Satchel Projects is pleased to present Tender Verse, an exhibition of new works by Tamara Zahaykevich, from November 17, 2022 through January 7, 2023. There will be an opening reception for the artist from 6-8PM on Thursday, Nov 17.

Marking a turn towards newly developed working methods and materials, the exhibition will feature a selection of wall-mounted constructions composed of paper pulp, paint, and plaster. As with Zahaykevich’s previous work, these new pieces reflect an intuitive and intimate engagement with material in pursuit of a personal language and hand-made sensibility.

The body of work in Tender Verse grew out of the artist’s recent move of home and studio to East Chatham, New York. This change of environment sparked the adoption of new creative practices and a sharpened focus on personal and material sustainability as well as a fresh perspective on the scale of life and art. The artist, in reevaluating the systems and patterns of being and making, moved toward an open, sensitive, and spontaneously responsive relationship to form.

The intimate scale of the constructions in Tender Verse belies the work’s quiet power. Like phonemes, each formal/material move is insistently experiential as the work unfolds for the viewer. Zahaykevich, ever attentive to material’s ability to evoke, allows the process to lead the way. Paper pulp shrinks as it dries, sanding a surface reveals layers -- the accidental and unpredictable are incorporated and embraced. This approach requires a leap of faith and a willingness to set aside the heroic “master” role of the artist in service of the process itself, resulting in work that is tender as well as fresh and open. As Zahaykevich has said, “I’m drawn to things that are raw and open and vulnerable – that’s what touches me.” 

Born to Ukrainian parents, Zahaykevitch is inspired and influenced by the example of her maternal grandmother. “My Babcia had to become very resourceful to survive which is one of the qualities I most admire about her. She could take any old scraps in her refrigerator and cook up a delicious soup on request; clothes that didn’t fit came back to life with minor alterations; embroidered tablecloths and doilies spruced up the saddest furniture. Despite being frugal, she was also very generous. Everything she created made those around her feel special.” 

Tamara Zahaykevich (b. 1971) is a Ukrainian American artist, living and working in East Chatham, NY. Her work has been featured in solo exhibits at Jeff Bailey Gallery (Hudson, NY); Kansas (New York, NY); and Bellwether (Brooklyn, NY). Group exhibitions include ICA Boston (Boston, MA); Tibor de Nagy (New York, NY); The New Britain Museum of Art (New Britain, CT); The American Academy of Arts and Letters (New York, NY), and Feature, Inc (New York, NY). Zahaykevich is the recipient of two Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grants and has been in residency at Dieu Donné Workspace Program, The Marie Walsh Sharpe Studio Program, Macdowell, and the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. Zahaykevich’s work has been featured in BOMB, Hyperallergic, and The Brooklyn Rail, among others.For press inquiries, please contact Andrea Champlin at info@satchelprojects.com or 917-764-2292.

PRESS RELEASE

LIST OF WORKS