Jack Pierson Some Old Homo August 2 - 21, 2019 

Opening reception: Friday, August 2: 7 - 9 pm 

The Albert Merola Gallery is happy to present an exhibition of new work by Jack Pierson. In some respect, all of the work in this show has a dual nature - either by its physical being, or internal meaning. The title of the exhibition, and one of the primary works in it, is Some Old Homo - one of Pierson's iconic word sculptures. A derogatory term, by both straight and gay, it also takes on a different connotation in this day and age - some old homos are also long time survivors of AIDS and constant fights for equal rights, and have lived lives of struggle and perseverance. They can assume that mantle with pride. Naked Pictures - Like a lure at an old Times Square Peep Show, (where Pierson once had a studio), it also is an apt description of much of the work in this show. Museum Piece - Again, a derogatory image of an older person, it can also be an exceptional work of high quality.  Folded photographs - The duality continues here, as these are extremely fine works of art exquisitely printed on beautiful paper, yet the folded quality lends an air of casualness, as one would fold a letter from a lover, a number from a new acquaintance, or a poster from a great concert. Naked pictures they are, and yet they are so much more.
Jack Pierson has been showing at the gallery since 1993. He is the featured artist in this year's Provincetown Arts Magazine. He was born in 1960 in Plymouth, Massachusetts, and graduated from the Massachusetts College of Art in Boston in 1984. He lives and works in New York. Pierson has had recent solo exhibitions at the CAC Malaga, the Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin and the Aspen Art Museum. His work is in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, among other museums worldwide.