Opening Reception:
Thursday, March 12, 5:00pm – 7:00pm
Artist Talk:
Thursday, April 16, 6:00pm – 7:00pm
The Trustman Art Gallery Presents Misfits, a two-person exhibition by Lavaughan Jenkins and Masha Keryan.
The exhibition is centered around the artists’ shared interest in boxing: a deep respect and kinship with athletes as both boxers and artists push their bodies beyond the limit in dedication to their craft. For both Jenkins and Keryan, the “boxer” represents a relentless fighting spirit that embraces vulnerability and uncertainty. The Boxer is a protector not always by choice, but by necessity, forged by a dedication that demands an unyielding will. Working in oil paint across two-and three-dimensional forms, Jenkins’ work explores themes of femininity, protection, empowerment and endurance while Keryan’s paintings engage with masculinity through close observation of Boston’s local emerging boxers and the physical and psychological intricacies of the sport.
In his work, Lavaughan Jenkins explores layered representations of people, especially Black women. He creates his sculptures over time, carefully layering paints and molding them to create figures that stand tall, demanding respect. These sculptures echo many famous and everyday Black women from the past and present, with titles such as Nina, Cleo, and Aaliyah. The figures wear boxing gloves, indicating that they are ready to fight, defend, and protect. At the same time, Jenkins points out the reality that Black people, especially Black women, face everyday: they must stay vigilant under the constant threat of violence in the form of anti-Black racism and sexism. They are often the most vulnerable and deserve protection, but most often have to protect themselves and become protectors of their own community.
Masha Keryan transforms the real figures from Boston’s contemporary boxing communities into “icons of persistence.” Historically in Boston, this community was shaped by immigrants and the working-class people—a lineage Keryan honors in her work. In recent years, she formed a close bond with local boxers after she began spending time at EverybodyFights, a boxing gym located in the same artist building where she works. For Keryan, as an Armenian artist, the aftermath of the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War (2020), left her “in a period marked by grief, disorientation, and psychic exhaustion. ” During this time of self-isolation, the gym became an unexpected site of recovery. She found that “the discipline and unwavering, battle-ready spirit of the boxers offered a vital counterweight to her paralysis and a way back into painting.” Through close observation, Keryan reframes masculinity as a disciplined practice structured by restraint, ritual, and respect. For Keryan, the boxer and the artist are bound by endurance and faith in the self — the discipline of returning each day to a practice that demands everything and guarantees nothing.
Both boxers and artists are misfits: they often go against the grain of societal structure. Their earnest dedication reveals the parallel between them: both demand total discipline through resilience, all while embracing the vulnerability of uncertainty.
Lavaughan Jenkins is a painter, and sculptor from Pensacola, Florida and currently creates his work in Boston, MA. and Los Angeles, CA. He received a BFA from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design in 2005. Since that time, Jenkins has become a recipient of the 2019 James and Audrey Foster Prize awarded annually by the Institute of Contemporary Art / Boston, 2021 Fine Arts Work Center artist in residence, and the 2022 Addison Gallery of American Art Edward E. Elson Artist-in-Residence. His work is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, and the Addison Gallery of American art.
Masha Keryan is a Boston-based artist from Armenia. Keryan’s work is informed by Armenian and American experiences alike, exploring the multitude of human experiences. From collective joy to grief, points of merger to separation, ancient ceremonies to contemporary isolationism, relocation and belonging are some of the subjects addressed in Keryan’s work. Working primarily with oil paint mediums, Keryan occasionally diverges into performance, video, sculpture, murals and documentary. Keryan holds a BFA from Massachusetts College of Art and Design. Recent exhibitions include What Happens After (LabCentral), Above Liquidation (Atamian Hovsepian NYC), Dancing Gems (Copley Society of Art), The Human Condition (SubCentral), Night and Day (Pellas Gallery).
If you are interested in joining us for the opening reception on Thursday, March 12 from 5 – 7pm, please RSVP Here.
Trustman Art Gallery hours are 10 AM – 4:30 pm, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and 10 am – 7pm on Thursday. The Gallery is free, open to the public and wheelchair accessible.
The Trustman Art Gallery is located within Simmons University at 300 Fenway, 4th floor, Boston MA 02115. For more information, contact Loretta Park at [email protected].
Find us on Instagram @trustman_gallery.