(HOTEL) XX
A Special Project Curated by Indira Cesarine / The Untitled Space

SPRING/BREAK ART SHOW 2018
“Stranger Comes To Town”

EXHIBITION ON VIEW
March 6 – 12, 2018

VIEW ARTWORK ON ARTSY

VIEW ARTWORK BY INDIRA CESARINE FOR (HOTEL) XX

The Untitled Space is pleased to present “(Hotel) XX” a special project curated by Indira Cesarine at this year’s edition of SPRING/BREAK Art Show taking place from March 6 to March 12 in New York City. Known for being one of the world’s most innovative art fairs, SPRING/BREAK is an annual experimental platform for independent curators to exhibit works by emerging and mid-career artists. This year’s edition, which will feature over 100 curators, revolves around the theme “Stranger Comes To Town,” a phrase lifted from the old adage: “All great literature is one of two stories; a hero goes on a journey or a stranger comes to town.” Works exhibited at SPRING/BREAK 2018 explore the tension between and merging of difference and sameness; them and us; narrator and audience.

“(Hotel) XX” is an immersive installation and group exhibition, presenting the work of female-identifying artists whose work explores the intimate experiences of the transient visitor, a traveler on a journey to a strange and new place. The installation is presented as a retro hotel reminiscent of a roadside stay off the highway. Travelers, lovers and drifters alike have left behind fragments of their history that became part of the hotel’s DNA, with memories lingering on the walls and each traveler’s experiences left behind through the artwork on display. Their encounters have been immortalized as imprints of visual mementos, each vividly charged with the intensity of the moments that took place in the room or in their dreams while sleeping in it.

Art in a variety of mediums including photography, painting, drawing, sculpture, textile, and video present the history of female “strangers” who have metaphorically or physically left their mark. The furniture in the room additionally creates an experiential framework. The title “(Hotel) XX” is a syntactical play on female sex chromosomes, and reflects the project’s focus on the female experience through a surreal and voyeuristic journey through time.

ARTISTS:
Alexandra Rubenstein, Brittany Maldonado, Brittany Markert, Dara Vandor, Fahren Feingold, Indira Cesarine, Jennifer Dwyer, Jessica Lichtenstein, Jessica So Ren Tang, Joette Maue, Julia Fox, Kat Toronto AKA Miss Meatface, Katie Commodore, Katrina Majkut, Kay Healy, Leah Schrager, Mairi-Luise Tabbakh, Meredith Ostrom, Myla Dalbesio, Polly Penrose, Rebecca Leveille, Renee Dykeman, Sam Cannon, Suzanne Wright

CURATORIAL STATEMENT:
“I was influenced by classics such as Twilight Zone and Hitchcock as well as more contemporary references such as Twin Peaks and Elles, while exploring the theme of “Stranger Comes to Town.” My special project for SPRING/BREAK “(Hotel) XX” aims to shed light on the varied and deeply intimate experiences of women through a voyeuristic lens. I wanted to explore the memories that any woman may have had while staying in a roadside hotel. She is a woman – perhaps a lover, sex worker or victim of violence – on a trip to a new and unknown place, a transient visitor navigating the vulnerability and anxiety that often accompanies displacement. The female experience is often oversimplified, through stereotypes and the objectification of women via the male gaze. This project presents the female perspective on intimacy without censorship or glorification. I find myself drawn to the theme of the female gaze as a powerful message and means to further investigate women’s experience. Historically, women have been highly marginalized, faced with double standards and oppression, and as such their perspective considered “other” or “alien” to patriarchal society. I wanted to create an immersive experience with “(Hotel) XX.” I was inspired by the idea of an exhibition within an installation that engages the viewer in a visual narrative allowing them to re-live female memories, dreams and fears, becoming privy to their most confidential thoughts and fantasies.” – Curator Indira Cesarine

“(Hotel) XX” was featured internationally in the press in a variety of publications including Vogue Italia, W Magazine, Hyperallergic, Dujour Magazine, Artnews, Hunger Magazine, Office Magazine, Daily Beast, Fashion Unfiltered, Spoiled NYC, Arcade Project and more.

Artworks featured in the exhibition by INDIRA CESARINE:

(HOTEL) XX Installation – concept, design, production, execution, curation

Neon works / all 2017- 2018

“(hotel) xx”
“NO VACANCY”
“slut (pink)”
“lust (violet)”
“LUST (fire red)”
“Fuck Off (pink)”
“Fuck (violet)”
“LOVER (fire red)”
“SEX in a Suitcase”
“YES / NO (pink)” CONSENT SERIES
“YES (Fire Red)” CONSENT SERIES
“Light my Lamp / Retro Nightstand Lamp”
“Light my Lamp / Retro Table Lamp”
“Light my Lamp / Retro Ceiling Lamp”
“Kiss Me” video art in vintage TV
“Kama Sutra Lamp” Reclaimed vintage lamp with Kama Sutra text

Collaborative works with artist Meredith Ostrom / all 2018
“Cum sit with me” Acrylic Paint on Set of Reclaimed Vintage Eames Chairs
“SexBoard” Acrylic Paint on Linen Upholstered Headboard

Photography / all 2018
“(M) 4:20pm” am/pm sex worker series
“(M) 1:33pm” am/pm sex worker series
“(M) 2:15pm” am/pm sex worker series
“(M) 3:10pm” am/pm sex worker series
“(M) 4:33pm” am/pm sex worker series