Performative Stories opens at the Flinn Gallery on January 15th

CONTACT:
203-622-7947
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PERFORMATIVE STORIES
An immersive exhibition infused with theatrical flair and narrative depth
January 15 – March 4, 2026
Opening Reception: Thursday January 15, 6 – 8 pm

“Tell me a story” is a request as old as time and has formed the basis of human exploits since
humans began to communicate. From the cave drawings at Altamira to the superheroes who
zoom across our screens, we are in the thrall of stories.

The four artists featured in Performative Stories have created works which provide visual expansion
to the art of storytelling, Dan Hurlin, Janie Geiser, Maiko Kikuchi and Jason Gardner employ colorful
figures and motion to express varied narratives. As creators, they ask that you as an audience member
apply your imagination to complete their presentations. Curators Leslee Asch and Kate Sheridan
Chung have expanded the conventional idea of storytelling to include tales that ask for viewer
participation in constructing the plot. In an age of digital avatars, AI-generated characters, and
cinematic universes, our thirst for constructed realities remains unquenched.

Dan Hurlin, an award-winning theater artist, presents his figures in arrested time allowing the viewer to
fill in the rest. The artwork presented in this show includes a large installation piece featuring 1⁄2 scale
human figures in a setting that captures a moment in time. He invites viewers to interpret the implied
story and emotion presented. He has taught at Sarah Lawrence, Barnard, Bowdoin, Bennington and
Princeton. In 2014 he won the Rome Prize in visual art, and he has had three MacDowell Colony
Fellowships. Dan currently divides his time between New York City and Spoleto, Italy.

Janie Geiser is a renowned experimental filmmaker and multimedia artist whose images demand
viewers free their imaginations and allow themselves to be swept away by a flow of objects and ideas.
Conventional rules of language and action step aside, and the resulting images reach the unconscious,
associative realm of the mind, both stimulating and startling her audience. Her films have been
screened at major museums including National Gallery of Art, MoMA, the Whitney, the Guggenheim,
LACMA, Centre Pompidou, and the British Film Institute. Her films have also screened at festivals
including The New York Film Festival and London International Film Festival. She is based in Los
Angeles and teaches at Cal Arts.

Maiko Kikuchi, a Tokyo-born artist and sculptor creates imaginary worlds as visual monologues. Still
figures come to life and transform into moving characters and objects that delight viewers with their
versatility. The transformation from a still life picture to a fanciful animation charms viewers with its
imaginative and unexpected connections. She has presented her visual art works in several New York
City galleries and has created work for numerous music videos and album covers. Maiko has an M.F.A.
in sculpture from the Pratt Institute.

Jason Gardner, a photographer, approaches storytelling as a visual anthropologist. Gardner has
documented rural Carnivale celebrations for fifteen years in fifteen countries. He explores aspects of
this ancient tradition, which stretches across continents, involving ritual, music, and pageantry as
expressions of the human spirit. Gardner’s artistic sensitivity for color, form and composition is evident
in every image. His photography has appeared in numerous publications including The New York
Times, Sunday Times Magazine (UK), Rolling Stone, and New York Magazine. His work has also been
exhibited widely including Lincoln Center, New Orleans Jazz Fest, and several consulates. In 2024
GOST Books, London published his book We the Spirits. All of the photos to be exhibited in this
exhibition appear in We The Spirits. Jason currently divides his time between New York and Paris.

Events:
Thursday, January 15, 6 – 8pm, Flinn Gallery
Opening Reception

Saturday, January 17, 2pm, Flinn Gallery
Artist Talk with Jason Gardner and Dan Hurlin

Friday, January 30, 5 – 6:45pm, Flinn Gallery
Art Lounge: Extended Gallery hours prior to Friends Friday Films

Friday, January 30, 7:00pm, Berkley Theater
Friends Friday Films: Lotte Reiniger’s The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926)

Sunday, March 1, 2pm, Flinn Gallery
Artist Talk with Janie Geiser and Maiko Kikuchi

The Flinn Gallery is a non-profit organization funded and sponsored by Friends of Greenwich Library. It
is located on the second floor of the library at 101 West Putnam Avenue, Greenwich, CT.
Gallery hours are Monday-Saturday 10am-5pm, Thursday 10am-8pm, and Sunday 1-5pm.