Artists Space

Shala Miller &
Malcolm Peacock

with Amiri Baraka's Cellar Vigil

March 31 – May 28, 2023

Artists Space is pleased to present new works by interdisciplinary artists Shala Miller (b. 1993) and Malcolm Peacock (b. 1994). As part of their first New York institutional exhibition, Miller’s and Peacock’s commissions will present complex, generative narratives about the body, specters, ritual, endurance, and the experiential nature of transformation.

A black-and-white film still depicting a nude figure, her body is turned two-thirds of the way. Several smoky duplicates of the figure
Shala Miller, Genesis, 2023. [A black-and-white film still depicting a nude figure, her body is turned two-thirds of the way. Several smoky duplicates of the figure's body and face are superimposed over the original image. A cloudy and blooming, nondescript atmosphere serves as the background.]

Rooted in an understanding of performance as an embodied and intimate experience, the exhibition will include live actions, dissonance, and running monologues both visible and invisible as some of its core components. The artists’ commissions will also be presented alongside a suite of rarely seen, unreleased films titled Cellar Vigil (1966) by the poet, activist, and scholar Amiri Baraka.

Shala Miller works across photography, film, writing, music, and performance as a means of meditating on the conjunction of desire, mourning, pain, and pleasure. Under the moniker Freddie June, they explore voice as material. Miller’s new body of work, Genesis, is an extension of their yearslong practice of building fictional worlds with an auto-ethnographic root. For Artists Space, Miller has created an immersive installation that positions a three-channel video as a soundtrack for a fictional character, Obsidian, who serves as a kind of alter ego for the artist, created at the beginning of this year as a way to process their experience of rage as a Black femme. A chorus in three parts, both in terms of sound and image, the work tells the story of Obsidian’s becoming. During the exhibition, Miller will invite a series of skilled vocalists and musicians to perform as an integral part of their presentation.

Malcolm Peacock’s most recent projects, which take the form of one-on-one interactions between the artist and invited participants, are informed by the concept of slow choreography and the intricacies of intimacy. Throughout the course of the exhibition, Peacock will complete hourlong breathing exercises in the gallery at sunrise. Members of the public will be invited to participate via advance registration. During these exercises, Peacock will speak the names of individuals provided by Black registrants who make online prayer requests, one part of the artist’s effort to create grounds of intimate exchange between Black subjects.

Registration for both breathing exercises and prayer requests is now live.

