Allison Berkoy
Functioning
19 September - 17 October 2015
Opening: Sept 19, 7-10p
Peephole Gallery


Exhibition Text

Installation view

Installation view

Installation view

Installation view

Allison Berkoy exhibits a new series of work in the Peephole Gallery, an installation combining sculpture, video, documentary and live data. Functioning examines the lavatory as a space for emergent cultural practices. Once considered a solitary zone for simple ritual, contemporary toilet rooms have developed as favored locations for knowledge acquisition, stimulating entertainments, and greater connectedness with an outside world. Functioning celebrates the advancement of the toilet as a locus for self-cultivation and alternative pursuits beyond a conventional prioritization for bodily functions.

Allison Berkoy is a Brooklyn based artist making videos, sculptural installations, interactive environments, and performances. Berkoy’s work has been described as “fun and creepy”, “haunting… almost freaky”, “magically haunted” and “strange” by various publications. Small and large spectacles have appeared inside galleries, music venues, theater stages, eateries, garages, a train caboose, and a salvaged lightship. Berkoy has an MFA in Electronic Arts from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, an MA in Performance Studies from New York University, and a BS in Theatre from Northwestern University.