Ophelia Arc’s work puts you in a chokehold. Her dramatically malformed crocheted sculptures are perplexing as they are intriguing. It invokes feelings of awe and uneasiness–a perfect mixture when consuming art that is meant to move you. That is exactly the effect of Arc’s work. It shakes you to your core and sears itself into your brain. The work is signature and unforgettable.
Coming off the debut of we’re just so glad you’re home at 81 Leonard Gallery, Arc is glowing and beaming with pride. Her distinct aesthetic is on full display at the TriBeCa space. I last saw Arc’s at last year’s Spring Break Art Fair and while she made use of every square inch of the booth, the work truly shines at 81 Leonard. Nakai Falcón puts on a masterclass in curation as he displays an intimate knowledge of Arc’s work through his placement of each piece and the overarching narrative of the exhibition. Arc’s work and Falcón’s curation marry perfectly. we’re just glad you’re home is an ideal testament to chemistry. Rooted in the practice of medicine and biology, the exhibition benefits heavily from the harmony of the two visionaries.
We took time to catch up not only with Arc, but with Falcón as well. we’re just glad you’re home is a team effort and Falcón was more than happy to contribute some insight regarding its process and its intent.
“One of the things I found immediately intoxicating about Ophelia’s work early on is something I allude to in the exhibition’s text – that her practice is filled with contradictions that beautifully coexist. It’s the use of tender materials that result into confrontational forms with several layers embedded in each piece. It was interesting to note that while Ophelia had been active in shows before, not much was written expanding on her practice. Driven by thorough analytic research combined with personal experience, I wanted this show to contribute to a foundational understanding of what her work entails. The viewer is still able to go in subjective since Ophelia’s work intentionally leaves gaps for speculation, but we’re just so glad you’re home should help shed some light into Ophelia’s world.”
– Nakai Falcón
Akeem K. Duncan: Tell us about your medium and how you settled into the crocheting niche?
Ophelia Arc: “I love its tactility. As someone who would self-identify agressivly obsessive, it’s really important for my hand to be present in the whole process of construction. Crochet is the only fiber art technique that cannot be replicated by machine, which is another reason I feel very drawn to it. There’s an undeniability of my touch in a way. Proof of existence.”
AD: How would you describe your artistry? What is it made of?
OA: “I’d say it’s research-driven, first and foremost. I find my work situating itself within conceptual art practice and craft, two forms of art that are usually seen as contradictory. My execution is very craft-heavy, carrying a strong lineage of overseen or undervalued labor, with its bone structure focusing on my research interests, which are then molded or rather translated by memory and personal experience.”
AD: These organ-like, almost Cronenberg-esque forms… Where do they come from? What are your sources of inspiration?
OA: “Mainly medical research. I look at a lot of scientific journals but also a lot of topological forms as of late for inspiration. My own body also serves as a starting point for a lot of my references. Using myself as the figure, which I disrupt, allows me to have as much liberty with its manipulation and contortion.”
AD: Your latest exhibition, “We’re Just So Glad You’re Home,” fill us in about its process and intention.
OA: “Nakai Falcón, the curator of the exhibition, approached me in 2023 wanting to work on a debut solo together. He knows my work really intimately after discovering me through my BFA exhibition and later seeing my work again at my solo booth in the Spring/Break Art Fair. We had a 4-hour + conversation about my practice, and he pulled out some poignant motifs and themes, which served as the anchor points around which new work would situate itself.”
AD: The title is quite charming and intimate. Does it relate directly to your life experiences? How did you come up with it?
OA: “When Nakai first mentioned the title amongst a few other contenders, it stood out immediately. Home and childhood serve as major themes in everything I do. I often draw inspiration from my home, whether in a metaphorical sense or in a tangible sense, like with my “flesh home” sculpture, which is a self-embodiment of a home derived from the dollhouse I had growing up.”
AD: Is there any uncharted territory that you would like to explore with your work?
OA: “I have really been interested in ways for my work to consume a space, the ways in which a form begins to take over where it’s placed, contending with both the space above, below, and around it. Some pieces I’ve been working on since completing this show’s body of work have begun to incorporate components that use not only the dead space between floor and ceiling but also begin to eat at its surrounding walls and further play with tension and precarity.”
we’re just so glad you’re home is on display at 81 Leonard TriBeCa until June 1st!
Akeem is our founder. A writer, poet, curator and profuse sweater, he is responsible for the curatorial direction and overall voice of Quiet Lunch. The Bronx native has read at venues such as the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, KGB Bar, Lovecraft and SHAG–with works published in Palabra Luminosas and LiVE MAG13. He has also curated solo and group exhibitions at numerous galleries in Chelsea, Harlem, Bushwick and Lower Manhattan.