Group Exhibitions

My paintings, sculptures, installations, photographs, videos, and performances have been featured in group shows in Boston, Seattle, Providence, Los Angeles, Chicago, Orlando, and Seattle.

Irrational Exhibitions 10th Anniversary 2017
Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions, Los Angeles

Video documentation from my performance, Raggedy Ann to Real Doll was on display at Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions as part of Irrational Exhibits 10th Anniversary: Mapping the Divide, curated by Deborah Oliver.  In  Raggedy Ann to Real Doll,  I constructed a storefront operating theater at LACE as one of America’s most beloved dolls went under the knife.  In the performance, I examined how we negotiate our idea of personal identity in an ever-shifting landscape of technologies that can drastically alter and re-map the body.

Photo: 2016, Alex Griffin
Photo: 2016, Alex Griffin

COLA20 2017
Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, Los Angeles

My work was part of COLA20 at Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery in a retrospective exhibition that celebrated the first twenty years of the City of Los Angeles Individual Artist Fellowship Program. Curated by Erin Christovale and Jaime Costa, COLA20 recogned the achievements of 271 design, literary, performing, and visual master artists and artist-duos who represent the creative legacy of Los Angeles. Artifacts I included in the exhibit were a photo of (In)/Animate Objects, a Bride of Wildenstein – The Musical program, and a program and script for Object of Her Affection.

Irrational Exhibitions 9 2016
Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions, Los Angeles

Irrational Exhibits 9: Reports From the Field, was an installation and durational performance event curated by Deborah Oliver with 17 other artists from Los Angeles, including my installation, Raggedy Ann to Real DollIn Raggedy Ann to Real Doll  I constructed a storefront operating theater at Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions as one of America’s most beloved dolls went under the knife. Projected video and the remote voyeurism from a live stream provided multiple onsite and virtual opportunities for spectatorship. The 16 new works presented in this performative exhibition were centered on the artist’s observations of the changing landscape of place and location. The questions these artists reflected on via their “reports from the field” explored how we identify and understand the shifting landscape, whether it’s social, political or personal.  IE9 included the work of Claudia Bucher, Ryan Bulis and Brian Black, Kent Anderson Butler, Monica Duncan and Samantha Mohr, Kristina Faragher, Janice Gomez, Flora Kao, Curt LeMieux, Juan Meneses, Thinh Nguyen, Liz Nurenberg, Nancy Popp, Bradford Chan Prairie, Lara Salmon, and Liz Young.

Bernie and the Revolution 2016
Fachapatoto, Los Angeles

My painting, Bernie Sanders Is Fingerlickin Good was part of Bernie & The Revolution, a group exhibition of Bernie Sanders-themed art works at Fachapatoto in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles.  In Bernie Sanders is Finger Licken Good, I was concerned that no one in the Democratic field had the sex appeal necessary to be elected president. The media landscape had become infected with a Kardashian Effect where the cult of celebrity and reality show behavior trumped substance in the ratings grab. Sure Sanders’ social and economic justice policies were sexy, but I worried the whole “Feel the Bern” hashtag popular with supporters sounded like a slogan for chlamydia or at least a UTI – and that burning (Berning) connoted more of a destructive force.  In my attempt to rebrand Sanders for this portrait, I took a different approach in the hopes the electorate was ready to consume what he was serving. Curated by Jimmy O’Balles, Mercedes Hart and Amy Inouye, the exhibition featured works by Milton Bumcracker, Marsian De Lellis, Waynna Kato, Kacy Treadway, Joe Bravo, Chip Chapman, Susan Chapman, Christine Papalexis, Chris Sheets, Art Carillo, Margaret Garcia, Rick Potts, Joe Potts, Krystine Kryttre, Belen Siguenza, Cathi Milligan, Zoe Topsfield, Stan Edmondson, Elisa Padilla, Tod Lychkoff, Brian Mallman, Abel Alejandre, Stuart Rapeport, Alberta Vitella, Suzanne Siegel, Carla Rajnus, Alan Angeles, Rebeca Guerrero, Perfect Reject, Peter Hess, Jackson Hart, Amy Inouye, Barry Markowitz, Dolores Carlos, Bonnie Lambert, Sybil McMiller, Mita Cuaron, Roberto ‘Tito’ Delgado.

