Art Gym Gallery is honored to exhibit Digital Embodiment curated by Art Gym member Mary Grace Bernard. Digital Embodiment explores the ways in which performance artists living with (dis)abilities utilize digital mediums for their art practice. The exhibition will be open from May 23 – June 14. Join us for the opening reception on Thursday, May 23 from 5-8PM.

Artists living with (dis)abilities, visible or invisible, are often left out of the art history canon. Attempting to bring these artists to light (herself included), performance artist, Mary Grace Bernard, curated Digital Embodiment. The physical manifestation of the exhibition at Art Gym will include digital works by these (dis)abled artists, examining the ways in which digitally captured performance art assists in artistically conveying the realities of living with (dis)abilities.

While this exhibition will temporarily be presented at Art Gym in the physical sense, it will continue to be shown online. The internet has become a space for people living with (dis)abilities to build a community, supporting the digital aspect of the exhibition. The notion of an internet exhibition challenges the traditional model of a gallery, but it allows for more equality and access to the public. In an essay written for the exhibition, Bernard explains “Digital embodiment is ultimately an experiment that hopes to expand the traditional gallery exhibition beyond space and time: two barriers that can create limitations for people with complex embodiments.” To view the online form of Digital Embodiment visit: www.digitalembodiment.tumblr.com.

Mary Grace Bernard is a performance artist and scholar living in Denver, CO. She is currently working on an MA in Art History with a concentration in Museum Studies from The University of Denver. Bernard lives with cystic fibrosis, a chronic illness which drives her writing and artistic practice. Digital Embodiment was curated by Bernard to coincide with her thesis “Making the Invisible Visible: Performing the (Dis)abled Bodymind.”

The artists included in the exhibition are Mary Grace Bernard, Bob Flanagan, Carolyn Lazard, Park McArthur, Sheree Rose, Melissa Tamporello, and Constantina Zavitsanos.