At the top of my random (and far from complete) roundup of interesting May art events is the important and brave Bodyjumpers, a Solo Exhibition by Leia Genis opening on Friday, May 3 in Arts Southeast’s Ellis Gallery.
The nonprofit’s Executive Director, Emily Earl, explains Genis' cyanotype photogram process whereby she creates repeated exposures of human silhouettes, which are layered and superimposed to achieve a range of values and forms: “Leia has these mannequins in her studio, and she hangs fabric behind them and then coats gauze-like fabric that reacts to very, very, long exposures. The silhouettes of the mannequins are thus captured on the material.”
Leia Genis (b. 1997, Chicago, IL) is a trans full-time studio artist and writer currently based in Atlanta, Georgia. A graduate of SCAD with degrees in painting and sculpture (2019), her artwork has been exhibited nationally and internationally at venues such as MOCA GA (Atlanta) and the Ipswich Biennale (Ipswich, UK), and her writing has been published in such prestigious art publications as Frieze, Burnaway, and Art Papers.
Genis' artist statement beautifully explains the name of her show. She says, “On a splendidly warm October evening in Atlanta, I was with my friend Kitty. The meandering path of our conversation brought us to birthdays and astrology. Upon learning that I was born in early June, Kitty remarked, “You’re a bodyjumper. All Geminis are bodyjumpers.” I am not enamored with astrology the way that Kitty is, so I hesitate to agree with her statement but the term “bodyjumper” struck me as unequivocally trans.
“Jumping between bodies, modifying appearances, exchanging identities, and slipping into and out of personalities are all acts I perform regularly as I navigate the world as a trans person...many times it is a very necessary survival technique – the world is frightfully full of places and people actively antagonistic toward trans people. This social performativity is complemented by the biological changes I undergo as I continue hormone replacement therapy (HRT). The process of medically altering hormone levels within my body causes a very physical body jump as I move from a more masculine physique to a more feminine one…
“Body jumping is an endemic part of being trans, in no small part since most places are not built for us. Because of this, trans people frequently thrive in secondary locales, oft-overlooked spaces, and non- traditional venues. The artworks in this exhibition exhibit the same characteristics. Largely avoiding the flat expanses of the gallery’s walls, the artworks exist in the gallery’s crevices and corners...Existing in corners and hanging between the ceiling and the wall, these artworks jump between surfaces; one body existing on two planes…The real joy of body jumping exists not in finding the exact right expression, it is delighting in the ability to jump.”
This feels like an important and groundbreaking show for Savannah. As always, Arts Southeast is paying an honorarium to the exhibiting artist because the organization strives to encourage risk, creativity, and freedom rather than focus on the commercial viability of artwork. Come see it. Bodyjumpers is on display in The Ellis Gallery at Arts Southeast, 2301 Bull Street, through June 15 with an opening reception on Friday, May 3 from 5-9pm in conjunction with First Fridays in Starland, and a virtual artist talk on Saturday, May 18 at 2pm.
Also on First Friday (May 3), be sure to pop over to Gallery2424 at 2424 Drayton Street to see If I Could, I Wood by artist and designer Marta M. McWhorter, who is perhaps best known locally as a lighting designer at the Lucas Theater and as a member of Kobo Gallery. In this retrospective solo exhibition, McWhorter is highlighting furniture, fine art, sculptural pieces, and sketches – much of it borne from taking furniture design classes at SCAD. Her show opens on May 2 and has a closing reception on Sunday, May 5 from 3-6pm.
Next up is the Art & Soul Music Festival at Savannah City Market on Saturday, May 4 from 2-8pm featuring art demonstrations by 18 artists, live music from 8 bands, and shopping specials and discounts from over 20 merchants and restaurants. And on Thursday, May 9 from 5:30-8:30pm, stop by the stunningly beautiful new gallery Artstryngs (which I wrote about in February) to see mixed media work by Patricia Patrick and selections from Cora Morris' various series of nature-focused work. Morris' pieces employ her two signature styles: dreamy photo encaustics and cyanotype painting mixed media. The joint show, entitled Unseen Garden, hangs all month.
In a month of pop-up MFA shows, perhaps the one I most excited to see is that of SCAD Fibers MFA candidate Phoebe Plank. Her exhibit Stick Work: Art to Make Live is an intimate series of studies which incorporate delicate sticks, moss, collected plants and grasses, natural dyed fibers, and other found objects. Plank will be at Gallery2424, 2424 Drayton Street, on May 10-12 and has an opening reception on Friday, May 10 from 4-9pm.
On Tuesday, May 14 from 6-9pm, contemporary painter Janet Bailey has an opening for her solo show Anthology of Nature at the 208 Wine Bar, 208 East Bay. Bailey recently relocated from Kansas and has quickly immersed herself into the local art scene with a solo exhibition at the JEA Gallery, and through memberships with Telfair Museums' Friends of African American Art (FAAA) and Arts on the Coast. She will show small, framed, semi-abstract landscapes and small and large-scale florals through June 1.
On that same weekend, Location Gallery - located at 251 Bull Street at Liberty, inside Corcoran Austin Hill Realty - hosts the opening reception of Ossabaw Outtakes on Saturday, May 18 from 4-7pm. The show runs through mid-June and features the papercut assemblage mastery of Peter E. Roberts and the mixed media photography of his good friend, Joy Dunigan. Gallery profits benefit the Ossabaw Island Foundation.
Later that week, visit Ships of the Sea Maritime Museum to experience Celestial Seafarers, a nighttime contemporary art and light installation on the evenings of May 22 or May 23. An impressive list of contemporary artists - Joshua Alexander, Greg Finger, Marcus Kenney, Kevin Kirkwood, Will Penny, Abby Portner, Matt Van Rys, and Todd Schroeder - will immerse the museum in light, sound, video, and performance, to honor Savannah’s role in inspiring National Maritime Day. Read more in my April 17 column, and find the (very reasonable) ticket link under the events tab at www.shipsofthesea.org.
So much to see in our busy Savannah art scene. Get out there, and buy local!
Beth Logan is a columnist covering Savannah's vibrant art scene.