COLA16  2016
Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, Los Angeles

I created the installation (In)/Animate Objects for the C.O.L.A. Individual Artist Fellowships Exhibition at Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery.  In it, a mountain of decaying rag dolls towers to the ceiling, upon which their maker, the grandmother, presides from the throne of her wingback chair. (In)/Animate Objects was the second half of a diptych.  It’s companion, Object of Her Affection was a puppetry performance focused on a woman, who in her search for true love develops intimate relationships with inanimate objects. The performance charted Andrea Lowe’s life of heartbreak from the loss of her baby blanket to doomed romances with monumental structures.  Whether it was nature or nurture that made Andrea an object sexual, she happened to be raised by someone who shared a complicated relationship with things – her grandmother. Years have passed since Andrea has fallen from Roy, a crumbling tenement she was in love with. In sorrow, her grandmother has amassed thousands of dolls that testify to the insatiable need for love at the heart of the obsessional life. Curated by Isabelle Lutterodt, Erin Christovale, and the Department of Cultural Affairs, the exhibition featured the work of 11 artists featured who were recipients of the COLA Fellowship including Paolo Davanzo, Marsian De Lellis, Keiko Fukazawa, Megan Geckler, Won Ju Lim, Blue McRight, Sandeep Mukherjee, Christine Nguyen, Jim Skuldt, Sarah Maclay, Claudia Rodriguez, and Lynne Thompson.

Art Bern 2015
Future Studios, Highland Park, Los Angeles

My painting Bernie Sanders is Finger Lickin’ Good was part of Art Bern – a Bernie Sanders Portrait Show, which ran at Future Studio Gallery in Los Angeles and was also featured in the HuffPost.  In Bernie Sanders is Finger Licken Good, I was concerned that no one in the Democratic field had the sex appeal necessary to be elected president. The media landscape had become infected with a Kardashian Effect where the cult of celebrity and reality show behavior trumped substance in the ratings grab. Sure Sanders’ social and economic justice policies were sexy, but I worried the whole “Feel the Bern” hashtag popular with supporters sounded like a slogan for chlamydia or at least a UTI – and that burning (Berning) connoted more of a destructive force.  In my attempt to rebrand Sanders for this portrait, I took a different approach in the hopes the electorate was ready to consume what he was serving. Art Bern, organized by Margaret Garcia and Future Studio Gallery, capitalized on the enthusiasm and support in the Los Angeles  creative community for Sanders ignited by his presidential bid.  The exhibition featured artists working in media from oil paint to wood sculpture, nail polish, crop art, and multiples. Participating Artists included Abel Alejandre, David G. Brown, Dolores Carlos, Art Carrillo, Sandra Cornejo, Carol Colin, Margarita Cuaron, Marsian De Lellis, Stan Edmondson, Beth Elliott, Margaret Garcia, Frannie Garretson, Robert Guillen, Amy Inouye , Waynna Kato, Krystine Kryttre, Bonnie Lambert, Tod Lychkoff, Brian Mallman, Barry Markowitz, Sybil McMiller, Cathi Milligan, Elisa Padilla, Christine Papalexis, Joseph Peterson, Ester Petschar, Joe Potts, Carla Rajnus, Stuart Rapeport, Tom Recchion, Chris Sheets, Suzanne Siegel, Herbert Siguenza, Albert Vitella, and J. Michael Walker.

No Strings Attached 2009
Avalon Island, Orlando, FL

Puppets and props from Growing Up Linda – Birthday Trauma were part of No Strings Attached, an exhibition that highlighted various art forms encompassed by the craft of puppetry.  Growing Up Linda was an ensemble actor-puppetry performance that looked at the off-kilter world of the daughter of a famous ice cream mogul. No Strings Attached focused on puppetry-related art with sketched imaginings for puppet shows yet to be built; interactive automata; and sculptural pieces highlighting a haunting sense of movement, artifice, and personality. No Strings Attached was part of the Orlando Puppet Festival, which I headlined with Bride of Wildenstein – The MusicalCurated by Ibex Puppetry, at Gallery at Avalon Island in downtown Orlando, No Strings Attached included works by  Darlene Allen, Jack Fields, Heather Henson, Lyon Forrest Hill, Jennifer Hill, “Jenny Mae”, Davy Jordan, David Kahler, Holly Laws, Tamara Marke-Lares, Curtiss Mitchell, Michael Morrison, Michael Noles, Scott Radke, Brad Richard, Helaine Schneider, David Stephens, April Tennyson, Lorca Wood, Vandy Wood.

