Booth D05
MARS Gallery is proud to present Radical Joy, a selection of works that celebrate joy as a necessary choice in dark times, and a valid vehicle for exploring serious topics in art.
Featuring The Huxleys, Kohl Tyler, Chun Yin Rainbow Chan and Kenny Pittock, each artist elevates a sense of connection through the joy, sincerity or playfulness in their diverse, vibrant practices.
Accompanying the presentation will be an exhibition essay by arts writer Duro Jovicic. Duro writes: "Rather than offering escapism, their works encourage us to see beauty, humour, and hope as powerful responses to uncertainty and division. Together, they demonstrate that joy is not passive or frivolous, but an active, transformative force capable of reshaping how we experience both art and the world around us."
For The Huxleys, their shining lightboxes and photographs of glittering figures amidst streaming coloured light attest that queer and trans bodies are luminous in their existence. Happiness is not passive state, it is an intentional form of resistance in a complicated and tumultuous world. Their companion series Radical Romance in the MARS stockroom enters the intimate dark to explore queer eroticism as sacred language, drawing from a lineage of queer erotic photography. The Huxleys are presenting an unmissable opening night spectacle on Art Night, Thursday 3 September, along with an artist talk from 12pm-12:20pm on Saturday 5 September.
Kohl Tyler's new series of ceramics draw from non-human creatures and artifacts that offer glimpses into now-forgotten ancient realms. Questioning gaps in evolutionary knowledge, Kohl considers the joy and meaning that can be found in positioning oneself across this ancient timeline and our collective speculative futures. On Saturday 5 September from 2pm-2:20pm, join Kohl for an artist talk on world-building in sculptural ceramics.
Through a diasporic lens, Chun Yin Rainbow Chan's practice bridges past and present in what she calls "imperfect acts of translation." Drawing on the traditional bridal laments of Hong Kong's Waitou women, Chan reanimates these mourning songs as a form of radical joy, an act that holds both sorrow and hope in the face of change and disappearance. On Thursday 3 September, 2-2:30pm, Rainbow will bring her work to life through a vocal performance.
Kenny Pittock brings his signature blend of humour and sincerity to a new series of hand-cast bronze sculptures. Through wry wordplay and plauful justapositions, Kenny blurs the divisions between high and low art to interrogate what is of value to us. Join Kenny for his artist talk It must be a sign! on Saturday 5 September, 11:30am-11:50am.
Both Kenny and The Huxleys will be on the panel for the Art, But Make It Fun! talk, hosted by Alison Kubler on Friday 4 September, 4-5pm.
Alongside our main stand calling for Radical Joy, MARS Gallery will also present an intimate Stockroom of work by favourite MARS artists including Damien Shen, Scotty So, Telly Tuita and Miranda Hine. Damien Shen will be performing his magic card trick My Cuzzy Nate and the 654 Club on Thursday 3 September at 3pm, 3:30pm, and 4pm.
