Alexander D’Agostino: Of Light and Shade

August 2–October 6, 2024
Common Ground Gallery

Of Light and Shade seeks to provide a unique, layered exploration of queer history and mythology through the ephemeral medium of chloroprints – prints created on leaves using light, shadow, and inherent chlorophyll.

Unless kept from natural sunlight, these prints will eventually fade, serving as a poignant metaphor for the transient visibility of queer experiences in society and art.

While shedding light on obscured stories can be empowering, it can also be exploited or pose threats to the queer community, raising questions about the duality of exposure (light) and concealment (shade) of queer stories.

About the Artist

Alexander D’Agostino is an interdisciplinary artist and teacher based in Baltimore, Maryland. He graduated from the Maryland Institute College of Art in 2009 with a BFA in painting. He investigates the queer and otherworldly through dance, ritual, teaching, and visual art.

D’Agostino’s work has been presented at Vox Populi in Philadelphia, the Center for Contemporary Art of Afghanistan in Kabul, the Baltimore Museum of Art, Chashama’s summer performance series in Manhattan, Itinerant Performance Art Festival at the Queens Museum, the Walters Art Museum, Transformer DC, the Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington Spring 2022 Solo Exhibitions, and Siren Arts Summer Performance Series.

D’Agostino’s works were featured in a solo exhibition at the Target Gallery in Alexandria, Virginia in 2023 and he was a Folger Institute fellow at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC in 2022-2023.

Learn more at www.alexanderdagostino.com

Image: Alexander D’Agostino, Queer Shroud Grid, 2023