from Parsons School of Design and an MFA from Hunter College. Her works have been exhibited internationally in venues such as the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit; Bronx Museum of the Arts; Kunstinstituut Melly, Rotterdam, Netherlands; and Whitney Museum of American Art, New York.
Deirdre Swords has been making art in the New York City area since the 90s. Primarily participating in a number of group exhibits in New York City and surrounding areas, she also had two one-person shows at the John Davis Gallery in Hudson, New York and recently has exhibited her work at Underdonk and Tappeto Valente Galleries in Brooklyn. She works in sculpture (primarily ceramics) and painting. Her passion for creating visual art is complemented by her commitment to art education and art activism. She is currently living and working in Harlem, New York City.
Gabriela Vainsencher was born in Buenos Aires, raised in Tel Aviv, and currently lives and works in Montclair, NJ. She received her MFA from Hunter College. She is represented by Asya Geisberg gallery, NYC. Her work has been shown at CRUSH Curatorial Gallery, (NYC), Musée d’Art Moderne André Malraux (Le Havre, France), La Chambre Blanche (Québec City, Canada), Houston Center for Contemporary Craft (TX), The Jerusalem Biennale, Kunstforening (Tromsø, Norway), the Bronx Museum Biennial, Pierogi Gallery (Brooklyn, NY), The Freies Museum (Berlin) and The National Gallery of Saskatchewan, Canada. Vainsencher has been reviewed in the New York Times, the New Yorker, Brooklyn Rail, Whitehot Magazine, and Artforum, among others.
•••
