Survey of Surrender: Pieces of Myself (Closing Party)
Curatorial Statement by Chase Kingsley Williams-Lusero
"To exist as a stranger in a strange land is to live in a state of perpetual survival. Survey of Surrender: Pieces of Myself is a public offering of the fragments I have carried in private—an intentional exposure of the parts of myself that were once hidden, undesirable, or desperate. This work is born from the exhaustion of adaptation and the quiet violence of being seen.
The exhibition serves as a physical sanctuary of shared resonance, cataloging a history defined by wandering and the search for permanence. From the silent, graffiti-laden corridors of the Underhill series to the defensive, skeletal structures of Dipsacus (winter), each piece is a floral or architectural surrogate for my own transitory existence. These works are not merely images; they are the result of a "heavy" migration from digital capture to tactile, analog forms—utilizing Vandyke brown chemistry, cotton inkjet prints, and layered acrylics to give a physical body to memory.
Through life-sized self-portraits that act as otherworldly guardians and the intimate exposure of my own scarred flesh, I invite you to navigate the duality of my waking survival and my vivid dreamscapes. This survey culminates in the purest relationship of my life: a matted portrait, set within a Baroque frame, of me holding my "old lady"—a cherished companion of thirteen years.
By standing before these mirrors of botany, architecture, and spirit, you are witnessing the final act of my surrender. I am proving that even in the most desperate of transitions, there is a definitive, haunting style to the marks we leave behind.
Catering from Freedom a la Cart.
Music provided by Xiiren.
Come for the great food and music. Stay for the art!"
The closing party takes place at Design Studios on Broad, 390 East Broad Street, Room 243.
