we’re just so glad you’re home at 81 Leonard: The Ophelia Arc Q&A.

by Akeem K. Duncan, Quiet Lunch
May 3, 2024

Ophelia Arc’s work puts you in a chokehold. Her dramatically malformed crocheted sculptures are perplexing as they are intriguing. It invokes feelings of awe and uneasiness–a perfect mixture when consuming art that is meant to move you. That is exactly the effect of Arc’s work. It shakes you to your core and sears itself into your brain. The work is signature and unforgettable.

Coming off the debut of we’re just so glad you’re home at 81 Leonard Gallery, Arc is glowing and beaming with pride. Her distinct aesthetic is on full display at the TriBeCa space. I last saw Arc’s at last year’s Spring Break Art Fair and while she made use of every square inch of the booth, the work truly shines at 81 Leonard. Nakai Falcón puts on a masterclass in curation as he displays an intimate knowledge of Arc’s work through his placement of each piece and the overarching narrative of the exhibition. Arc’s work and Falcón’s curation marry perfectly. we’re just glad you’re home is an ideal testament to chemistry. Rooted in the practice of medicine and biology, the exhibition benefits heavily from the harmony of the two visionaries.

We took time to catch up not only with Arc, but with Falcón as well. we’re just glad you’re home is a team effort and Falcón was more than happy to contribute some insight regarding its process and its intent.

“One of the things I found immediately intoxicating about Ophelia’s work early on is something I allude to in the exhibition’s text – that her practice is filled with contradictions that beautifully coexist. It’s the use of tender materials that result into confrontational forms with several layers embedded in each piece. It was interesting to note that while Ophelia had been active in shows before, not much was written expanding on her practice. Driven by thorough analytic research combined with personal experience, I wanted this show to contribute to a foundational understanding of what her work entails. The viewer is still able to go in subjective since Ophelia’s work intentionally leaves gaps for speculation, but we’re just so glad you’re home should help shed some light into Ophelia’s world.”

– Nakai Falcón

Akeem K. Duncan: Tell us about your medium and how you settled into the crocheting niche?

Ophelia Arc: “I love its tactility. As someone who would self-identify agressivly obsessive, it’s really important for my hand to be present in the whole process of construction. Crochet is the only fiber art technique that cannot be replicated by machine, which is another reason I feel very drawn to it. There’s an undeniability of my touch in a way. Proof of existence.”

AD: How would you describe your artistry? What is it made of?

OA: “I’d say it’s research-driven, first and foremost. I find my work situating itself within conceptual art practice and craft, two forms of art that are usually seen as contradictory. My execution is very craft-heavy, carrying a strong lineage of overseen or undervalued labor, with its bone structure focusing on my research interests, which are then molded or rather translated by memory and personal experience.”

AD: These organ-like, almost Cronenberg-esque forms… Where do they come from? What are your sources of inspiration?

OA: “Mainly medical research. I look at a lot of scientific journals but also a lot of topological forms as of late for inspiration. My own body also serves as a starting point for a lot of my references. Using myself as the figure, which I disrupt, allows me to have as much liberty with its manipulation and contortion.”

AD: Your latest exhibition, “We’re Just So Glad You’re Home,” fill us in about its process and intention.

OA: “Nakai Falcón, the curator of the exhibition, approached me in 2023 wanting to work on a debut solo together. He knows my work really intimately after discovering me through my BFA exhibition and later seeing my work again at my solo booth in the Spring/Break Art Fair. We had a 4-hour + conversation about my practice, and he pulled out some poignant motifs and themes, which served as the anchor points around which new work would situate itself.”