Fantasia / habitat: A Collaborative Show with Yen Ospina + Laura Rowley
Join us for October’s Gallery Night @Grayhaven Motel! This month’s show is special – a collaborative exhibition between local talents, Laura Rowley of Illuminated Press + Yen Ospina.
Yen:
Yen Ospina is self-taught multi-talented Colombian-American artist who creates in multiple mediums and scales – digital & traditional art, to community murals.
Her work centers on themes of power, mysticism, and visibility. She utilizes a core color palette that makes her diverse body of work instantly recognizable as done in her hand.
Ospina honed her signature style over the course of 2020 during a period of deep introspection. Yen creates her art to inspire inquiry and expand the viewer’s subconscious assumptions of what feminine, queer, and diverse power looks like.
“Fantasia”
Step into a realm where the echoes of the past intertwine with the flights of imagination. In my upcoming art exhibition, I am thrilled to present a series that draws its essence from the intricate etchings and lithographs of the 1500s. These timeless techniques have lent their mystique to my work, allowing me to craft a magical series that bridges the gap between centuries.
Within these pieces, fantasy knows no bounds—it emerges not only from the realm of dreams but also from the ordinary streets we tread. Each stroke of the pen captures the whispers of forgotten tales, while every shade of ink breathes life into the unseen. Just as artists of old wove intricate narratives through their art, I too have conjured a symphony of wonder and whimsy.
Join me in exploring the juncture of history and imagination, where etchings of the past converge with dreams of the present. The result is a tapestry of enchantment that invites us all to see the world through the eyes of a dreamer, where every corner turned can lead to an adventure beyond our wildest imaginings.
yenospina.com
Laura:
Illuminated Press presents Kai Thigpen’s chapbook entitled habitat. These poems feature a non-binary speaker wanting to put down roots. We join them on a walk in a forest lush with fluidity and openness as they seek connection to their body, to other people, to the land around them, and to themself. Throughout these poems, Thigpen examines the ways in which we are linked to and separate from our more-than-human ecosystem. They explore the relationship with embodiment while experiencing gender dysmorphia, their social context in the US following childhood moved, and theoir Jewish and Irish family history.
About the Poet
Kai Thigpen is a licensed clinical socail worker providing therapy to LGBTQ+ communities. They grew up in France, Sweden, and the United States. Currently, Kai lives and works on Lenape land, also known as Pennsylvania, with their partner and two fluffy cats.
Illuminated Press in a micro publisher that crafts books by hand. Techniques of book production include handmade papermaking from rags and natural materials, letterpress printing, and hand bookbinding. The press publishes chapbooks, artist’s books, and zines that explore the complexities of our social, political, and economic fabric.
Illuminated Press is based in Trumansburg, New York and operated by Laura Rowley and a team of editors and interns. To learn more, please visit www.illuminatedpress.org and @illuminatedpress.
