173: Around the way

CATALOGUE
ARTISTS
ARTWORKS

REGULARNORMAL, in collaboration with LatchKey Gallery, is proud to present Around The Way, highlighting three artists whose work speaks to the emotional attachment to place (in this case, home). Whether through nostalgia, idealization, or critique, the three artists on view, Daniel Castro, Mo- mar Yusef Clemons, and Sabrina Mendoza Malavé, come together to visualize the collective importance of having a sense of place and how closely it ties to who we are.

Featuring eleven works on canvas/panel alongside two sculptural pieces, Around The Way offers a comprehensive introduction to these artists’ practices while also representing the range and vastness found in New York.

Daniel Castro (b. 1997, Bronx, New York) is a Puerto Rican artist from the Bronx. His multi-media works consist of medium to large-scale paintings and assemblages that utilize various materials such as foam core, canvas, clay, and other found materials. These pieces chronicle specific events from Castro’s life that are vivid in his memory and serve as a love letter to The Bronx, where he was born and raised and still works. Though his works most often utilize self-portraiture, Castro does this not only to speak to his own expe- rience but to the experiences of a broader group of people within his community – specifically people of color, who can identify with what he is portraying. The figures in his pieces tend to be “body-less,” depict- ing only the clothing that the figure is wearing as a metaphor for the discrimination that minorities face based on their outward appearance. Humor is used in these works to make them more accessible and to give a light-hearted quality on the surface, which then invites the viewer to dig deeper into the more severe themes weaved into the works.

Momar Yusef Clemons (b.1973, in Redwood City, California) is a Brooklyn-based multidisciplinary artist focusing on mixed-media painting. His practice mines the depths of Black diasporic history and its trans- formative presence in contemporary U.S. culture. Clemons’ work also employs the traditions of Neo-Expressionism, Pop Art, and Pulp Art sensibilities into loose narratives, constructing a non-linear, sometimes surreal, and dreamlike narrative around the Black experience. The artist draws inspiration from the inner world and the limitless power of the imagination. His mysterious world springs from the most transcendent place of consciousness allowing the viewer to unfold and construct (or deconstruct) realities.

Sabrina Mendoza Malavé (b. 1996, Lechería, Anzoategui, Venezuela) lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. She creates mixed media art that foments social consciousness. Mendoza dedicates her practice to building awareness around Venezuela’s socio-political turmoil; her work critiques international and national power structures and their impacts on Venezuelans. The artworks feature messages in various forms – her poetry intertwined with references to political propaganda, news, and protest signs advocate for unity and reflect on class inequality, political polarization, and misinformation. Mendoza’s craft results in expressions that weave in portraits of Venezuelan citizens, landscapes, infrastructures, and patriotic symbolism for cultural celebration and commemorating the country’s perseverance through adverse circumstances.

Around The Way will be on view at LatchKey Gallery, 173 Henry Street, from January 13 – February 4th, 2023 – an artist reception will take place on Friday, January 13th, 2023, from 6-8 pm.