In a Free State
Luhring Augustine | 17 White Street, New York
June 26 – July 31, 2026
We often imagine freedom as an escape from violence, grief, or uncertainty. In a Free State, currently on view at Luhring Augustine, however, proposes that freedom can still emerge while remaining inside contradiction rather than only once resolving it. Curated by artists Salman Toor and Doron Langberg, the exhibition acknowledges the contradictions of grief, eroticism, violence, and ridiculousness. It places comic absurdity right alongside violence. Across painting, sculpture, embroidery, photography, and video, the show argues that persistence in absurdity is its own form of liberation.
A first curatorial project for both Toor and Langberg, the figurative painters make an interesting move by putting together a show that keeps the body centered but continually transformed in new ways: an otherworldly creature made of tongues (Florencia Escudero), arrows emerging from a ribcage (Hugh Hayden), tangled animal limbs (Paul Latislaw), and most notably, an upside-down bondage crucifixion in Inverted World (2016) by Carlos Motta. The video depicts men in leather hats and metal chains, skillfully binding wrists with rope before hoisting a man by his legs. The video is sensual, tactile, and painful, closing the binary between suffering and pleasure. Moans of ecstasy and pain echo through the gallery, reminding viewers to experience the exhibition through the contradictions of its works.
While the installation creates some interesting conversations between pieces–particularly the sculptures My Grave (2013) by Huma Bhabha and Press Vest (2025) by Abed Elmajid Shalabi, which read together as weapon and armor–other pairings are based too heavily on visual resemblance rather than active dialogue, causing some works to appear quieter than they might otherwise.
The sculptures are particularly exciting as they are all very different in their respective explorations. Closer inspection of these pieces also produces the largest discoveries: While the entangled animals and limbs of Big Game (2026) by Paul Latislaw first appear to be carved out of stone, a closer look reveals wool and fiber. In the name of love, Hugh Hayden’s practiced merging of everyday objects with otherworldly appendage-like protrusions takes form in a ribcage. A closer look reveals that the arrows do not pierce the ribs but instead seem to sprout from them, producing bodily growths instead of external wounds.
Bringing together exhibiting artists from different points in their careers creates a rich variety. With some well-established artists in the mix, emerging artists like Gaby Collins-Fernandez still don’t have to fight for the spotlight. Her expansive work SO…. (2026) spells out the titular, irresolute vocal pause through works on paper. Phrases like “here we are” and “whether you know what’s coming for you or not” are incorporated into electric and playful, sometimes literal or more abstract, mark-making. One stands out in particular as a fitting thesis for the show: “I continue to persist I vaguely know how.”
In a Free State offers us freedom by a provisional practice of persistence rather than escape, where we can acknowledge the rich contradictions of grief, eroticism, violence, and ridiculousness.
— Parker Ewen