CURA.

The new performance and exhibition presented at Arsenic follow a one-month residency during summer 2021 at La Becque during which Garrett Nelson had access to the archive of Cathy Josefowitz in Geneva, while researching and developing a new performance piece. Studio-visits and exchanges with experts on Cathy Josefowitz’ work and the curators additionally nurtured this research. As a result, a new performance piece and sculptures by Garrett Nelson are shown at Arsenic, accompanied by a selection of Cathy Josefowitz’ original paintings made by Nelson.
Anacronica II: Lying on the Hip is the second in a trilogy of installations and performances where Garrett Nelson shows sculptures and paintings alongside Cathy Josefowitz.

Nelson’s new work includes a poem about a tablecloth and a house made of mist as well as an homage to the Italian poet Sandro Penna (1906, Perugia-1977, Rome). A largely unpublished author, Penna’s work comprises poetry and a few novels exploring homosexual love and sexuality. During his lifetime, his work was revealed and supported by Pierpaolo Pasolini and Umberto Saba. Neson’s performance concludes with A Sailor Being Tired, an Appalachian Ballad, which originates from near Indiana, US, where the artist was born and where their ancestors immigrated. Derived from various European and African influences, including English ballads, Irish and Scottish traditional music and African-American blues, Appalachian music often evokes nostalgic memories of home and loved ones.

The title of the work, “Lying on the Hip” is a euphemism for the drug-induced repose of an opium den, and loosely refers to a meditative state of psychological repose. Set in a dreamlike space, Nelson’s participatory installation includes cave painting shadows, painted bodysuits, traditional Swiss artifacts and two new paintings of darkroom sex scenes.