About

Porous
Exhibition Dates: December 7, 2024 - January 4, 2025
Opening Reception: Saturday, December 7, 6-9 pm
Third Thursday East Austin Arts District hours: December 19, 6-9pm
Gallery Hours: Fridays & Saturdays 12-6 pm


ICOSA Collective is proud to present Porous, a group exhibition of works from Tiger Strikes Asteroid from Greenville, South Carolina, curated by Mai Snow and Gregory Valentine.

Porous is the first phase of an art exchange between Tiger Strikes Asteroid Collective of Greenville, SC, and ICOSA collective of Austin, TX. The selected works of 17 members from the TSA-GVL collective were curated by Mai Snow and Gregory Valentine, whose understanding of artistic collaboration and artist-run gallery spaces is notable with their own local gallery space, Shedshows. The first exhibition of this two-city art exchange comprises a diversity of works from Adam Eddy, Alex Schechter, Ashley Rabanal, Brooks Harris Stevens, Claudia O’Steen, Hirona Matsuda, Joseph Smolin, Katherine Van Drie, Kevin Kao, Leah Smolin, Lindsay Smith Gustave, Mauro Barreto, Megan Bickel, Michael Borowski, Michael Webster, Rachel Lin Weaver, and Sterling Bowen. While over 1000 miles separate these two artist collectives, their common goal is to support their fellow artists and share their community’s creative output brings them together.

Exhibition Statement

The collective, Tiger Strikes Asteroid exhibition Porous delves into the intricate intersections of
identity and environment, revealing how elements shape our experiences and perspectives. The
term "porous" reflects not only the permeable boundaries between ourselves and the world
around us but also the fluidity of identity in response to our surroundings. This diverse
showcase of artists features an eclectic array of artistic practices, including sculpture, video,
painting, and photography. Each artist offers a unique lens through which to explore themes of
belonging, conflict and the relationship between the individual and the environment.
The sculptures invite tactile engagement, embodying the materials and forms that echo the
figurative and natural world. Their installations transform the exhibition space, fostering quiet
interaction and encouraging viewers to contemplate their own role within a broader existential
context. The video provides an immersive documentation, revealing how our experiences are
influenced by the natural spaces we inhabit. Paintings blend figurative abstraction, hyper-representational still life, and non-representational terrain, featuring patterns that invite viewers to explore the tension between recognizable figures and shapes. While photography presents poignant snapshots of the figurative world, inviting reflection on our connection to both place and self.


About the Curators

MAI SNOW is a Trans Non-binary, immigrant artist from Polevskoy, Russia. They split their
time living and making work between Austin and Valentine, Texas. Snow received their MFA
from University of Texas at Austin in 2020 and their BFA from Maine College of Art in 2013.
Snow has shown their paintings throughout Texas, New England, and in various parts of the
Midwest. Snow is the Co-creater of a local DIY Gallery space, Shedshows, in Austin, Texas.

Gregory Valentine is an artist from Michigan, living in Austin, Texas. He studied fine art at
Columbia College Chicago from 2004 until 2009. Valentine has extensive experience as a
fabricator and art handler. He has worked the last eight years as a professional museum
preparator. Valentine is a co-creator of a local DIY gallery space, Shedshows, in Austin, Texas.