Past Live

June 22—July 22, 2017

Liliana Dirks-Goodman
Amy Jacobs
Millie Kapp
Molly O'Brien
Antonio Serna
Tamas Veszi

Organized by: EFA Project Space and the 2016/17 SHIFT Residents

Opening reception and performance by Millie Kapp
June 22, 6 - 8:30 PM

Setting 1880-1920 / Dinner Party
July 19, 7 - 8:30 PM

EFA Project Space presents Past Live, an exhibition produced by the 2016/17 SHIFT Residency artists, Liliana Dirks-Goodman, Amy Jacobs, Millie Kapp, Molly O’Brien, Antonio Serna, and Tamas Veszi. We all have past lives. Some of us are better at reading our past lives than others, but for us all, it’s impossible to forget them completely.

Amy Jacobs holds the past in materials. The materials were first owned by someone else. She cares for, fixes, edits, and memorizes them, spending time with them until they become her own.
 
In the past, Millie Kapp was friends with Noah Furman. They dug holes and drank iced coffee. Millie played “Millie” and Noah played “Noah”. Millie would bring Noah his favorite snack every time they met, Takis chips in a bag. They always leave a crunchy orange dust behind. 
 
In the past, Molly O’Brien was young. She thought curiously about the world in the fresh, expansive, and magical way that only children can do. Now old, she relives these moments in the classroom, an everyday witnesses to the fanciful ideas of young people. 
 
Antonio Serna’s past spans from 350 to 65 million years ago. His history is guided by the movement of the earth’s tectonic plates informs a story of historical and personal events that is without order. Antonio is a storyteller.
 
Liliana Dirks-Goodman organizes the past through the lives of women. She has deep knowledge of these Women of art and design, perhaps embodying them when creating new objects of art and design. 
 
Tamas Veszi created a language that has diverted into what is now an interconnected Landscape utopia. Its multi dimensional relationship in the way it appears in all interior and exterior spaces. How our desire for being in nature periodically or more frequently influences the physical landscape of our contribution to society. They are neither utilitarian nor made for pleasure. There is a rhythm that develops from these choices in regards to how much landscape, as a whole becomes part of our lives. The idea that the psychological cannot be balanced without the constant realization, that some aspects of our horizon are random but constant. 

SHIFT Residency was launched in August 2010 to provide studio space and peer support for practicing artists who also work as arts professionals for organizations in New York City. This program honors these individuals with a unique environment to build on their own art practices. Six residents were selected based on their outstanding contributions to the art community plus their potential for artistic growth in a shared interactive environment. The unique nature of SHIFT Residency draws out unspoken challenges and considerations in the lives of its participating artists, who dedicate a significant portion of their time towards supporting other artists and the art community.

All artwork and programming presented in Past Live has been conceived of and created by the artists since they began SHIFT Residency in August 2016.