Petzel Gallery is pleased to announce Dana Hoey Presents, a para fictional exhibition conceptualized, produced and directed by Hoey, in which the artist will show her own photographic work, the performance and sculpture work of Marcela Torres, and a live ladies Muay Thai fight night that will take place in a 20’ x 20’ boxing ring installed inside the gallery. The show, which challenges and confronts preconceived ideas and realities of feminism, combat, violence, self defense and the martial arts, will be on view from June 27 until August 2 at the gallery’s Chelsea location and will feature an opening night performance by Torres.

“During the run of Dana Hoey Presents, my role will be that of Svengali,” Hoey says. “Although I make work as a single subjective, expressive artist, I prefer to emphasize my position as a participant in a larger social construct.”

For her own work, Hoey will present Ghost Stories, highly subjective, surreal lightbox collages, made from images shot by Hoey, and a logo designed by David Knowles, which will recur elsewhere in the show. The people featured in these photographs will also be presented in a separate room as poster-style portraits featuring their names and occupations. In the labeled posters Hoey’s aim is to surface the power dynamic of portraiture, particularly as it relates to a white artist taking the image of non-white people. Hoey will also present a 14’ tall stop-action photograph of the great boxing World Champion Alicia “Slick” Ashley shadowboxing. Ashley, a fighter as seasoned and skilled as Mohammed Ali, holds 3 Guinness World records and many World Titles, yet she remains unknown to most Americans.

“I invited Marcela Torres to be in this show because her work intersects with mine in dynamic ways,” Hoey explains. “She is first and foremost a performance artist who directly visualizes and attacks the currents of power acting on her queer brown body.” Torres works with fight training devices (speed bags, heavy bags), that have been mic’ed and the sound amplified and remixed. For Dana Hoey Presents Torres will present Agentic Mode, a 40 minute performance that employs audial soundscapes, martial arts movement and spoken word to contemplate contemporary violence as a lived war zone. The instruments she uses for the performance and the recorded sound will live on in the heart of the show after the live performance.

Exhibition programs include:

Thursday, July 11

Violence and Victimhood, a panel discussion moderated by Dana Hoey, featuring Nona Faustine Simmons, Emma Sulkowicz and Sarah Schulman. This panel is intended to frame the question of violence and historical, personal and cultural victimhood from viewpoints other than Hoey’s.

Friday, July 12

Ladies Muay Thai Fight Night, emceed by artist JJ Chan and featuring 5 amateur fights. Doors open at 7pm and entrance is free and open to the public although space is limited.

Thursday, July 18

Multi-disciplinary Fight Clinic, taught by Tang Soo Do World Title holder Jo-Ann Falanga. Clinic is open to all levels including beginner, and all styles are also welcome.

Dana Hoey is a feminist artist working in photography, video and social practice. She most recently exhibited Five Rings at the Detroit Museum of Contemporary Art, which featured self-defense classes for young women from the Police Athletic League and the local community. Three books are available on her work: The Phantom Sex, with essay by Johanna Burton; Experiments in Primitive Living, with essay by Maurice Berger; and Profane Waste, in collaboration with the writer Gretchen Rubin. Her persistent interests are conflict and the possibility of political art.

Marcela Torres brings into action performance, objects, workshops, and sound installations that investigate the interpellation of our diaspora.

Petzel Gallery is located at 456 West 18th Street New York, NY 10011. Gallery hours: please note that the gallery will be open on Friday, June 28th and Saturday, June 29th from 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM.  Thereafter, our summer hours begin Monday, July 8th, and we are open from Monday to Friday from 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM. For press inquires, please contact Ricky Lee at ricky@petzel.com, or call (212) 680-9467.