Sticky Gum Flat | Curator-Led Tour

Hamiltonian Artists is pleased to present Sticky Gum Flat, a group exhibition featuring the work of artists Ian Ha, Jung Won Lee, Alexis Mabry, Farah Mohammad, Paz Sher, and Lulu White, curated by artist Ali Kaeini. Kaeini’s curatorial debut, as the culmination of his Hamiltonian Artists Fellowship, presents an array of paintings, sculptures, installation, and mixed media works that reflect and respond to the notion of “street life.” 

Here, the street functions as a space of transition, protest, performance, and connection, each artwork drawing viewers into a passing moment in time. As scenes unfold, the tensions that define the street as a stage and repository of human events are brought to the foreground—celebration and resistance, freedom and restriction. Inspired by Kaeini’s childhood memories of the street as a site of possibility—removed from the order of life at home—Sticky Gum Flat transforms the gallery into a slice of street life. Weaving together personal, cultural, and geographic threads, this exhibition seeks to explore the complex, layered ways in which we move through and bear witness to public commons.

To further contextualize the exhibition's theme, Kaeini shares, “Street life is a line of inquiry that has shaped much of my recent work, and I am excited to explore the way other artists engage this concept. The artists represented in this exhibition come from diverse backgrounds—Karachi, Jerusalem, Seoul, New York, Dallas and Los Angeles. I believe their wide range of perspectives and lived experiences will highlight the universal yet unique qualities of street life, and its influence across different cultures.”

ABOUT THE CURATOR

Ali Kaeini (b. 1987, Iran) is an Iranian artist whose work explores themes of displacement and historical identity. His work delves into memories, forgetfulness, war, power, and solitude, drawing inspiration from Iranian history, art, and architecture. Ali creates intricate geometric structures intertwined with organic, spiral forms, departing from traditional techniques in a rebellious manner. His suspended paintings in space create a sense of barrier and wall, each painting acting as an independent landscape and a wall in front of another.   

Ali earned his MFA from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2023. In 2024, he received the MacDowell Fellowship and was also a recipient of the VMFA Professional Award. In 2023, he was awarded the Hamiltonian Fellowship and the VCCA Artist of Color Fellowship. He also attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in 2019. His work has been exhibited in solo and group shows across the U.S. and the Middle East, including at DDDD in New York, Delgosha Gallery in Tehran, and the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art (VMOCA). He currently lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. Ali is a 2023-2025 Hamiltonian Artists Fellow. 

Host or Publisher Hamiltonian Artists