Christina Massey
Winner Challenge 2021
EXHIBITION After 2016:
Solo Shows:
2020 Equity Gallery, Christina Massey: Invasive Species, New York, NY (online exclusive)
2019 One Five One, Crafty Collusion, Former Conde Nast Building, Times Square Lobby, New York, NY
2018 Adler Gallery, Port Washington Public Library, Opposites Attract, Port Washington, NY
2017 Noyes Art Museum, Art Garage, Mingled Mediums, Atlantic City, NJ
Welancora Gallery / NU Hotel, Taking Shape, curated by Ivy Jones, Brooklyn, NY
Sarah Doyle Gallery, Then & Now, Providence, RI
2014 Dacia Gallery, Salva Veritate, New York, NY
2012 Corridor Gallery, RUSH Arts Gallery, Business & Pleasure, curated by Charlotte Mouquin, Bklyn, NY
2011 McKinley Gallery, An Art Community, Reno, NV
2010 Taller Boricua, Meat Market, curated by Christine Licata, New York, NY
2007 Soapbox Gallery, Meat Market, Brooklyn, NY
Chashama Exhibition Space, Meat Market, New York, NY
Chashama Window Gallery, Art is Who You Know, New York, NY
2002 Ayres Gallery, Dead Paintings, Chico, CA
2001 Upper Crust Gallery, 404 File Not Found, Chico, CA
Select Group Shows:
2020 Equity Gallery, Il Paradiso: Imagining the Eternal, curated by Peter Gynd, Margaret Krug, Peter adna Jimmy
Wright, New York, NY
Monica King Contemproary, Spring into Action, New York, NY
The USPS Art Project traveling/thematic hybrid exhibition at Pelham Art Center, Pelham, NY, Ely
Center of Contemporary Art, New Haven, CT, Sunset Art Studios, Dallas, TX, Art Gym Denver, Denver,
CO, InLiquid, Philadelphia, PA
2019 Blackbird Gallery, Transmutations, curated by Jess Berghorn (2 person), New York, NY
LIU Humanities Gallery, Fauna & Mirrors, curated by Etty Yaniv, Brooklyn, NY
The Clemente, TRILL MATRIX, curated by Elizabeth Riley, New York, NY
Sonesta, Artisnal, Curated by Genevieve Coutroubis/CEVA, Philadelphia, PA
Edison Price Lighting Gallery, Revision 2, Long Island City, NY
2018 CFEVA, Double Take, curated by Monica Ramires-Montagu, Philadelphia, PA
Trestle Gallery, Small Works, curated by Sharon Louden, Brooklyn, NY
Untitled Space, Defining Form, curated by Indira Cesarine, New York, NY
Cluster Gallery, Works on Paper, curated by Muriel Guepin, Brooklyn, NY
Korean Cultural Center, Cardinal Planes, New York, NY
efa Gallery, SIP Summer Exhibition, New York, NY
2017 Roxbury Art Center, Interwoven, 2 Person Show, Roxbury, NY
Chashama 470 Vanderbilt, BIGGER, BETTER, BOLDER, Brooklyn, NY
deCordova Sculptural Park & Museum Store, Abstract!, Lincoln, MA
Chazan Gallery, Traverse/Texture, 3 Person Show, Providence, RI
John Doe Gallery, NOTHING TWICE, curated by Etty Yaniv, Brooklyn, NY
Untitled Space, UPRISE/ANGRY WOMEN, curated by Indira Cesarine, New York, NY
CURATORIAL WORK after 2016:
2020 Pelham Art Center, Domestic Brutes, co-curated with Etty Yaniv. Featureing artists: Tirtzah Bassel, Aisha
Tandiwe Bell, Ashley Cooper Norwood, Maria De los Angeles, Nancy Elsamanoudi, Fay Ku, Sharon Madanes,
Lacey McKinney, Joiri Minaya, Rose Nestler, Diana Schmertz, Alisa Sikelianos-Carter, Manju Shandler, Melissa
Stern, Simonette Quamina
2020 The USPS Art Project, a collaborative mail art iniciative created for artists during the pandemic that has
thoughsands of artists participating and 6 exhibitions around the country so far.
