Dain Mergenthaler and Ana Hansa-Ogren: I'll Cry If I Want To
Hatch Admin
Dain Mergenthaler and Ana Hansa-Ogren: I'll Cry If I Want To
December 5th, 6-9pm, Opening Reception
December 12th, 1-6pm, Gallery Hours
December 17th, 6-9pm, Gallery Hours
December 19th, 1-6pm, Gallery Hours (artist Talk @ 2pm)
January 2nd, 1-6pm, Gallery Hours
Tile on my face, pale pink and cool under the bare fluorescent light of the upstairs bathroom, feels right. I know a guy who’s tough but sweet. Bass and thin laughter seep into this room like an echo trapped in a dirty mug. He’s so fine. Another five minutes before someone knocks. Time is losing steam, spreading out and thickening, my watermark veiled reflection becoming more saturated in the mirror. He can’t be beat. Flick the light off. Wrap a corner of the hot pink vinyl shower curtain around my waist and move in it. He’s got everything that I desire. Rotate a hip slow, seductive, sinister in this emptied out, satellite space that floats like a dark cloud above the party. Sets the summer sun on fire. Lock pupils with my own eyes. I want candy. Go a little deep and loose.
Face falls apart. Be still and silent, let the edges blur. I want candy. Vocals slither under the door. Got to see him when the sun goes down. Who is that. Ain’t no finer boy in town. You’re my guy, just what the doctor ordered. My body is me and everyone here. So sweet, you make my mouth water. Filthy bathtub, stained soft rug crumpled up in the corner. I want candy.
The window lets sharp cool air into this dense, sweaty bubble. Candy on the beach. There’s nothing better. But I like candy when it’s wrapped in a sweater. Someday soon I’ll make you mine. Then I’ll have candy all the time. I want candy. I want candy. I want candy. I want candy. I want candy.
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Dain Mergenthaler holds a BFA in Fiber from the Maryland Institute College of Art and is an MFA candidate in Fiber at Cranbrook Academy of Art. Originally from Baltimore, Maryland, he now lives in Hamtramck and has a studio in Highland Park, Michigan. Dain has traveled around the country for residencies, workshops, and exhibitions including Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Penland School of Crafts, Vermont Studio Center, and most recently ACRE Residency, as well as having shown work around the Detroit Metropolitan area, Chicago, New York, and Baltimore. When he’s not sleying threads at the loom, Dain can be found at the bar, slaying songs at karaoke.
Ana Hansa-Ogren is a studio artist, curator, and current MFA candidate in the Sculpture department at Cranbrook Academy of Art. Hansa-Ogren employs sound, installation, video, and vocal work to navigate processes of meaning formation, complicate the authority of text and form, and conjure seductive yet unsettling environments. Select recent exhibitions include Raw (Forum), FLUX (Forum), The End is Near (Forum), How to Find a New Land (No Bones Projects, MKE), FREE MONEY (co-curated w/Michelle Grabner, MKE), Try a Little Tenderness (co-curated w/Pamela Fraser, MKE), Haystack Mountain School of Crafts (auction), and Space Vulture Worship Project (Happy Dog Gallery, CHI).