NY Studio Gallery is pleased to present nest-un-settled, work by aricoco (Ari Tabei). Exploring the primordial urge to nest and investigating the boundaries of the meaning of home, aricoco creates sculptural garments and bags with which she interacts. The meticulously constructed works are comprised of thousands of small objects such as buttons, strips of fabric and eggshells which are painstakingly interwoven. Aricoco then invents and records ritualistic play and performative actions within the cocoon-like pieces. These actions serve both to revive her childhood experiences and interpret the influences of her culture.

Aricoco sees her works and actions as symbolic of home. Simultaneously, the space within the often enormous garments can appear unsettled and awkward as the artist robes and disrobes, sometimes seeming to struggle. “I perform to heal and nourish myself so that I regain strength to survive when I emerge,” states the artist. “I use different materials and processes to explore specific personal or cultural meanings. Robing and disrobing my temporary shelter, I package my body to be disconnected from reality, but also to tie myself to it.” Using video and photographs, aricoco records her performances, which reflect her struggle and hope to survive each day.

Born and raised in Tokyo, aricoco (Ari Tabei) attended the Post-baccalaureate Program in Studio Art at Brandies University in 2001 and received her MFA from the University of Connecticut in sculpture and video performance art in May 2007. She was awarded the A.I.R. Gallery Fellowship for 2008-2009. She has participated in several artists in residencies including chashama, Vermont Studio Center, LMCC’s Swing Space, Smack Mellon Artist Studio Program, Sculpture Space and Blue Sky Project.