Great Small Works Temporary Toy Theater Museum 2008
St. Ann’s Warehouse, New York, NY

I exhibited 40 storyboards and 3 pop-ups from Growing Up Linda – Fudgie’s Death at the Eighth International Toy Theater Festival and Temporary Toy Theatre Museum curated by Emmy Bean. The storyboards and pop-ups I displayed were from Fudgie’s Death, a segment of Growing Up Linda that follows the troubled daughter of a famous ice cream mogul and her downward spiral into frosting, substance abuse, and Fudgie the Whale.  I worked with Korean paper engineer, EuGean Seo, who took my initial storyboards and re-engineered them in three dimensions, so that they could work as theatrical pop-ups. Toy Theater or Paper Theater was popular in parlors across Europe and the Americas in the 19th century, as a means of staging dramatic spectacles in domestic settings. While revolutions in print technology brought Toy Theater into 19th-century homes, 20th-century advances in electronic media and mass culture led to the virtual extinction of this inexpensive family entertainment.   Artists in the exhibition included Jason Adams, Emily Anderson, Morgan FP Andrews, Germán List Arzubide, Danielle Ash, Daniel Baker, Jon Bankert , Alejandro Benítez, Michelle Beshaw, Eric Bernard, Ramón Alva de la Canal, David Hyde Costello, Jonathan Cross, Pablo Cueto, Marsian DeLellis, Trish Denton, Andrea Dezsö, Drama of Works, Morgan Eckert, Eric Edelman, Joel Egger, Beth Elkins, El Puente Academy Students & El Puente Leadership Center, Sally Fisher, Sean-Michael Fleming, Jane Freeman, Elvira Gascón, Janie Geiser, Alexandra Gray, Chris Green, Ayesha Hameed, Patrick Harrop, Sarah Hauser, Louise Harter, Serra Hirsch, Island Academy (Rikers Island), Frances Jetter, Rebecca Kelly, Tine Kindermann, Kieran Kinsella, Mayer Kirshenblatt, Kara Kovacev, Daniel Lang/Levitsky, Jamie Leo, Naima Lowe, P.J. McWhiskers, Johnnie Moore, Ann Neff, El Neto, Ken Nintzel, Judith O’Hare, Oiseaux Sisters (Carolyn Fellman & Susan Andrews), Erin Orr, Lisa Pietersma, Fiona Pippa, Valeska Populoh & Cause Company, Julio Prieto, Helen Quinn, Kip Rathke, Maddy Rosenberg, Erik Ruin, AE Ryan, Harry Saffren, Toni Schlesinger, EuGean Seo, Beom Sik Shim, Annie Silverman, Lake Simons, Lydia Stein, Mark Sussman, KT Thomas, Edwin Torres, Amy Walsh, K Webster, Karen Werner, Paul Zaloom/Sean Meredith/Sandow Birk, and Danijel Zezelj

Handmade Puppet Dreams 2007
Grand Central Art Center, Santa Anna, CA

Puppets and props from Growing Up Linda: Birthday trauma  were featured in a gallery exhibition at Grand Central Art Center in Santa Ana as part of Handmade Puppet Dreams curated by Amy Caterina. Growing Up Linda was an ensemble actor-puppetry performance that looked at the off-kilter world of the daughter of a famous ice cream mogul. Artists in the exhibition included Genevieve Anderson, Paul Andrejco, Kate Artibee, Marsian De Lellis, Laura Heit, Lyon Hill, Steve Johnson, Tim Lagasse, Eli Presser, Matty Sidle, Hoku Uchiyama, Xander Marrow and Mat Brinkman, Sean Meredith and Paul Zaloom, Mike Mitchell and Dan Brown, Thomas Sontag and Alex Moulton, Seamus Walsh and Mark Cabellero, Damien Eckhardt-Jacobi and Vincent Bova, Janie Geiser, Tony Giordano, Jason Murphy and Scott Shoemaker

