Conversation between artist Jessie Mott and curator Lauren Leving

Please join us this Saturday, July 13th at 1pm for a conversation between current solo artist Jessie Mott and Lauren Leving, independent curator and the Co-Curator of the U.S. Pavilion at the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale. Jessie's solo show "Pluto" is on view through July 27th; come take part in this conversation to learn more about Jessie's work and process and ask questions of your own!⁠ "Pluto" is on view through July 27th; regular gallery hours are Fridays and Saturdays, 12-4pm and by appointment.

Jessie Mott Bio:
Jessie Mott is a Chicago-based visual artist whose work spans an array of media, including drawing, painting, and collaborative projects. Her practice focuses on themes of identity and power by exposing unstable perceptions of the queer body. Mott’s work has been exhibited widely, including in the International Film Festival Rotterdam and the 2014 Whitney Biennial (Steve Reinke with Jessie Mott).

Lauren Leving Bio: 
Lauren Leving (she/her) is a curator and writer based in Chicago, IL. She is Curator-at-Large at the Museum of Contemporary Art (moCa) Cleveland and Exhibitions Director at ACRE Projects in Chicago. In 2023, she co-curated Everlasting Plastics, which was originally presented in the U.S. Pavilion during the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale and traveled to the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh, PA. While at moCa Cleveland, Leving has organized multiple curatorial projects including Ruben Ulises Rodriguez Montoya’s first solo museum exhibition, Skinchangers: Begotten of my Flesh; a largescale textile commission by Aram Han Sifuentes entitled Messages to Authorities (Go Away!); Nina Chanel Abney: Big Butch Synergy; and Don’t mind if I do, a group exhibition stewarded by Finnegan Shannon.

Previously, she was a Curatorial Fellow at Hyde Park Art Center and Exhibitions Manager for Wrightwood 659. Leving holds an MA in Museum & Exhibition Studies from the University of Illinois–Chicago and a BA from Tulane University.