In conjunction with the exhibition CFGNY Puddles into Pond, on view at Amant through August 16, CFG-20260717 explores histories of video technology, labor, “Vaguely Asian” aesthetics, and collective production. The artists explore how the development and circulation of emerging video technologies from Asia, specifically the Sony Portapak in Japan, the first one-person operated, selfcontained video camera and playback unit introduced in 1967, enabled the artistic pursuits that sustained The Kitchen’s founding in 1971.
At Amant’s 316 Ten Eyck outdoor venue, neighboring its galleries and campus, CFGNY synthesizes this history through performance and fashion (using both interchangeably) and examine it within an inter-connected dialogue of race, value, labor, and exchange, reconfiguring established narratives of the “avant-garde.” CFG-20260717 debuts the artists’ fifth presentation of fashion—a new collection of garments produced in situ with tailors in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. In collaboration with stylist and frequent collaborator Avena Gallagher, CFGNY stages over thirty looks on an ensemble of performers sited within a sculptural set constructed with materials recurrent in their practice, such as wooden 2x4’s and translucent plastic. The scaffolded structure is inset with numerous LED monitors displaying alternating video feeds captured via a choreography of cameras wielded by the artists and performers, together taking form as a glowing light box in the middle of the parking lot that nods to the “site” of accelerated image transmission.
The performance runs from 7:30 to 8:30 pm with a block party and DJ set by Bobby Beethoven culminating the evening.