Puppets On The Wall 2007
Acorn Gallery, Los Angeles, CA

I exhibited stop-motion puppets from an animated projected sequence of  Growing Up Linda  at Acorn Gallery in Los Angeles for Puppets on the Wall – an exhibition of puppet artistry. Hosted by the Arroyo Arts CollectivePuppets on the Wall ran in conjunction with their Puppets, Puppets, Puppets Puppet Festival. The exhibition featured the work of Natalie Kahn Aguilar, Victoria Taylor Alvarez, Pamela Bell, Maria Bodmann, Nancy Buchanan, Marcela Cizewski, Carol Colin, Matt Dehaven, Ruth DeNicola, Sharon Eaton, Hedwig Ferber, Cicely Gilman, Kay Gott, Al Guerrero, Celia Hicklin, Heather Hoggan, Karen Hovanitz, Verlena Johnson, Patricia Krebs, Cat Lee, Patricia Lee, Kyle McBain Leeser, Joe Oliver, Christine Papalexis, Frank Parrello, Suzanne Siegel, Donnie Stroud, April Totten, Kacy Treadway, Ted Waltz, and DanRae Wilson

Growing Up Linda - GAC, 2006

Art in Motion: Invitational Exhibition of Puppetry 2006
Guildford Art Center (Guilford)

I displayed puppets, props, and set pieces from Growing Up Linda – Birthday Trauma at the Guildford Art Center as part of Art in Motion: Invitational Exhibition of Puppetry.  Growing Up Linda was an ensemble actor-puppetry performance in which the daughter of a famous ice cream mogul must come to terms with her troubled past. Art in Motion spotlighted puppets as sculptural objects The exhibition was comprised of Northeast puppet artists who represented major puppet styles: shadow, rod, hand, mask and string. This invitation exhibition focused on the artistry behind puppets as sculptural objects. It included Bonnie Berkowitz, Leslie and Bob Bresnick, Marsian De Lellis, Faye Dupras, Robert Fappiano,  Sarah Frechette, Michael Graham, Elisa, Hevia, Ulysses Jones, Robin H. McCahill, Mary Hilderbrand Nagler, Jim Napolitano, Bobbie Nitz, Sarah Beth Parks, Frederick W. Thompson, Eric, Brian and Robin Torbek, and Marc Weinerhj

Great Small Works Temporary Toy Theater Museum 2005
St. Ann’s Warehouse (New York)

Puppets, props, and the set I designed and built for The Adventures of Michael Jackson and the Animals of Neverland Ranch were on display as part of Great Small Works’ Temporary Toy Theatre Museum at St. Ann’s Warehouse in  Brooklyn. The Adventures of Michael Jackson and the Animals of Neverland Ranch was a table-top short-form puppetry piece highlighted a reclusive pop-star’s whimsical abuse of the animals in his private zoo amidst his troubling relationships with children. Curated and designed by Alessandra Nichols, the exhibition included historical and contemporary toy theaters, representing nearly 100 artists and collectors.

Gemini (conjoined at genitals), ©2004 Marsian De Lellis
Gemini (conjoined at genitals), ©2004 Marsian De Lellis

Wham Bam Trans! 2004
Providence, RI

I exhibited my doll sculpture Gemini (conjoined at genitals) as part of the WhamBamTrans Arts Festival a daylong extravaganza Curated by Luke Woodward and Corinne Teed, the festival included music, art, film, photography, sculpture, painting, performances, readings made by trans and gender queer creators and took place at a warehouse in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Artists included Sam Lopes, James Tsang,  Marsian De Lellis, Jay Melena, Morris, Paige Cruza, Matthew Tsuyoshi Nishii, Tuesday, Drake Hagner, and Alex Solange; with readings by Andrew Schiffer, Angelo Hannah, Carolyn Connely, Taryn Levitt, Marcus Rene Van, Ryka Aoki de la Cruz, Rahne Alexander, and Tennessee Jones; Music by Jaycub Perez, Geo Wyeth, Katastrophe, and The Mean Corner; and performances by Aliza Shapir Talia Kingsbury a.k.a. Mani, D’hana D’King Perry a.k.a. Cephus Leroy, and Ben McCoy a.k.a. Mr. Lady.

