STUDIO PROGRAMS
LES Rotating Studio Program
LES LTS Program (legacy)
Open Studio Events
Member Artist Exhibitions
GALLERY SPACES
Cuchifritos
Matzo Files (legacy)
EDUCATION
HOWL! Festival
¡Splash!
Safe Non Toxic No Sharps
Life Drawing in the Park
ART (INTER) ACTIONS
8 Artists: From the AAAC Archive
Briefly On View
BENEFITS
Works on Paper 2010
Works on Paper 2008
Cuchifritos Auction 2008
Cuchifritos Auction 2007
Gallery Hours: Tuesday – Sunday, 12-6pm
Like the maid at the churn or the epicure at supper, Butter Digging concerns a metaphorical state of spiritual inquiry and a transformation of matter through consciousness. Butter Diggers utilize strange appropriations of ritualism to comment on contemporary forms of worship both public and private and the way that our cherished ‘popular’ beliefs entail a system of symbols that although finite, might also serve as gateways into the infinite. Edible totems, incantatory hymns and grisly chic raise the stakes for these young New York City based artists who embrace the aestheticism and carnality of cognitive capitalism with alchemical outcomes.
Sinewy, bulbous, and even sludge-like appears the work - the artists in this exhibition seem to follow a primordial decorative impulse. The supernatural aspects of perversity and the sensuality of spirituality reign in these hybrid works of video, performative sculpture, textile and painting. Pleasure is the operative principle, acting as lubrication against capitalism’s golden rule of deferred gratification. In an age when even ‘criticality’ becomes codified into an easily consumable style, these artists embrace the lyricism of luxury, barbarism and superstition, asking: In what ways does pleasure inform the political? How does imagination act on matter? What is the operative value of Art’s narcotic belief in the endless pursuit of an elusive essence? Doubly in revolt against alienated, passive consumption and the artist as celebrity-fetish-maker, these provocative, savvy producers play musical chairs in an abyss were sweat is akin to gold.
Image Credit: The Reverend Lainie Love Dalby, Lainie Love Dalby & Jason Meert
AAI's ART(INTER)ACTION Program
Residency Unlimited at Cuchifritos Gallery and Project Space.
Beginning in 2011, Artists Alliance (AAI) and Residency Unlimited have joined forces to support each other's programs. Residency Unlimited provides studio visits and specific networking support to the artists participating in the Lower East Side-Rotating Studio Program. As part of the exchange and AAI's Art(Inter) Actions program, Residency Unlimited will program and organize a series of exhibitions in the summer from its roster of international artists in residency.
GALLERY/PROJECT SPACE
Recent Reviews:
Andrew Deutsch & Ann Hamilton: The First Line (Sounds for Drawing)
Read the Review on Artslant
Founded in 2001, CUCHIFRITOS gallery and project space is a program of Artists Alliance Inc. Located in the heart of the Essex Street Market, its focus is on contemporary art as it relates to community, social issues, and public space.
CUCHIFRITOS' mission: to act as a forum for exploring fundamental ideas, issues and concerns associated with the Lower East Side through the medium of contemporary art, to highlight the work of underrepresented artists, including artists from this, and similar communities.
CUCHIFRITOS supports the development of emerging and independent curators who are seeking to communicate key developments occuring in contemporary art.
CUCHIFRITOS is pleased and thrilled to announce recent grant awards from the National Endowment for the Arts; Access to Artistic Excellence 2011-2012 and Foundation for Contemporary Arts to support its exhibitions and education activities.
Congratulations to our selected artists for Spring 2012
Naoko Ito
Carrie Elston Tunick
David Kagan
Liene Bosque
AAI's programs receive generous support from the following:
107 Suffolk Street, #411
New York, NY 10002
212.420.9202
EMAIL: info@aai-nyc.org