Justin Allen, David Bordett, Madison Donnelly, Omar Fidel Garcia, and Paloma Izquierdo

Helena Anrather is pleased to present Liquidator, an exhibition featuring the work of five artists from the Yale Sculpture MFA ’23 program. Liquidator explores the concept of liquidity: the alchemical nature of turning assets into cash, with the thesis show serving as a metaphorical ‘closing out’ or ‘liquidation sale’ of artworks. The exhibition features artwork by Justin Allen, David Bordett, Madison Donnelly, Omar Fidel Garcia, and Paloma Izquierdo. The works reflect on notions of security, neglect, myth, and autonomy in an era in which capitalism confines our desires and imaginations. Together these five artists liquidate existing structures and systems to make space for something new and transformative.

Justin Allen (b. 1992, Arlington, VA ) is a writer and performer experimenting with dance, video, and sound. In his work, he responds to the personal and collective impact of social connection and history, often exploring the relationships between subculture and mainstream narratives through various artistic disciplines. He has been commissioned by The Chocolate Factory Theater and The Shed and held residencies at ISSUE Project Room and the Center for Afrofuturist Studies. His performances have received support from Franklin Furnace, Foundation for Contemporary Arts, and the Jerome Foundation. His first book, Language Arts, is forthcoming from Wendy’s Subway.

David Bordett (b. 1991, Shenandoah Valley, VA) is an interdisciplinary sculptor whose work critically examines American lore, half truths, and false promise. Casinos and class struggle, road side attractions and exploitation, the optimism of the post war 20th century and the ideologies of control that are at work always in aesthetics. Objects and environments operate as catalysts of fantasy, creating a zone of simultaneous horror and seduction that reveals through popular cultural forms our collective desires, aspersions, and fears. He received his BFA from the VCU Department of Sculpture and Extended Media, and MFA from the Yale Sculpture Department. For now, he maintains no permanent residence and continues to drive his 1999 Toyota Tacoma that at the time of writing shows over 330,000 miles on its odometer.

Madison Donnelly (b. 1992, Salt Lake City, UT) is a sculpture and installation artist whose work often resembles something between a public fountain and a filthy hotel bathroom. Her practice confronts unsettling aspects of domesticity and explores the psychological impact of neglect. She holds a BFA from the University of Utah and an MFA in Sculpture from Yale where she received the Blair Dickinson Memorial Prize. She has participated in residencies at SOMA Mexico and the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art and will be an artist-in-residence at Mass MOCA in January 2024.

Omar Fidel Garcia (b.1993, Orange, CA) creates work that blurs boundaries between tangible and intangible materials, giving rise to a language of artistic expression shaped by material selection. He is a self-taught artist meditating on sculpture, installation and private performances, and his work operates as an ever-growing archive of existence, associations and references. He holds an MFA in Sculpture from Yale and works between Mexico and New York.

Paloma Izquierdo (b. 1995, Havana, Cuba) works in sculpture and installation to analyze how infrastructures can be intervened or subverted, reimagining everyday structures with transformed functions. She holds a BFA from Cooper Union and an MFA in Sculpture from Yale. She will be participating in Pioneer Works Tech Residency Fall 2023, and has participated in SOMA, Oolite Arts, and Ox-Bow School of Arts. Her work has been included in group exhibitions at Real Art Ways, CT; Art Lot, NY; Oolite Arts, Miami; Black Ball Projects, NY; Smithsonian S. Dillon Ripley Center, D.C among others.

Photos by Pat Garcia. Flyer by Kyle Richardson.