Kristen Zwicker: 1000 Hearts May 5 – May 29, 2011 Opening reception: Saturday May 7, 8pm – 12am

Michael Mut Gallery is pleased to present Kristen Zwicker’s “1,000 Hearts”, curated by Michael Mut. Zwicker uses a simple yet beautiful medium, the origami heart, to invite people to join in a phenomenological experience. Zwicker asks a deceptively simple question: What do you love about yourself? Ultimately, this finds a person in reflection or analysis of awareness, whether it be; temporal, spatial, self-experience, self-awareness, awareness of others, or linguism. Zwicker’s existential approach encourages people to inwardly explore and discover what they truly love about themselves. Many of us have never been asked this question and in our search for an answer, we find ourselves examining both self and love.

Artists from the Love Yourself Project are approaching people in coffee shops, subways stations, and the streets of New York City with hand-folded hearts and “Love Yourself” Stickers as well as organizing 1,000 Hearts workshops in schools, community centers, at home, and in the work place.

The Hearts and their messages will be presented in the Michael Mut Gallery, beginning on May 5, 2011. The installation is a participatory event and people will have the opportunity to write on the walls of the gallery.

The Love Yourself project has organized ongoing demonstrations on an international scale, with cities that include: Paris, Luxembourg, West Africa, and Sarasota, Florida. Upcoming scheduled events are planned for Australia, Holland, and San Diego.

The messages will also be released via Twitter, with one message posting every day for the next 1,000 days.

Love Yourself Project on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/theloveyourselfproject Love Yourself Project on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSpAOubsFuw