Underdonk

press release

Underdonk is pleased to present, “This Time Tomorrow”, a solo exhibition by Inna Babaeva, on view from March 20-April 11, 2021.  The gallery will host an opening reception on Saturday, March 20th from 2-6pm.  

The glass objects in the show appear strange. Recalling primordial bacteria, these spheres, bizarre blobs, and funnels seize, disturb, and point to origins. The rounded shapes, fleshy colors, and unsettled transparency infuse a resemblance to early living organisms. They are fragile, vulnerable, grotesque, yet hard to look away from. Here the glass species have yielded to the army of serialized plastic containers and are seized by the grasp of chemistry-lab metal clamps. It seems that these weird glass forms seek both protection and exposure. At the same time, they seem to be endangered by the austere and predictable geometry of the internet-purchased, mass-produced, and replicated-to-infinity items of our daily reality.

This show’s salute is to the oddness, recognizing a world where the choices are between ordinary or unique, machine-made or crafted by hand, and disposable or precious.

Inna Babaeva received her BFA from Florida Atlantic University and her MFA from Rutgers University. Recent solo exhibitions include Word of Mouth, Essex Flowers, New York, NY (2020); Man O’War, Art in Buildings, New York, NY (2017); and It’s the Little Things That Matter, TSA, Brooklyn, NY.

Her work has been shown recently in group exhibitions at Gordon Galleries at Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA (2018), Kienzie Art Foundation, Berlin, Germany (2017), Songs for Presidents, Brooklyn, NY (2017), and at Underdonk, Brooklyn, NY (2014), Reviews and features of Babaeva’s work have appeared in VICE Magazine, ArtFCity, SLEEK Magazine, Sculpture Center Notebooks, Glass Quarterly, and Art News. Babaeva is a recipient of Joan Mitchell Foundation Grant (2007), a Sharpe-Walentas Studio Program grant (2015), a visiting Artist Fellowship grant at Urban Glass (2017), and she was a Rema Hort Mann Foundation grant nominee (2016). Her work is in the permanent collection of the Flint Institute of Arts, Flint , MI.

Babaeva was born in Lviv, Ukraine, and she lives and works in Queens, New York.

In person viewings can be scheduled via emailing underdonk1717@gmail.com. Visits are limited to 30 minutes each with a maximum of two guests at a time.  The safety of our visitors, staff and community is of utmost importance. In accordance with New York State health guidelines, we require all guests to wear masks and practice social distancing while at the gallery.  Masks and hand sanitizer will be available upon request.  For those who cannot physically visit the gallery, please explore our website, www.underdonk.com/.

For available works, press inquiries and additional information, please contact [email protected].