POCKET OBJECT

Pocket Object invites artists across multiple disciplines, mediums, and the internet to produce a small edition of keychain-sized objects available for cheap purchase. These tiny totems are meant to jangle on your hip, tumble in a tote, or simply serve as a small-scale reminder of the practice of a favorite artist or friend. The small, dangling works are each priced at under $100 and explore the endless variability of small-scale sculpture. The traveling exhibition is organized by Chicago-based artist Noël Morical, who began macraméing small keychains five years ago as a way to scale down her practice for work trades and friend gifts. Pocket Object is an expansion of this expression, an affordable way to purchase work while supporting your favorite artist's practice.

In addition to our normal gallery hours between 12-6pm on Saturday, December 14th, exhibiting artist Natalie Baxter will be hosting an afternoon of cookies and keychains beginning at 2pm. Bring your friends and family to check out the show and decorate a homemade holiday cookie, or two!

On Sunday, December 15th, Gloria's is collaborating with prison abolition group Black and Pink to send holiday cards to those who find themselves away from home: incarcerated queer folks and criminalized survivors of gender violence in New York state. Please join us between 12-6pm for an afternoon of making holiday cards to send to our chosen families—the people who help us make home, wherever we may find ourselves. Gloria’s will provide the materials and we invite you bring embellishments to share.

NOËL MORICAL (American, b. 1989) lives and works in Chicago, IL. She received her BFA from the The School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2011. Morical is currently curating the traveling exhibition Pocket Object, a keychain-themed exhibition. Solo exhibitions include High Swoon at Andrew Rafacz Gallery, Chicago; 57W57 Arts, New York; and Fiberspace Gallery, Stockholm. Group and two-person exhibitions include Weinberg/Newton Gallery, Chicago; 99¢ Plus Gallery, Brooklyn; Athen B. Gallery, Oakland; Chicago Artists Coalition, Chicago; Slow Gallery, Chicago; and LVL3, Chicago.

NATALIE BAXTER (b. 1985, Kentucky) explores concepts of place-identity, nostalgic americana, and gender stereotypes, predominantly through soft sculpture. Baxter's work playfully pushes controversial issues, creating an accessible entry point for unpacking matters of tension in today's political and social landscape. Baxter received an MFA from the University of Kentucky in 2012 and a BA in Fine Art from the University of the South in Sewanee, TN in 2007. Her work has been exhibited in galleries and museums internationally, including The Birmingham Museum of Art (Birmingham, AL), Smack Mellon (Brooklyn, NY), Sears Peyton (New York, NY), Museum of Design (Atlanta, GA), and has had solo exhibitions at The Elijah Wheat Showroom (Brooklyn, NY), Institute 193 (Lexington, KY), Next to Nothing Gallery (New York, NY), and Cunsthaus (Tampa, FL). Press for Baxter's work includes The New York Times, Hyperallergic, The Guardian, Vogue Italia, and Bomb Magazine. She currently lives and works in New York, NY.

BLACK AND PINK is an open family of LGBTQIA2S+ prisoners and "free world" allies who support each other. Their work toward the abolition of the prison-industrial complex is rooted in the experience of currently and formerly incarcerated people. Outraged by the specific violence of the prison-industrial complex against LGBTQIA2S+ people and people living with HIV, Black and Pink responds through advocacy, education, direct service, and organizing.