Transgenic Conjoined Ganesh/(es), ©2004 Marsian De Lellis
Transgenic Conjoined Ganesh/(es), ©2004 Marsian De Lellis

Spiral 2004
Sand Point Magnuson Park, Seattle, WA

Transgenic Conjoined Ganesh/(es) was a doll sculpture I created and contributed to  Spiral, a collection of handmade dolls and figures at Sand Point Magnuson Park (a former military base) in Seattle. The dolls were set on fire on October 22, 2004 to protest the United States’ military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The impetus for Spiral came from monks who self-immolated during the Vietnam War. I wasn’t able to see the final installation, but I imagine it was powerful.

RISD Staff Exhibit 2004
Woods Gerry Gallery, Providence, RI

LSD Kills, a video installation I made was on view at the Woods-Gerry Gallery in Providence, as part of the RISD Staff Exhibition. LSD Kills included ephemera from a section of the performance, Growing Up Linda, in which the daughter of a famous ice cream mogul must come to terms with her troubled past. Activating the entire first floor of a stately 19th-century mansion, Woods-Gerry Gallery is The Rhode Island School of Design’s primary gallery for undergraduate student work features group exhibitions throughout the academic year. Students in all majors learn from the experience of preparing work for exhibition, helping to mount shows and engaging in conversations about their work and that of fellow students in the context of exhibitions open to the public.

Side Effects, ©2003 Marsian De Lellis
Side Effects, ©2003 Marsian De Lellis

RISD Staff Show 2003
Woods Gerry Gallery, Providence, RI

For the 2003 RISD Staff Show, I exhibited photographic portraits of pharmaceuticals from the Side Effects series at the Woods-Gerry Gallery in Providence. The pieces I selected were Large Zyprexa #46, Large Abilify #6Large Serequil #11.  Each  print was 24.5″ x 24.5″.  Activating the entire first floor of a stately 19th-century mansion, Woods-Gerry Gallery is The Rhode Island School of Design’s primary gallery for undergraduate student work features group exhibitions throughout the academic year. Students in all majors learn from the experience of preparing work for exhibition, helping to mount shows and engaging in conversations about their work and that of fellow students in the context of exhibitions open to the public.

Harm Reduction Art Room 2002
Sheridan Seattle Hotel, Seattle, WA

My puppet portraits were shown at the Harm Reduction Art Room, curated by Dopesick SF as part of the the Harm Reduction Coalition Conference at the Sheridan Seattle Hotel. Based in New York City and Oakland, CA, The Harm Reduction Coalition (HRC) who sponsored the “Taking Drug Users Seriously” the 4th Harm Reduction Coalition Conference was founded in 1993 by a working group of needle exchange providers and advocates and drug users.

DOB-PC-Web-Image-edit-100dpi

Day of Beauty & Ritual 1998
Randolph Street Gallery, Chicago, IL

Part beatification station, part photo booth, Spin the Bottle collapsed boundaries between the viewer and the performer, creating a space for playful interactions at Randolph Street Gallery in Chicago. I created Spin the Bottle with video artist, Kathleen O’Shea, in our alter egos, Twinkie and Star – the Giovanni sisters. In Spin the Bottle, we investigated the idea of  make over, standards of beauty, transformations, and before and after photos. Spin the Bottle was just one of the stations in Day of Beauty + Ritual, a performance art circus we curated with Koe Koe Johnson that celebrated spring as a time of rebirth, renewal and rejuvenation. Day of Beauty + Ritual featured installations and performances created and consumed by an eclectic mixture of pagans, club kids, naturalists, queer spiritualists, and artists.

