Northern Kentucky University's School of the Arts is pleased to announce the opening of "Scenes from Nowhere." The exhibit runs through Aug. 26, with a closing reception on Thursday, Aug. 25 from 5-7 p.m., which is free and open to the public.

• What: Scenes from Nowhere - Mark Albain: "Gates of Eden" • Joe Hedges: "Pictorial Redux" • Kyle Angel, MIR Collab, Stephanie Cuyubamba Kong: "Abject Dreamscapes"
• When: June 13 – Aug. 26, 2022
  • Closing Reception: Aug. 25, 5-7 p.m.
• Where: NKU SOTA Community Showcase Atrium, Main Gallery, Third Floor Gallery

"Scenes from Nowhere" is a three-part exhibition that challenges the traditions of pictorial representation (landscapes/still life imagery) and reimagines these familiar motifs through a 21st century lens. Three gallery spaces will give different interpretations on the collective theme of pictorial representation to incite and expand conversations between the galleries.

About the Artists:

Kyle Angel (he/him/his) is an interdisciplinary artist working in drag, performance, and fashion to question what it means to be queer. In this video performance, Angel transforms himself into Crystal Tubes (she/her/they/them)—a playful and quirky persona who utilizes ASMR as a vehicle to initiate conversations around queerness. Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR) is a bodily sensation (akin to tingling) triggered by specific types of sounds. Lose yourself to the sounds of sloshing saliva and seductive whispers as Crystal Tubes guides you through this multisensory experience.

Joe Hedges is an intermedia artist with an expansive practice that weaves together oil painting, new media and installation. Hedges is the recipient of several grants and has exhibited nationally and internationally. Recent exhibitions include solo shows at Bolivar Gallery (University of Kentucky), Chase Gallery (Spokane, WA) and Artworks (Loveland, CO). Shortly before the advent of the internet, Hedges grew up climbing trees and drawing in rural southwest Ohio. After a stint writing songs and touring with a rock band, he attended Northern Kentucky University to study oil painting. In graduate school at the University of Cincinnati, he focused on electronic media and internet art. He is currently living in Pullman, WA, where he makes use of his diverse background in the arts to create original combinatorial works. In addition to maintaining his studio practice, Hedges coordinates the painting area at Washington State University and organizes community public art projects with Pullman Arts Foundation, an arts nonprofit he founded with his partner Jiemei Lin.

MIR Collab (Mercury In Reggaeton) is the collaborative of Stephanie Cuyubamba Kong and Senja Toivonen. Founded in 2019 while in school, the duo work in mediums broadly ranging from rhinestones to writing. SCK and ST firmly believe that less is a bore and, artistically, you must speak loudly or not speak at all. Currently, they create work that examines intimate emotions such as young-adult-melancholy, imagined spaces between the real and the fantastical, and midwestern woes. Currently, SCK and ST are collaborating long-distance from Cincinnati, OH and Los Angeles, CA.

Stephanie Cuyubamba Kong is an American artist and researcher interested in the narrative possibilities within language, vernacular culture, and music histories. A Peruvian-American born and raised in the Midwest; her perspectives on language, culture, and the complexities embedded between inform much of her work. Her research-based practice currently revolves around socio-musical memory, utopia, and identity through a first-generation American lens. As an artist and educator, she aims to bring forward new ideas on how we construct cultures, ultimately working to describe a more poetic, inclusive, and reconciliatory global future. Her work enters the in-between spaces of identity: sometimes confusing, sometimes contradictory, but ultimately celebrating the liminal spaces in cultural and personal narratives. Through the likes of portraiture, writing, photographs, and performances she aims to bring forward new ideas on how we construct cultures; and what it means to poeticize the complexities of diaspora and identity.

Mark Albain is an Artist, Educator, and Custom Framer living and working in Cincinnati, OH. His experience with the photographic medium lends itself to a sensitive presentation of passage and an interest in the language of connection and distance in the photographic space. Along with his partner Jessica Whittington, they operate a Bespoke Framing and Design Studio called Objectif Alchemy with the mission of creating intentional collaborations with Artists, Collectors, and Institutions for curation and framing solutions.

The NKU Art Galleries are located on the third floor of the NKU Fine Arts Center. Parking is available for a fee in the Welcome Center Garage. Free parking is available on reception night in Lots I and D. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. The Main Gallery is closed on major holidays and weekends. Admission is free.