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Love, Loss, and Renewal: Bushwick Gallery’s February Exhibition

By Isabella DeLuca, February 2025 / Official Press Release

Bushwick Gallery presents Love and Heartbreak: A Duality, a powerful group exhibition curated by guest curator Carlotta Assalto, whose background in Turin Italy’s vibrant art scene brings a thoughtful and dynamic perspective. Opening on February 13, this exhibition explores the intertwined nature of love and heartbreak, offering a reflective journey across the emotional highs and lows that define relationships. From gentle vulnerability to the chaos of separation, the featured artworks bridge painting, fiber art, photography, and mixed media, revealing the raw, beautiful, and fragile nature of human connection.

Running through February 20, the exhibition captures how love transforms us—sometimes tenderly, sometimes painfully—and how we emerge changed by the experience.

A Journey of Fragility and Resilience

Gina Keatley’s Soft Awakening anchors the exhibition with its subtle yet powerful depiction of love’s delicate nature. The two-panel diptych features muted whites and soft grays disrupted by bursts of mandarin orange—representing moments when love’s tranquility is tested by emotional shifts. “Love, like my art, is fragile,” says Keatley. “Its beauty lies in its imperfections and the way it evolves in the face of disruption.” Keatley’s work is a testament to the resilience hidden within vulnerability.

A Material Conversation: Geneva Bergelt’s Putnam, Soul

Geneva Bergelt’s Putnam, Soul is a standout in the exhibition, a fiber-based sculpture made from crocheted cotton clothesline. Evoking the form of a cocoon or vessel, it represents protection and transformation. Bergelt’s tactile work is inspired by collective memory and the connections we share through time and place. “Our experiences are intertwined, just like fibers,” she says. The sculpture invites viewers to reflect on love as a binding force, capable of both nurturing and unraveling us.

Love’s Duality Across Mediums

Several artists explore the aftermath of love and separation through bold material choices. Roger W. Hsia’s Souvenirs or Unintended Consequences layers textured acrylic with sculptural forms to represent the long-term effects of shared experiences, referencing the Yin-Yang philosophy. Jay Guo’s An Elephant Sitting Still transforms traditional batik and handwoven fabric into a symbolic exploration of longing and healing, inspired by Chinese literature.

Maëlis Tomassone’s Drowning merges street art layering with chaotic strokes of paint and charcoal, capturing the emotional turbulence of self-discovery after loss. Elisa Rosati’s Inseparable Echoes uses swirling abstract brushstrokes and subconscious imagery to represent the fluid, evolving emotions that accompany love and heartbreak.

Photography and Personal Histories

Photography provides moments of quiet reflection within the exhibition. Miraal Zafar’s My Grandparents documents her grandmother at her dressing table after the loss of her husband. The intimate portrait captures how small rituals become lifelines in times of grief. Nathan Evans’ Searching for a Broken Heart combines gestural abstraction and handwritten text, creating a layered visual diary of the emotional chaos that comes with healing.

Rebuilding Through Art

Sean O’Neill’s Honeymoon (Codependent Homoerotic Friendship) confronts the complexities of toxic relationships and the process of rediscovering self-worth. With expressive layers of acrylic and charcoal, O’Neill explores the thrill of connection and the devastation of its breakdown. Meanwhile, Andrea Ploch’s Two Fridas, inspired by Frida Kahlo, bridges emotional vulnerability and healing through symbolic storytelling, using woodcut techniques, thread, and beading to depict self-repair after heartbreak.

Giuseppe Eva’s Fixed Love addresses the struggle of trying to “fix” a broken relationship. His distorted imagery reveals the emotional damage of clinging to expired love, ultimately suggesting that healing comes from acceptance, not repair.

Environmental and Emotional Dualities

Matthew Charles Waite’s Summer Squall blends natural and emotional landscapes through his Reductive Painting technique, using dirt, gesso, and ink to represent how environmental change mirrors emotional shifts. The work juxtaposes joy and melancholy, symbolizing the unpredictability of love and nature.

Emma Casale’s The Gift portrays the quiet unraveling of identity after a breakup. Through muted tones and peeling layers of paint, Casale reflects on how endings create space for renewal and self-discovery. Her work invites viewers to interpret whether the outstretched hand depicted in the painting is letting go or reaching out for what was lost.

Love and Heartbreak: A Duality opens Thursday, February 13, with a reception from 6 PM to 8 PM. The exhibition runs through February 20. Visit bushwickgallery.com to learn more or schedule a private tour.

Featured Artists

Gina Keatley (Abstract Expressionist) – Soft Awakening explores the fragile beauty of love through delicate textures and vibrant disruptions, symbolizing how relationships evolve and transform.

Geneva Bergelt (Fiber Sculptor) – Putnam, Soul is a cocoon-like sculpture reflecting protection, transformation, and the interwoven nature of human stories.

Roger W. Hsia (Multidisciplinary Artist) – Souvenirs or Unintended Consequences examines the lasting impact of breakups through layered acrylic textures and Yin-Yang symbolism.

Jay Guo (Textile and Symbolic Artist) – An Elephant Sitting Still uses traditional batik and woven fabric to explore healing and emotional trauma.

Maëlis Tomassone (Mixed Media Artist) – Drowning combines street art and chaotic layering to depict the turbulence of self-discovery after heartbreak.

Elisa Rosati (Abstract Painter) – Inseparable Echoes uses abstract forms to reflect the subconscious emotions tied to love and loss.

Miraal Zafar (Photographer) – My Grandparents is a poignant portrait capturing strength and continuity through personal rituals.

Nathan Evans (Abstract Painter) – Searching for a Broken Heart layers gestural marks and text to explore the chaos of emotional recovery.

Andrea Ploch (Mixed Media Artist) – Two Fridas bridges vulnerability and healing through symbolic, layered storytelling inspired by Frida Kahlo.

Sean O’Neill (Expressive Acrylic Painter) – Honeymoon (Codependent Homoerotic Friendship) captures the raw emotional journey from toxic attachment to self-discovery.

Giuseppe Eva (Acrylic Painter) – Fixed Love examines the futility of clinging to expired relationships and the emotional damage it leaves behind.

Matthew Charles Waite (Multidisciplinary and Environmental Artist) – Summer Squall connects environmental and emotional turbulence, reflecting on change and resilience.

Emma Casale (Oil and Acrylic Painter) – The Gift portrays the unraveling of identity after loss, revealing how endings pave the way for renewal.