Show Opening | Fri. Nov 14, 6-8pm @ 116 Duane St., 4th Floor in Tribeca, NY

Press Release for “Peel Back”

AHA Fine Art is pleased to present Peel Back, a group exhibition featuring the works of over thirty contemporary artists: Katelyn Alain, Vincent Arcilesi, Queen Andrea, Victoriya Basina, Violet Baxter, Nancy Bruno, Cernesto, Gage Delprete, Franck de las Mercedes, Vincent Dion, India Evans, Lauren Evans, Rafael Fuchs, Kristy Gordon, Akwasi Gyambibi, Karl Helmholz, Manuel Hernandez, HollenderX2, Denae Howard, Jun'ichirö Ishida, Gwyneth Leech, Kathy Levine, Adrian Marcais, Ojuang Mayenga, Heather MeCleod, Susu Pianchupattana, Christy Powers, Cristian Pietrapiana, Jacob Powers, Margaret Roleke, Nola Romano, Nick Savides, Jesse Scaturro, Robin Schwartz, Clio Smith, Eleonore Toufektchan, Lydia Viscardi, Dareece Walker, Yvette Yu, and Damian Zabrodin. The opening reception takes place on Friday, Nov. 14 from 6 to 8pm at

116 Duane Street, 4th floor, New York, NY. Peel Back is a salon-style group exhibition set within one of the few remaining artist lofts in Lower Manhattan, which was once home to the late great Vincent Arcilesi. The Duane Street loft, layered with art and rooted in raw, scaffolded ideas, is a palimpsest bearing the traces of time: revealing vestiges of history and remnants of what might otherwise be forgotten. The work speaks to both the quiet and resounding revelations, intimacies, humor, and stories that art continues to uncover, and to the ways these layers connect us through the personal "peels" that each artist performs.

In Crotch Watching (1972) this lyrically erotic and tantalizing work by Robin Schwartz skillfully (and quite literally!) presents the peeling off of clothing as she combines a range of "exposures":drawing attention to the groin areas of her subjects in a range of light and shadow. Schwartz boldly features cropped midsections and genitalia of men, in a grid format. The genitalia is tightly garbed in a variety of ensembles, ranging from fitting swimwear, denim jeans, sports and police uniform, and leather. The body of work demonstrates some of Schwartz' influences, such as the iconic photographer Helmut Newton. Through this series, Schwartz presents a "peeling of time" by prefacing the revolutionary female gaze and states "these photographs represent an artistic and political time capsule of a unique moment in U.S. history. It was at the confluence of both the sexual revolution and the women's movement."

Peel Back brings together artists whose works evince the spirit of layers of imaginative approaches to art making, bringing their own interpretation of peeling back to the exhibition as insight into the links between concept and presence, presenting a unified if complex essence of the self. Let's gather, closely, to peel back the layers.

For more information about the opening head to www.ahafineart.com and for the full press release click here.

"Peel Back"

Woodstock 1969