The Block is Hot, curated by Alex Browngardt

Obi Agwan, Hannah Baskin, James Bowles, Chloe Chiasson, Nate Garcia, Nazir Hedgepeth
Lucinda Lansill, Joyce Pensato, Peter Saul, Geist Topping, James Tonra, Ji Zou

Exhibition Dates: August 2 - August 31, 2024
Opening Reception: Friday, August 2 @ 6PM-8PM
39 White Street, Tribeca

Click for Exhibition List

Summertime in New York is hazy and sweaty, and there is an undeniable insanity out there. The block is certainly hot, so why should the works on the gallery walls indoors be any different? 1969 Gallery is pleased to present The Block is Hot, curated by Alexander Browngardt. The show features physiological figuration inspired by counterculture and underground art movements. Avant-garde painters of generational influence collide with young artists inspired by the visionaries who laid the groundwork before them.

Psychological surrealism has been brewing in the underbelly of what may not be considered the Fine Arts for years. Comic culture and animation have been at the forefront of reinterpreting the pop imagery of consumer culture, transforming it into meaningful historical commentary. The work of perverts, freaks, and outcasts often stowed away in the dustbins of obscurity will finally ascend to its rightful place alongside its fine art neighbors on the mantle of the absurd. What was once only possible through staple-bound zines and underground newspapers is now fit for the walls of fine art establishments. Decades of innovative post-war art and artists, creating through shifting pop cultural landscapes, are the only logical explanation for the unsettling animations that garner millions of views and influence our collective conscience. Shuffled back alongside its forebears, the work of cartoonists, animators, and the underrepresented makes sense on the walls next to pioneers like Peter Saul or Joyce Pensato. 


The Block is Hot invites you to investigate further what has been in front of you this whole time. The foundation of our absurd culture is built from the building blocks of bizarre yet brilliant minds, which The Block is Hot finds its motivation. Browngardt has conjured up his lifelong love and intense appreciation of comics and animation for this show. Their inherently rebellious and ludicrous nature holds a mirror up to the world in which they are created. Because in a world where violence is no longer shocking, and the line between what is being advertised to us and what we have become is increasingly thin, let’s celebrate with The Block is Hot.

For inquiries, please contact: 

Alex Browngardt | e: alex@1969gallery.com

About 1969 Gallery

Founded in September 2016, 1969 is a contemporary art gallery, with a gallery space in Manhattan’s Tribeca neighborhood. Through solo / group / external exhibitions and art fair presentations, the Gallery has cultivated the careers of its represented artists and a broader community of artists primarily devoted to painting.

Follow 1969 Gallery on Instagram via @1969gallery.