Galleries

RUSH PHILANTHROPIC ARTS FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES “THE BUTTON SHOW”  

Visual Art Exhibit, on Display January 21-March 12, 2016, Features Clothing Buttons Reimagined and Repurposed in Contemporary Art

New York, NY (December 22, 2015) — Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation and Souleo Enterprises launch “The Button Show” – a visual art exhibition highlighting the medium and representation of clothing buttons in contemporary art – January 21 through March 12, 2016 at Rush Arts Gallery (526 West 26^th Street, Suite 311, New York, NY 10001). On display are the works of 11 artists who each work with buttons either as the dominant medium or a featured element in their sculpture, photography and wearable artworks. Participating artists include veteran ‘button artists’ Amalia K. Amaki, Beau McCall and Lisa Kokin.

“We are excited to present this exhibition as it relates to our mission of highlighting emerging artists and curators whose work is underrepresented in the commercial art field. The visual art presented here is an opportunity to highlight a medium that has not been fully recognized for its artistic value,” said Gallery Director Charlotte Mouquin.

An opening reception will be hosted at Rush Arts Gallery on Thursday, January 21, 6-8 pm. During the exhibition’s duration the gallery will host an “Artist Talk” on Saturday, February 20, 4-6 pm. The panel discussion will explore the history of buttons and their relationship to the visual arts with select exhibiting artists, clothing button experts and moderator Peter “Souleo” Wright, the exhibit’s curator. All events are free and open to the public.

“I am proud to help highlight the medium of clothing buttons in visual art,” Souleo added. “Clothing buttons occupy a familiar but seemingly insignificant presence in our lives. Each artist forces us to reimagine this everyday object as a viable tool for communication and self-expression through visual art. In these works, buttons become signifiers of issues of class, politics, race, beauty and personal narratives in ways that are visually stimulating and highly engaging.”

PARTICIPATING ARTISTS:

Alexis Garrett Stodghill, Amalia K. Amaki, André St. Clair, Beau McCall, Camilla Taylor, Hannah Battershell, Io Palmer, Lisa Kokin, Petros Chrisostomou, Ruben Natal-San Miguel, Tavet Gillson

About the Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation

Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation was founded in 1995 in New York City by media mogul Russell Simmons and his brothers, artist and activist Danny Simmons and Joseph “Rev. Run” Simmons, and committed to bettering the lives of underserved inner-city youth through meaningful exposure to the arts and hands-on art education programs, and to as providing professional support to artists at the beginning of their careers, mostly artists of color. The Rush Gallery Program provides open calls, residencies, professional support and exhibition opportunities to artists and curators focusing on those that are emerging and frequently marginalized, especially artists of color, by the commercial art field. Rush’s rich 20 year exhibition history has exhibited nearly 2,000 artists and aided in supporting the careers of artists.

About Souleo Enterprises, LLC

Souleo Enterprises creates and produces entertaining and informative events, media and artistic projects. As a journalist he has written for Newsweek, Ebony, New York Press, Black Enterprise, XXL, Sister 2 Sister, and Rolling Out. He’s also been featured on CNN’s The Nancy Grace Show, MTV’s FNMTV Premieres, Access Hollywood and The Insider, and in the New York Post, the Chicago Sun-Times, the Boston Globe, BET.com, and Match.com. Souleo recently created the column “On the ‘A’ w/ Souleo” which is now syndicated online across several media properties including Huffington Post, EBONY.com, SoulTrain.com, New York Amsterdam News,

and Rolling Out. In partnership with the New York Public Library, he produces LGBT, financial literacy and creative programming. As a curator, his notable exhibitions include “eMerge: Danny Simmons and Artists on the Cusp,” the first-ever AARP exhibition “Lasting Legacy: The Journey of You,” Harlem’s unprecedented multi-gallery collaborative exhibition “Motown to Def Jam,” and the visual art debut of Melvin Van Peebles in “eMerge 2.0: Melvin Van Peebles and Artists on the Cusp.” In 2014, Souleo curated an exhibition celebrating the 40th anniversary of Ntozake Shange’s “for colored girls…” at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. In 2015, “Stax: Visions of Soul” at the Stax Museum of American Soul Music marked his curatorial debut in a museum.

LISTINGS BLURB

In collaboration with Souleo Enterprises, the Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation’s Rush Arts Gallery (526 West 26^th Street, Suite 311, New York, NY 10001) features clothing buttons reimagined and repurposed in contemporary art Thursday, January 21, 6-8pm with “The Button Show.” On display will be the works of 11 artists who each work with buttons either as the dominant medium or a featured element in their sculpture, photography and wearable artworks. Participating artists include veteran ‘button artists’ Amalia K. Amaki, Beau McCall and Lisa Kokin. Programming will include an “Artist Talk” on Saturday, February 20, 4-6 pm with select exhibiting artists, clothing button experts and moderator Peter “Souleo” Wright, the exhibit’s curator. All events are free and open to the public.