On Guard NY

About

On Guard NY is meant to be a reminder of the courage within all of us and to empower viewers to fight for their rights on both personal and collective levels.

The show compares athleticism to the nature of life: keeping us on our feet and on guard at all times. Competitive sports are a performance business and, in this sense, it easily translates to an exhibition.

Once representing masculine destructivity, sports are now a form of femme empowerment.

On Guard NY unites several contemporary female identifying artists exploring sports and women’s involvement in them. Using athletic games as a vehicle to examine social, cultural and political changes in a global context through traditional and non-traditional depictions of sport related imagery.

Multifaceted components of identities and practices are also present in the exhibition. With a multisensory experience featuring interdisciplinary works, the show examines not only courage and fears, strength and vulnerability, but also challenges preconceived notions and realities of safety, womanhood, combat, violence and resilience.

On Guard is a two-part exhibition, and it was initiated at Matthew Rachman Gallery in Chicago in November 2018.

On Guard was inspired by the book "Life Doesn't Frighten Me," which combines poetry by renowned author and activist Maya Angelou with illustrations by artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. Angelou's simple and empowering sentences, accompanied by the visually strong images of Basquiat's works, deliver the overall message that life's fears can be dispelled through the power of faith in ourselves.

Artists include: Katya Bankowsky with Maya Angelou, and Katya Bankowsky with Michele Lamy, Zoë Buckman, Megan Euker, Kasia Kay, Tara Lewis, Betsy Odom, Mimi Plange, Cheryl Pope, Annabelle Schlesinger, Marcela Torres and Amina Zoubir.