Microscope Gallery is pleased to present the New York premiere of The Artist, Her Cat, Mister Vegan, and the Agony of Power a performance/presentation by artist Nicholas Vargelis.
Starting off as a minimalistic light show operated onstage by Vargelis using common electric supplies, the performance continues as a slide show complemented by the artist's eloquent yet intricate account of the challenges involved in collective artistic practice and the dynamics of his codependent relationship, intertwining public display and intimate self-disclosure.
"Relating different events that occurred when I worked with the artist group “Et al.*”, the performance combines real and alternative facts about a very personal story. In particular, I mention lines of conflict when working in collaboration with a group: issues of collective creation, authorship and trust; all the while struggling to maintain a friendship corrupted by unbalanced power relations. These various stories and anecdotes of life with the artist group are intermixed with references to psychological pathologies (Stockholm Syndrome, Perversion, Narcissism, etc.) parallel to confessions and self critical reflections." - NV
Duration: approximately 40 minutes
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Nicholas Vargelis works primarily in installation and performance. His work combines various contemporary practices - social organization, technological development, narrative histories, the iconography of forms (such as the history of the light bulb) - with the artist as “situation inventor” who alters contexts to provoke different orders of thought. Vargelis’ practice is often collaborative and influenced by a social network of artists, writer, architects, and other thinkers.
Vargelis’ work has previously been exhibited at The Villa Romana, Florence; Künstlerhaus Mousonturm, Frankfurt am Main; Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt am Main; Centre Pompidou, Paris; Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris; Ygrec, Paris; Le Commissariat, Paris; Béton Salon, Paris; Le Petit Versailles, New York; The MIX: New York Queer Experimental Film Festival, New York; Machine Project, Los Angeles, among others. His work can be found in the collection of Le Musée National d’Art Moderne/ Centre Pompidou: Bibliothèque Kandinsky, Paris, France.
Nicholas Vargelis received his MFA from l’École Nationale Supérieure d’Arts de Paris-Cergy in 2011 and has participated in several residency programs: la Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris; Le Parc Saint Léger Centre d’Art Contemporain, Pougues-les-Eaux, France; The Villa Romana (international guest artist), Florence, Italy. Vargelis lives and works in New York City and Paris, France.