Bhakti Baxter
Marcy Hermansader
PRESENTS P-22

LOCATION
JAVITS CENTER
429 11TH AVENUE
NEW YORK, NY 10001

VIP PREVIEW DAY (INVITATION ONLY)
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2023

PUBLIC DAYS
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2023 11AM—7PM
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2023 11AM—7PM
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2023 11AM—6PM

For the 2023 edition of The Armory Show, Mother Gallery is proud to showcase a two-person presentation of new paintings by Bhakti Baxter (b. 1979 Miami, Fl) and recent works on paper by Marcy Hermansader (b. 1951 Glen Cove, NY). The curation of this booth embodies Mother’s mission of creating a program of fluidity across time. At our thesis stands the idea that reality is composed of slightly ever-changing, but innately recognizable, patterns. Baxter’s practice explores the relationship between science and spirituality. His work hinges on geometry, the systemic manifestations of mathematical principles in nature, and the interpretive freedom of abstraction. His newest body of work emphasizes centeredness and movement, and the relationship between the two. The work finds ground in motion, and peace in nature’s simultaneous uncertainty. Hermansader’s interdisciplinary work is tender, layered with whimsical elements and dark underscores. Her bio-magical renderings suggest unmapped pathways—tracing inner worlds and energies. She draws from her surroundings and from the unseen as well, interfacing with patterns of unknowable cycles tied to untold futures. The works evince a journey inward to discover roots; both those that one has grown singly, and those that have existed for generations. Baxter’s mathematical emphasis contrasts with Hermansader’s emotiveness. Together, Baxter and Hermansader’s works convey humanity at its purest: complex and sincere, with axes reaching out to each other in every direction across time and space.

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Bhakti Baxter (b. 1979 Miami, FL) lives and works in Topanga, CA. Exploring the relationship between science and spirituality, his work hinges heavily on geometry, the systemic manifestations of mathematical principles in nature, and the interpretive freedom of abstraction. Working in a variety of media within sculpture, painting, and drawing, Baxter’s practice is an ongoing investigation into existential queries through the creative process. Baxter’s work has been exhibited at Nina Johnson Gallery (Miami, FL), Perez Art Museum (Miami, FL), BravinLee Programs (New York, NY), Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin (Paris, France), and Manifesta 11 (Zurich, Switzerland), among others.

Marcy Hermansader (b. 1951 Glen Cove, NY) is a mixed media artist living and working in Vermont. Hermansader’s unique style of painting involves using a variety of materials that evoke the natural world, including thread, collage, fabric, paint, and colored pencil. Her purposeful choice of materials grows out of the subjects of her work – often sylvan, otherworldly landscapes and renderings of flora and fauna — as subject and emotion preclude the means of expression Hermansader takes. Her work tends to alternate between inward focus and engagement with issues in the larger world, such as war, industrial accidents, and the experiences of people with disabilities. Regardless of her content, her pieces are deeply personal reflections on the world around her, whether that be relationships with nature or other people. Hermansader earned a BFA from Philadelphia College of Art, where she studied with Cynthia Carlson, Ree Morton, and Rafael Ferrer. She has had solo shows across the United States, including those at Williams College Museum of Art (Williamstown, MA), The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (Philadelphia, PA), and the DeCordova Museum (Lincoln, MA), among others. Hermansader has participated in over fifty group exhibitions including Interfaces: Outsider Art and the Mainstream at the Philadelphia Museum of Art (Philadelphia, PA), The Drawn Page at the Aldrich Museum (Ridgefield, CT), and Curator’s Choice at the Bronx Museum (Bronx, NY). Her work can be found in the permanent collections of various museums, including the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Bowdoin College Museum (Brunswick, ME), and The Minneapolis Institute of Art (Minneapolis, MN). Hermansader's work will be included in the exhibition, In Nature's Grasp at the Brattleboro Museum in the Spring of 2024.