BOOTY BODY

Interact Center for Visual and Performing Arts is pleased to present BOOTY BODY, the inaugural exhibition at Interact Gallery’s new space at 755 Prior Avenue North in Saint Paul. 

Named by artist Bonnie Thorne, BOOTY BODY is about patterns, the body, and the power of repeated marks and gestures over time. Twenty visual artists with disabilities will present work across fibers, bookmaking, drawing, painting, and ceramics.

Repeated gestures at the loom or easel form a kind of muscle memory that allow an artist to move nimbly from one piece to the next. Some artists in the exhibition, having called Interact their studio for over twenty years, are building massive bodies of work that trace decades of persistence as much as singular vision.

BOOTY BODY also explores the body as an artist’s creative muse, and as one that can either align with or disrupt socio-political patterns. From HML’s wearable muscle suits and Janice Essick’s lounging nude, to Philip Price’s pop culture portraits and Briana Shelstad’s Wonder Woman dress, BOOTY BODY presents bodies and the patterns that they wear or shirk, exploring fantasy, body image, and sexuality.

Curated by a team of Interact artists and staff, BOOTY BODY is the first in-person exhibition organized by Interact Gallery since 2019.

EXHIBITING ARTISTS
Artists in the exhibition include Garret Anderson, Katie Bretzman, Katie Brinkman, Bill Crane, Vance Diamond, Janice Essick, Devra Goldstein, Peder Hagen, Kramer Hegenbarth, HML, Andie Kiley, Krystal Lewis, Lucy Picasso, Philip Price, Dan Schlag, Andrew Seymour, Briana Shelstad, Victor Van, Loni Joy Watts, and BDG Wolfe.

ABOUT INTERACT
Interact is a progressive visual arts studio and theater company whose work challenges perceptions of disability. Since 1996, Interact has worked to advance the recognition of over 120 professional working artists, uniting disparate artistic identities, abilities, and backgrounds in the spirit of radical inclusion.

VIEWING HOURS
Interact Gallery
755 Prior Avenue North, Suite #002D
Saint Paul, Minnesota 55104
Open by appointment Monday - Wednesday, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. (additional hours as needed)
Visit in person: email gallery@interactcenter.com or sign up at calendly.com/interact-gallery