2019 BIOBAT – Summation & Absence, co-curated with Etty Yaniv Featuring artists: Suzanne Anker, Nancy
Cohen, Lorrie Fredette, Mihcal Gavish and Elaine Whittaker.
2018 NY Artists Circle – Atmospheric Perspective: Contemporary Approaches to a Traditional Technique. Featuring
artists: Beth Barry, Fran Beallor, Yvette Cohen, Jane Dell, Karen Fitzgerald, Pauline Galiana, Eleanor Goldstein,
Peggy Klineman, Barbara Lubliner, Elizabeth Mead, Gammy Miller, Janie Milstein, Linda Lee Nicholas, Anne
Raymond, Phyliss Rosser, Andra Samelson, Linda Schmidt, Linda Stillman, Audrey Stone, Robin Tedesco
2017 ChaShaMa 470 Vanderbilt – Intertwined, co-curated with Charlotte Mouquin. Pop-up gallery in a
7000sq/ft empty industrial space. Featuring artists: Charlotte Becket, Julia von Eichel, Adebunmi Gbadebo, Luiza
Kurzyna, Sara Jimenez, Alexandra Limpert, Tomo Mori, Sui Park, Lina Puerta, Kate Rusek, Armita Raafat and
Victoria-Idongesit Udondian.
2017 Craff House – lead curator for the business. Worked with artists and venues to build the company’s
reputation and calendar prior to their launch. Selected artists for box projects/tutorial features, blog features, social
shares, galleries and museum shows for promotional sharing. Helped prepared and plan for upcoming exhibitions,
art fairs and private collection consulting. Worked with artists such as Melissa Staiger, Daniel Weiner, Delano
Dunn, Laura Anderson Barbata and Sharon Louden amongst many others.
2017 Hunterdon Art Museum – The Art of Construction featuring artists Carol Boram-Hays, Crystal Gregory,
Gail Heidel, Susan Meyer and Michael Watson.
2017 Chashama 470 Vanderbilt – BIGGER, BOLDER, BETTER, co-curated with Etty Yaniv and Jaynie
Crimmins. Pop-up gallery in a 7000sq/ft empty industrial space. Featuring artists: Nancy Baker, Jaynie Crimmins,
Lorrie Fredette, Dana Kane, Niki Lederer, Susan Luss, Christina Massey, Ellie Murphy, Mia Pearlman, Jaanika
Peerna, Elizabeth Riley, Alyse Rosner, Carol Salmanson, Suzan Shutan, Jen Wroblewski and Etty Yaniv.
Statement
My work utilizes a combination of found repurposed objects such as plastics and aluminum with traditional materials like canvas and acrylic paint to create dimensional abstract textural surfaces. Each process, material and color choice is symbolic towards both personal identity and ancestral connections as well as broader societal observations on issues of gender, the environment, politics and the Art World itself. The works are intentionally complex, full of qualities and intentionally in-between, several descriptive terminologies. They are simultaneously painting and sculpture, process based and conceptual, and even play with distinctions between craft and fine art.
Life is complicated, and my work is reflective of that. Each choice of material, title or process is used for its ability to express several ideas at once. For instance, the use of repurposed aluminum from craft beer cans appear throughout my body of work. This material is chosen for a variety of reasons, it’s durability and aesthetic values, the linguistic connections with the language of “craft” being used in one rather male dominated industry compared to another, it’s representation of small business over large corporations and for the environmental connection of reusing materials in the process of creation. In addition, I view the craft beer industry as symbolic of my economic class, somewhere between cheap American beer and the wine industry.
My work ultimately is a reflection of myself, a nature lover, women’s right advocate, working class artist and through abstraction I draw connections about broader social topics that have divisive opinions and influence our day-to-day lives and choices. In this series, I address issues of the environment, it’s connection to consumer choice, masculinity and femininity, and even liberal and conservative as it relates back to one's identity and description of self.
