Allegra LaViola Gallery, New York & PEOPLE / PRODUCE invite you to BE MEAT & DRINK to PHOEBE JOEL & JOY TOMASKO (a test kitchen for KNISH KONNECTION)

featuring multi-sensory ephemeral events, edible and inedible consumables

Allegra LaViola Gallery and PEOPLE / PRODUCE are pleased to present the solo exhibition BE MEAT & DRINK. The exhibition will operate as a test kitchen for Knish Konnection, an evolving open studio for collaborating artists Phoebe Joel and Joy Tomasko. Knish Konnection was formulated in 2010 as a conceptual match-making experiment. During this exhibition, pairings are emphasized, both people/people and people/produce.

The kitchen is open Saturdays: March 26, April 2, 9 and 16 from 12.00 – 6.00pm. Residue of the courses will also be available during normal gallery hours. Attendees are asked to bring a potato and other produce items in order to actively participate in the weekly performances.

Works on display are chilled, bottled, frozen, raw, purified, peeled, chopped, plucked, doughnated, sealed, stacked, baked, roasted, basted, suspended, tossed, mashed, exposed, matched, composed, graded, interrogated, expelled and consumed.

Phoebe Joel’s work in this exhibition is preoccupied with modernity, with particular reference to 19th century French culture and gastronomy, (over)consumption and nutritional science. Her DIET = (meat + potatoes) + food chemical challenges, addresses consumption and how it is generally aligned with enjoyment. Here, this notion is destabilised as the memory of this transitory experience takes its form as an aggressive, displeasing, overload to the senses. Spectators are welcome to contribute to this work by bringing fresh organic produce to the performance. It is recommended to read the accompanying documentation for this work.

Joy Tomasko juxtaposes the clinical examination of biological selection through her trio of removes, In Vivo / Ex Vivo / Id Visu, with the social and psychological interpersonal experiments of blind pairings, a controlled environment in which the artist stages the first round of dates for Knish Konnection. With each interaction, the artist probes concepts regarding nourishment of and beyond the meal. Weighing in on the balance between silence and conversation at the table and forging a carnal complicity through chemical borders. It is encouraged that visitors to the exhibition bring a potato and ‘apply’ online before exploring her work in situ. www.knishkonnection.com

SAMPLE MENU: http://www.allegralaviola.com/images/files/Menu_Saturday_April_2.pdf

Reservations for In Vivo / Ex Vivo / Id Visu, blind pairings, 30-minute meal and make knish are highly recommended.

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