The lineup of art, beauty treatments, and rituals included: Jo Jo Baby, Kokoe, Penny, DJ Tyler Carpenter, Geoffey Mac, Motae, Doctress Nette E. Brenner, Bretski “Bug” Mc Williams, The Lollypop Twins, Nettles, Murray McKay, Kim Olesen and Trevor Martin, Picolina with Mistress Kelly, Gwynedd, Kale, Uncle Spankey and his daughters, Juba Kalamka, Rubinnelson “Mr. Shrimp”, Perrabachus, Temptress Patti, I Li, Julep, The Bathing Snatches, and Sache.

Hybrid 1997
Gallery 2, Chicago, IL

The Program was a table-top installation at Gallery 2 that featured repurposed animatronic stuffed animals (a cat, a rabbit, and a junkie dalmatian) that were altered so that they could converse with one another. The dialogue between the cat, the rabbit over the junkie dalmatian was similar to a dialogue video artist and collaborator, Kathleen O’Shea, and I  heard on 55th and Western at 4 o’clock, July 8th, 1997.  The Program was a loaf between “the real” from the storybook character, the Velveteen rabbit and “the real” that Lacan states in psychoanalytic theory. This reinstatement of the real to reality is constructed through language. We created The Program for the Hybrid exhibition at Gallery 2 in Chicago as part of part of the the Eighth International Symposium on Electronic Art (ISEA).

Faeries to the Rescue 1997
Randolph Street Gallery, Chicago, IL

For Feet, collaborator, Kathleen O’Shea and I explored the idea of service, beautification, and the aesthetic and heightened spectacle of pseudo-medical treatments. We invited gallery patrons to relax on our reclining chair. They were blindfolded, while we enacted sensory treatments to their feet including an array of foot scrubs and a variety of other tactile stimulation.  Feet was part of the larger context of alternative spa treatments created by Radical Faeries for Faeries to the Rescue at Randolph Street Gallery in Chicago.

Wig Show (a collaboration w/ Fausto Ferños), Gallery 2, Chicago 1997
Wig Show (a collaboration w/ Fausto Ferños), Gallery 2, Chicago 1997

Wig Show 1997
Gallery 2, Chicago, IL

I created The Silver Room, an installation for Fausto Ferños’ Wig Show, at Gallery 2 in Chicago. For this collaboration, I constructed a silver room-sized environment. Stationed on an alter like a metallic deity, I modeled one of Ferños’ aluminum foil wigs, blowing bubbles and lighting sparklers over the heads of viewers.

2.72%, 1996

2.72% 1996
Gallery X, Chicago, IL

Photographic slides from the Monster Series were part of 2.72%, an exhibition  at Gallery X at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Book Unbound 1995
Gallery X, Chicago, IL

Space Dreams was a 2-channel projected slide installation I created for Book Un-Bound, a group exhibition at Gallery X  at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.  Curated by Michele Wyckoff and Iain Muirhead for, the exhibition included Yarima Ariza, Krista Babbitt, Jennifer Bervin, Sarabeth Blustein, Agnieszka Buda, Leo Collazo, Michelle Dettloff, Maria Echeverri, Wendy Fong, Amy Gabbert, Nancy Gildart, Stephanie Henkle, Rebecca Isaacson, Diana Kramer, Mayumi Lake, Karen Lewis, Jorge Rafael Lucero, Joshua Mann, Jennifer Mannebach, Suanne Martin, Cynthia Mathews, Tom Osinski, Bryan Petroff, Christopher Powell, Simone Raclin, Jon Schluenz, Brandy Scott, Andrew Shirk, Aprille Trupiano, Sara Varon, and Shoshanna Weinberger.-

Assorted Cracker Jack Prizes 1994
Studio For Interrelated Media, Boston, MA

Assorted Cracker Jack Prizes was a one night exhibition of box, installation and performance art curated by Maureen Cozgrov-Metzger at the Studio For Interrelated Media at Massachusetts College of Art in Boston. The pieces explored space, scale, and interactivity, ranging from smaller art in boxes to larger room sized installations. The exhibition included Marsian De Lellis, Gregg Einhorn, Rebecca Eppenstein, Sheila Hoyt, Signe Kaleel, Maxwell Kullaway, Lauren Petty, and Margo Slattery

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