Zentrified!
Gail Fitzgerald, Al Freeman, Tom Friedman, Matt Hoyt, Carl Ostendarp, Nathaniel Robinson, Ah-Bin Shim, Alice Tippit, Christina Tenaglia, and Alexi Worth.
9 January-10 February 2019
That is a curious title.
Indeed. It suggests that something has been dramatically affected by Zen.
What is Zen?
A way of life and thinking.
What's the way?
"An open-eyed man falling into the well."
That is a puzzling definition.
It's not a definition; it's a famous koan.
What is a koan?
A saying, question, or story, sometimes comical, which seems nonsensical to common sense but can provoke enlightenment in one who understands it.
"What is the sound of one hand clapping?" is a well-known example.
Oh, yes, I know that one. So what is enlightenment?
Liberation from the chains of conventional thinking.
That sounds like a good thing. Can a work of art be a koan?
I don't see why not. Maybe the works in this exhibition will enlighten us.
MZentrified! presents mind-teasing paintings and sculptures by 10 artists: Gail Fitzgerald, Al Freeman, Tom Friedman, Matt Hoyt, Carl Ostendarp, Nathaniel Robinson, Ah-Bin Shim, Alice Tippit, Christina Tenaglia, and Alexi Worth.
—Ken Johnson