May 11, 2023

Shala Miller
Genesis: Medley
Performance
7pm

May 19, 2023

Shala Miller
Genesis: Medley
Performance
7pm

Two hanging projector screens are placed in the middle of a darkened gallery room. They both show the same black-and-white video still of a figures face, illuminated on one side by a bright flash of light.
Shala Miller & Malcolm Peacock, with Amiri Baraka's Cellar Vigil. Installation view (Shala Miller, Genesis, 2023), Artists Space, 2023. Photo: Filip Wolak. [Two hanging projector screens are placed in the middle of a darkened gallery room. They both show the same black-and-white video still of a figures face, illuminated on one side by a bright flash of light.]
Three hanging projector screens surround the middle of a darkened gallery space on three sides. The screens all show the same black-and-white video still of a figures face, illuminated on one side by a bright flash of light.
Shala Miller & Malcolm Peacock, with Amiri Baraka's Cellar Vigil. Installation view (Shala Miller, Genesis, 2023), Artists Space, 2023. Photo: Filip Wolak. [Three hanging projector screens surround the middle of a darkened gallery space on three sides. The screens all show the same black-and-white video still of a figures face, illuminated on one side by a bright flash of light.]
Three hanging projector screens surround the middle of a darkened gallery space. The two screens on the right and left side depict a black-and-white video still of a figures face, illuminated on one side by a bright flash of light. The third screen in the middle shows a black-and-white film still of hazy and ghostly tonal modulations.
Shala Miller & Malcolm Peacock, with Amiri Baraka's Cellar Vigil. Installation view (Shala Miller, Genesis, 2023), Artists Space, 2023. Photo: Filip Wolak. [Three hanging projector screens surround the middle of a darkened gallery space. The two screens on the right and left side depict a black-and-white video still of a figures face, illuminated on one side by a bright flash of light. The third screen in the middle shows a black-and-white film still of hazy and ghostly tonal modulations.]
A life-size vinyl against a black wall depicting a black-and-white image of a body in motion, multiple images are overlayed on top of each other to create a ghostly atmosphere.
Shala Miller & Malcolm Peacock, with Amiri Baraka's Cellar Vigil. Installation view (Shala Miller, Genesis, 2023), Artists Space, 2023. Photo: Filip Wolak. [A life-size vinyl against a black wall depicting a black-and-white image of a body in motion, multiple images are overlayed on top of each other to create a ghostly atmosphere.]
A life-size vinyl against a black wall depicting a black-and-white image of a body in motion, multiple images are overlayed on top of each other to create a ghostly atmosphere.
Shala Miller & Malcolm Peacock, with Amiri Baraka's Cellar Vigil. Installation view (Shala Miller, Genesis, 2023), Artists Space, 2023. Photo: Filip Wolak. [A life-size vinyl against a black wall depicting a black-and-white image of a body in motion, multiple images are overlayed on top of each other to create a ghostly atmosphere.]
The entrance to a gallery space. Two video stills are projected on the wall facing the entrance. The left projector shows a black-and-white film image of two figures in trench coats with paper bags over their heads doing pushups. On the right is a black-and-white film image of a pair of black shoes hanging over a wooden ledge.
Shala Miller & Malcolm Peacock, with Amiri Baraka's Cellar Vigil. Installation view (Amiri Baraka, Cellar Vigil (Experimental Death Unit #2), 1966), Artists Space, 2023. Photo: Filip Wolak. [The entrance to a gallery space. Two video stills are projected on the wall facing the entrance. The left projector shows a black-and-white film image of two figures in trench coats with paper bags over their heads doing pushups. On the right is a black-and-white film image of a pair of black shoes hanging over a wooden ledge.]
A gallery space with three columns running down the right side. Projected onto a wall on the left is a video still of a woman in a red blanket hunched over. Two projector screens can be seen on the far left wall. In the back is a ramp which leads to the doorway of a wooden camper structure.
Shala Miller & Malcolm Peacock, with Amiri Baraka's Cellar Vigil. Installation view, Artists Space, 2023. Photo: Filip Wolak. [A gallery space with three columns running down the right side. Projected onto a wall on the left is a video still of a woman in a red blanket hunched over. Two projector screens can be seen on the far left wall. In the back is a ramp which leads to the doorway of a wooden camper structure.]
A gallery space with a wooden camper structure placed in the left corner. Two wooden ramps lead to the front and side of the structure. A freedstanding walls juts out from the right wall. A white projector hangs from the ceiling on the right side of the space.
Shala Miller & Malcolm Peacock, with Amiri Baraka's Cellar Vigil. Installation view (Malcolm Peacock, How to address the full capacity of our will, 2023), Artists Space, 2023. Photo: Filip Wolak. [A gallery space with a wooden camper structure placed in the left corner. Two wooden ramps lead to the front and side of the structure. A freedstanding walls juts out from the right wall. A white projector hangs from the ceiling on the right side of the space.]
A gallery space with a wooden camper structure situated in the corner of two walls, to the left of the space. Through the open doorway can be seen a small ciruclar window and a shelf with various items placed on it.
Shala Miller & Malcolm Peacock, with Amiri Baraka's Cellar Vigil. Installation view (Malcolm Peacock, How to address the full capacity of our will, 2023), Artists Space, 2023. Photo: Filip Wolak. [A gallery space with a wooden camper structure situated in the corner of two walls, to the left of the space. Through the open doorway can be seen a small ciruclar window and a shelf with various items placed on it.]
Various photographs of athletes and other personal images are arranged on a light wooden wall to the left. A wooden shelf sits against the right wall, shown in profile. A frisbee and two loofahs hang off the side of the shelf, with other stickers and printed images arranged on the walls.
Shala Miller & Malcolm Peacock, with Amiri Baraka's Cellar Vigil. Installation view (Malcolm Peacock, How to address the full capacity of our will, 2023), Artists Space, 2023. Photo: Filip Wolak. [Various photographs of athletes and other personal images are arranged on a light wooden wall to the left. A wooden shelf sits against the right wall, shown in profile. A frisbee and two loofahs hang off the side of the shelf, with other stickers and printed images arranged on the walls.]
A small wooden room with a circular window depicting a woven gradient of blue to orange. On the right side of the room is a lofted bed with a ladder, under which sits a desk and chair. Various images and documents are pinned to the walls surrounding the desk.
Shala Miller & Malcolm Peacock, with Amiri Baraka's Cellar Vigil. Installation view (Malcolm Peacock, How to address the full capacity of our will, 2023), Artists Space, 2023. Photo: Filip Wolak. [A small wooden room with a circular window depicting a woven gradient of blue to orange. On the right side of the room is a lofted bed with a ladder, under which sits a desk and chair. Various images and documents are pinned to the walls surrounding the desk.]
The corner of a gallery space with a wooden camper structure placed there. Two ramps lead to doorways along the front and side of the structure. The edge of a free-standing white wall sits to the left of the camper..
Shala Miller & Malcolm Peacock, with Amiri Baraka's Cellar Vigil. Installation view, Artists Space, 2023. Photo: Filip Wolak. [The corner of a gallery space with a wooden camper structure placed there. Two ramps lead to doorways along the front and side of the structure. The edge of a free-standing white wall sits to the left of the camper..]
A gallery space with two large black treadmills placed on the right side of the room. Along the back and side are doors with large window panes that show the street outside. The edge of a wooden railing can be seen to the left of the treadmills.
Shala Miller & Malcolm Peacock, with Amiri Baraka's Cellar Vigil. Installation view (Malcolm Peacock, How to address the full capacity of our will, 2023), Artists Space, 2023. Photo: Filip Wolak. [A gallery space with two large black treadmills placed on the right side of the room. Along the back and side are doors with large window panes that show the street outside. The edge of a wooden railing can be seen to the left of the treadmills.]

