Graham Collins Curates 'Freedom Culture' Exhibition at The Journal Gallery Featuring 40 Artists

Graham Collins curated the exhibition 'Freedom Culture' at The Journal Gallery in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, from July 1 to August 8, 2015. The show featured nearly 40 artists exploring themes of subjective meaning and artistic freedom in contemporary culture. Works included Brent Holland Baker's text painting 'Untitled (2015)' with the phrase 'SMALL PARADISE AND BIG BIG HELL' on an alizarin crimson ground, Ida Ekblad's collaged drawing 'Not Titled (2015)', Elizabeth Murray's shaped-canvas painting 'Truth, Justice, and Comics #1 (1990)', and Elizabeth Jaeger's sculptures in steel, ceramic, maple, and granite. Andy Meerow's conceptual piece 'Oyster Split (pets and cops) (2015)' displayed the words 'pets' and 'cops' on two white canvases. Sam Moyer's photograph 'Willie III (2009)' depicted an obscured figure in darkness, while David Adamo contributed five untitled drawings resembling insect trails. The exhibition blurred boundaries between painting and sculpture, literal and figurative expression, and object versus illusion. Collins organized the gallery space to create visual dialogues between disparate works, encouraging viewers to navigate interpretations independently. The show addressed how individuals find meaning without objective aesthetic or moral frameworks, referencing Friedrich Nietzsche's ideas about subjective morality. Located at 106 N 1st Street at Berry Street, the exhibition activated the entire gallery so that each piece interacted with others in the periphery.