GATHERING & EASING: a solo exhibition of works by Gina Occhiogrosso

“The hallowed and often masculinized tradition of painting is subverted in my work through a repeated process of cutting and then sewing painted surfaces together to develop new forms, dynamic connections and illusions of depth.” - Gina Occhiogrosso

ZINC contemporary is pleased to announce a new exhibition, GATHERING & EASING,  featuring recent works by Gina Occhiogrosso, a contemporary artist based in New York. The artist developed much of the work from this exhibition amidst the chaos and disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Black Lives Matter demonstrations while living in New York, in a makeshift studio in the garage of her mother’s home. In between caring for and giving company to her aging mother, the artist found comfort and inspiration in her studio, with the sewing practice of “gathering and easing” in mind. 

According to sewing guidelines, when bringing together different fabrics of different lengths one must utilize a process of “gathering and easing,” adjusting the puckers in the fabric, which when you “ease” will disappear. The technique reminded the artist of the difficulty of connection during this moment with the ongoing restriction of social gathering and unease of interaction.  

Occhiogrosso has had a career-long interest in the processes of disassembly and realignment, and the incorporation of common everyday materials like muslin, thread and yarn. These activities allow her to explore anxiety, loss, humor and heroic femininity. Her bold artwork becomes a conduit for information that is disrupted and reinterpreted in compositions that suggest the fleeting nature of forces, figures, and time.