A Gathering

HOUSING’s latest exhibition brings together a group of artists and writers in the spirit of the late poet, playwright, and downtown patron of the arts, Steve Cannon. Drawing upon the legacy and methodology of Cannon’s exhibitions, “A Gathering” presents each artwork alongside a written work. In conjunction the textual and physical works are also featured in a zine—extending the translation between the visual and the verbal. Glendalys Medina, whose work on paper Maracas (2017) depicts instruments in ink and pencil, brings to mind luminous lacquerware; Emmanuel Massillon’s  Ladder To The Top (2021) places a small totem-like carved figure, nails jutting into its torso, atop a very tall, distressed wooden ladder; while Mitchell Reece’s paintings are steeped in color and symbolism. In its entirety “A Gathering” pays tribute to the community of artistic and cultural discourse on the Lower East Side fostered by Cannon—founder of the publication and non-profit gallery A Gathering of the Tribes—each devoted to amplifying the work of underrepresented artists and writers.