Ian Gerson
Atlanta, GA
ARTIST STATEMENT
My installations employ aesthetics
experienced in queer party spaces, referencing and furthering the realities of these spaces
to construct familial communities and foster re-envisionings of heteronormative
culture. Each of these installation-based projects double as hosting sites for social gatherings; a
concert, a party, a series of conversations and intimate exchanges, each developing their own
distinct ephemeral communities. My recent work revels in the idea that
being trans is like science fiction; shape shifting and pushing the bounds of possibility with
each weekly hormone injection. I’ve been inspired by science fiction as a tool to visualize
nonlinear futures, to subvert dominant power structures, and to create spaces of validation for
experiences outside the norm. I cast my empty hormone bottles and used syringes in fluorescent
and glow in the dark plastic to embrace the idea that being trans brings alternate histories,
parallel universes, and speculative self-recreation. I use drawing in my practice as a
foundational starting point for every project. These symmetrical abstract small works on paper
and large works on canvas come from a daily practice of drawing related to the body,
specifically my transgender body. I began this series several years ago while recovering from
top surgery and I see them as a form of mapping both internal and celestial landscapes, a tangible manifestation of something
unseen.
BIO
Ian Gerson is a multi-disciplinary artist and educator born in Houston, TX and currently based in Atlanta, GA. Utilizing sculpture, installation, and painting, their work draws inspiration from science fiction and queer nightlife spaces as modes to imagine and enact alternate ways of being and finding a sense of self. Ian holds an MFA in Sculpture + Extended Media from Virginia Commonwealth University and a BFA in Studio Art from the University of Texas at Austin. Ian has been included in exhibitions throughout the US and Mexico including The Bronx Museum, Socrates Sculpture Park, AIR Gallery, and artist-run Tomato House. Ian has participated residencies at Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, The MacDowell Colony, Millay Colony, Bronx Museum AIM Fellowship, Snug Harbor Artist Residency Program, AIR Gallery’s Emma Bee Bernstein Fellowship, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council’s Swing Space, and Socrates Sculpture Park, and has received a NYFA Fellowship and a Foundation for Contemporary Art Grant. Ian has held teaching positions at VCUarts Art Foundation Program and was Visiting Artist - Teaching Fellow at Wake Forest University in 2019-2020. Ian will be in residence at the Galveston Artist Residency for the 2020-2021 year.