Too Early To Look Back
A Group Exhibition Exploring the Tension Between Nostalgia and the Impulse to Preserve Memory
Featuring: Elissa DeFranceschi, Başak Kiliçbeyli, Margaux McAllister, and Emily Rothstein
Too Early To Look Back invites viewers to contemplate the delicate interplay between the disillusionment of growing older and the enduring strength of nostalgia. The comfort of the past prompts us to cling to memories as anchors for our futures selves. We don't want to miss a single second, for fear that we will wake up one day saying "I missed it all". In our relentless pursuit to capture every moment, we often find ourselves compulsively preserving experiences even before they've fully unfolded. In our fixation on preserving memories for the future, we inadvertently miss the richness of the present.
Through the works in this exhibition, Information intends to blur the line between reality and imagination, and create a space where echoes of the past resonate with the weight of experience. Through these works, we hope to remind the viewer that nostalgia and experience are eternally linked. One can't exist without the other, and it is through their relationship that our deepest emotions, connections and understanding of the world are forged. Forgotten moments are the price we pay for a life well lived.
To Early To Look Back features the artwork of Elissa DeFranceschi, Başak Kiliçbeyli, Margaux McAllister, and Emily Rothstein. The show will run from July 20th through August 25th at Information.
About the Artists:
Elissa DeFranceschi is a mixed media artist from Philadelphia practicing illustration and experimental sculpture. Through her visions and collected found objects, she transmutes her ideas into immersive worlds. She expresses moments of her perceived life experiences through personal symbols of animals and personified objects. Elissa is passionate about creating compelling narrative art that connects her to herself as well as others.
Başak Kiliçbeyli is a Philadelphia-based textile and printmaking artist from Turkey. With a BFA in Graphic Design from Yeditepe University, she ventured into the world of printmaking. Pursuing an MFA at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts further honed her craft in textiles and provided Basak with opportunities to be featured later in exhibitions at FRIEDA, Da Vinci Art Alliance, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, and Usagi NY with Sounds About Riso. The Woodmere Art Museum proudly houses one of her pieces in the permanent collection, making her the collection's first Turkish queer woman artist.
Margaux McAllister is a multidisciplinary artist whose masks and paintings express emotional states that challenge and define our identities. She received her Master of Fine Arts from the San Francisco Art Institute and her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Moore College of Art and Design. She resides in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania.
Emily Rothstein is a Philly-grown artist. Her current focus is on wearable soft sculptures and videography, but her work has also included make-up and aesthetic prosthesis. When she’s not fantasizing of a more mystical world she can generally be found playing with bugs, skateboarding and eating lychee.
About The Information Space:
The Information Space (Info) is an artist-run gallery and event space in Port Richmond Philadelphia. Started in 2019, we provide a platform for emerging and established artists to showcase their work in a supportive environment. Always encouraging artists to blur the line between studio and gallery, challenge the conventional, and push the boundaries of their creativity. We believe that experimentation finds new depths of intrigue within the structured confines of a gallery space, and it is our mission to celebrate and champion such innovative expressions.