Lindsay Preston Zappas: I Forgot My Shoes is the second in a series of exhibitions at BICA dedicated to remaking institutions into utilities that serve the public. Investigating the role of the press in making community, I Forgot My Shoes will take the form of an exhibition, writing workshop, and zine launch.
Zappas’ work as an artist threads between media (sculpture, weaving, photography, and performance), genres (art, craft, and design), and from representation to reality, as rainbow-painted wood, furniture, paper collage, and performers spill from pictorial space into the exhibition space. Whether working with textiles, Photoshop, or paint, the human figure acts as a focal point throughout Zappas’ work, assuming classic art historical manifestations in her photographs but a vulnerable presence in the tapestries’ performative interventions. The work maintains a strong insistence on the artist’s hand and visual language, and alongside a critical edge embraces the joy of making.
Zappas says of the exhibition’s title, “Growing up, my brother often insisted on putting his shoes on while en route to school, until one day, curbside in front of the school, he realized he left his shoes at home—childish prank turned into adolescent trauma. This narrative was the starting place for the title, though I Forgot My Shoes also points outward towards the ways in which we costume, clothe, and position ourselves within a changing world, and the vulnerability that occurs when our systems break down.”
Alongside the exhibition Zappas and BICA are hosting a writing workshop on June 15 & 16 which will culminate with the launch of an art review publication for Buffalo. Based on her experience as the founder and editor-in-chief of the LA based magazine, Carla, Zappas will lead workshop participants through exhibitions on view in Buffalo, discussions on how to structure art writing and criticism, and one-on-one feedback and editorial mentoring. Together, the group will determine the form of the publication, to be launched in August. The workshop is designed to include both first time writers and seasoned professionals, artists and non-artists alike. If you are interested in participating in the workshop please email emily@thebica.org to reserve a spot.
Lindsay Preston Zappas is an L.A.-based artist, writer, and the founder and editor-in-chief of Contemporary Art Review Los Angeles (Carla), a print publication, online art journal, and podcast which launched in 2015. She received her MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art and attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in 2013. Her writing has appeared in ArtReview, Flash Art, SFAQ, Artsy, LACanvas, and Art21. Zappas is the host of The Carla Podcast, and has contributed to KCRW as an arts commentator. Recent exhibitions include solo shows at Ochi Projects (Los Angeles), City Limits (Oakland), and a two-person show at Vacancy (Los Angeles).
This program is supported by:
