DUPLEX PRESENTS
HANNAH CELLI
Organ Player
JAN 9 - FEB 8, 2022
“LET US EXAMINE THE ROSE. WE HAVE SEEN IT SO OFTEN AS BEAUTY, FLOWERING IN ITS PRIME, THAT WE HAVE FORGOTTEN HOW IT STANDS, STILL AND STEADY, THROUGHOUT AN ENTIRE AFTERNOON ON EARTH.”
- VIRGINIA WOOLF, ON BEING ILL
ABOUT
DUPLEX IS THRILLED TO PRESENT ORGAN PLAYER, HANNAH CELLI’S DEBUT SOLO SHOW. SINCE 2019, CELLI HAS STUDIED THE HEART BY CARVING DOZENS OF RED SOAPSTONES, MARBLE, AGATE, AND ALABASTER SOURCED FROM SOUTHWESTERN UTAH. EXPLORING SIMILARITIES BETWEEN THE ORGAN AND THE STONE, SHE IDENTIFIES THREE SURFACE FRACTURES OR VARIATIONS OF COLOR IN THE ROCK—REPRESENTING THE THREE VALVES IN A HUMAN HEART—AND EXPOSES THE BODILY STRUCTURE USING A MALLET, HAMMER, CHISEL, AND 16 GRITS OF SANDPAPER.
STONE HAS A FLESH OR CARBON-LIKE QUALITY AND CARVING IT—SIMILAR TO HEALING A BODY—TAKES TIME, STRENGTH, AND ATTENTION. PARTS WILL CRACK OR DISMEMBER. SINCE IMPERFECTION IS INEVITABLE, THE ARTIST MUST ACCEPT A LACK OF TOTAL CONTROL; THE LABOR, ITSELF, IS A CONFRONTATION.
THE HEART IS THE ORGAN WHERE BIOLOGY MEETS METAPHOR. WE ARE TAUGHT TO DRAW HEARTS AT A YOUNG AGE – SHARP AND ROUNDED; RED AND SYMMETRICAL. STILL, HOWEVER UBIQUITOUS, THE HEART REMAINS UP FOR INTERPRETATION. IT IS A STAND-IN FOR LOVE, A WORD THAT HAS ENDLESS INTERPRETATIONS: DESIRE, AFFECTION, ATTACHMENT, OBLIGATION, ROMANCE, APPRECIATION, FAMILY, SEX. CELLI’S STONES REVEAL THE HONEST DYNAMISM OF THE HEART, BOTH IN MEANING AND IN STRUCTURE. THE HUMAN HEART BEATS ABOUT 100,000 TIMES IN A DAY AND WITH EVERY BEAT IT CHANGES FORM AND SIZE.
THESE HEARTS ARE NOT IMMACULATELY ANATOMICAL BUT THEY DO, PERHAPS, BRING US CLOSER TO THE IMPERFECT, INCOMPREHENSIBLE TRUTH OF THIS ORGAN. WHAT IS IT THAT WE EVADE WITH A SYMBOL?
Full press release by Rebecca Celli here.
HOURS
OPENING RECEPTION:
SUNDAY, JANUARY 9TH FROM 2-6PM
HOURS:
FRIDAY, SATURDAY, SUNDAY FROM 1-6 PM
TUESDAYS BY APPOINTMENT ONLY
PHOTOS
PHOTOGRAPHY BY SOPHIE SCHWARTZ
BIO
HANNAH CELLI (B. 1994 IN NEW YORK, NY) IS AN ARTIST AND EDUCATOR BASED IN BROOKLYN, NY. WORKING PRIMARILY IN SCULPTURE, CELLI DRAWS ON PERSONAL HISTORY, MYTHOLOGY, AND ANATOMY, TO EXPLORE EMBODIMENT AS A RESPONSE TO TRAUMA. HER WORK HAS SHOWN IN GROUP EXHIBITIONS CURATED BY DUPLEX AT MARINARO GALLERY, ROLL GATE STUDIOS AND PROJECT ARTSPACE, AS WELL AS AT BRAVINLEE PROGRAMS, SUPER DUTCHESS GALLERY AND PLAYSPACE AT UC BERKELEY. AS AN EDUCATOR, CELLI HAS COLLABORATED WITH INCARCERATED PEOPLE AT GRAFTON PRISON IN OHIO; AND WITH COURT-INVOLVED YOUTH AT RECESS ASSEMBLY WITH SHAUN LEONARDO. HER WRITING ABOUT ART AS SOCIAL PRACTICE HAS BEEN PUBLISHED IN STOP.GAP JOURNAL, THE AMERICAN MIDDLE CLASS ENCYCLOPEDIA, AND THE NEW YORK TIMES. SHE IS CURRENTLY FEATURED IN MAGIC MOUNTAIN AT JACK HANLEY GALLERY (THROUGH FEBRUARY 12, 2022). ORGAN PLAYER IS HER FIRST SOLO EXHIBITION. CELLI HOLDS AN MFA FROM PRATT UNIVERSITY AND A BA FROM KENYON COLLEGE.