Ejecta Projects: A Collaborative Curatorial and Studio Practice

A co-curated exhibition and co-written art book, both titled Ejecta, mounted in 2015 at Flashpoint Gallery in Washington, DC, questioned the seemingly established roles, spaces, and practices of curators and artists. Artist Anthony Cervino shared the processes of making, curating, writing, and installation with art historian Shannon Egan to examine themes of failure and success, parenthood and marriage, materiality and mortality through sculptures, installation, and texts. As artist and art historian (and as husband and wife), articulating these issues was both professional and personal and initiated a new understanding of other artistic perspectives. Three years after the exhibition, the couple’s continued interest in collaborative curatorial and studio practices took shape as/within a gallery space, Ejecta Projects, which is understood at once as artist’s studio, art gallery, and curatorial incubator. The partners maintain their individual professional projects and careers at two different institutions, but this creative and curatorial endeavor is not merely adjacent to their other interests and obligations. Rather, Egan and Cervino realized that working both in the gallery and studio and more decisively committing to collaboration resulted in a more holistic and fruitful engagement with art and art-historical contexts. This presentation examines the slippery boundaries between art and exhibition and between artist and curator, especially when joint projects reflect relationships between home and work. The paper revisits the process of curating the initial exhibition, presents a model for a combined curatorial and studio practice, and discusses the challenges and concerns of creative curatorial work.