Shala Miller, also known as Freddie June when they sing, was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, by two southerners named Al and Ruby. At around the age of ten or eleven, Miller discovered quietude, the kind you’re sort of pushed into, and then was fooled into thinking that was where they should stay put. Since then, Miller has been trying to find their way out, and find their way into an understanding of themself and their history using photography, video, writing, and singing as an aid in this process. Miller earned a BFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, in 2017 and attended The New York Film Festival Artist Academy in 2019 and the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, Paris in 2016. Miller’s solo exhibitions include Lyles & King, New York in 2023 and Chart, New York in 2021. In 2022, Miller was included in Black Melancholia, at The Hessel Museum of Art, Bard College, and in Beneath Tongues, curated by Sable Elyse Smith, at Swiss Institute, New York. In 2017, Miller was an artist in residence at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture.

Malcolm Peacock received a BFA from Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, in 2016, and an MFA from Mason Gross School of Arts at Rutgers University, New Jersey, in 2019. His practice explores the emotional and psychic spaces of Black subjects, particularly by using art as a site to create and experience different forms of intimacy. He has participated in residencies at the University of Pennsylvania, St. Roch Community Church, the Joan Mitchell Center, Denniston Hill, and the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. His works have been exhibited at venues including Cindy Rucker Gallery, New York; Terrault Gallery, Baltimore; the Institute of Contemporary Art at Virginia Commonwealth University; the Prospect Triennial, New Orleans; and the Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh. Peacock is the recipient of the 2022 Carnegie International Fine Prize.

Poet, writer, teacher, and activist Amiri Baraka (1934–2014) was born Everett LeRoi Jones in Newark, New Jersey. He attended Rutgers University and Howard University and spent three years in the US Air Force before moving to New York to attend Columbia University and the New School for Social Research. For decades, Baraka was one of the most prominent voices in the world of American literature, working in poetry, drama, fiction, and essays. Throughout most of his career, his method was confrontational, calculated to shock and awaken audiences to the political concerns of Black Americans. He taught poetry at the New School for Social Research in New York, literature at the University of Buffalo, and drama at Columbia University, and for two decades, Baraka served as professor of Africana Studies at the State University of New York in Stony Brook.
 

Zimmerman, Emily. “Malcolm Peacock Interviewed by Emily Zimmerman.” BOMB. May 10, 2023. Online

Exhibition support is provided by an Anonymous Donor and Courtney Dailey.

Support for Artists Space’s exhibitions and programs is provided by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Lambent Foundation Fund of Tides Foundation, The Andy Warhol Foundation, The Cowles Charitable Trust, The Cy Twombly Foundation, The Teiger Foundation, The Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, The New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature, Imperfect Family Foundation, Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, The Stavros Niarchos Foundation, The Willem de Kooning Foundation, The Fox Aarons Foundation, Herman Goldman Foundation, The Destina Foundation, The Luce Foundation, May and Samuel Rudin Family Foundation, The Milton and Sally Avery Arts Foundation, Arison Arts Foundation, The David Rockefeller Fund, The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Foundation, The Jill and Peter Kraus Foundation, The Richard Pousette-Dart Foundation.

Wesley Chavis, Taylor Janay Manigoult, David Williams, Dustin Gavin, Aaron Spain Bey, Terrance McQueen, Courtney Dailey, Quinton Lovelace, Park McArthur, Jason Hirata, Ashley Teamer, Cameron Rowland, Judex Beaubrun, Chris Dougé, Andrea Andersson, Emily F. Zimmerman, Al and Ruby Miller

    A black-and-white film still of hazy and ghostly tonal modulations. A disembodied arm and hand with extended fingers is captured in mid-motion, floating within the nondescript tonal atmosphere.
    Shala Miller, Genesis, 2023. [A black-and-white film still of hazy and ghostly tonal modulations. A disembodied arm and hand with extended fingers is captured in mid-motion, floating within the nondescript tonal atmosphere.]