A New Art Exhibit Asks New Yorkers to See the Art Amidst the Trash
And don’t miss the claymation film about the adventures of a pigeon and rat.
When it comes to finding the beauty in the ugly or mundane, Eugene Serebrennikov and Vicente Morillo, co-founders of Another Day art studio, consider themselves connoisseurs.
The duo initially met under unique circumstances and quickly bonded over their shared love of art and finding the deeper meaning in everyday objects. Serebrennikov explains, “I was the art director at Nike Basketball in Portland, Oregon and I had a project come across my desk for Kobe [Bryant]. I saw Vicente’s work online and had an instant connection to it. We started working on the project together, but he was in Spain and I was in Portland. His English was really bad and my Spanish was non-existent, so we collaborated using Google translate and really shitty sketches back and forth to each other.”
It was then that the two realized that, even with a language barrier, they shared a rare, unspoken bond. “We eventually both quit our cushy corporate design jobs to pursue building our own studio that balanced art and design,” says Serebrennikov.
The duo then made the big move to NYC and soon after opened their design studio, Burn & Broad, in 2017, followed by an art studio, Another Day, in 2019. “We use the analogy of Burn & Broad is the house and Another Day is the playground,” says Morillo. “Another Day is where we, as creatives, can freely explore and experiment within the art field.”
Another Day’s first solo exhibit, titled “A Beautiful Chaos” opens this week. The installation features a selection of paintings, sculpture, and video, all of which speak to Serebrennikov and Morillo’s experiences of living in New York City. Specifically, how they wish to encourage New Yorkers to see our city through a different lens—to find the treasure in the trash.
“What attracts us most to [NYC] is that it inspires us, but it also tests us. It’s given us the best nights and the worst mornings,” adds Serebrennikov. “There’s so much to celebrate, while at the same time so many challenges. Ultimately, we’re trying to bring light to all of that in this show.”
In their attempt to open locals up to the hidden beauty of everyday city life, “A Beautiful Chaos” features playful pieces like a chrome-covered trash can, a six-foot-tall traffic ticket, and a hyper-elongated New York Yankees cap.
Another Day will also debut its inaugural foray into film with The Short Film. Using claymation against footage of the city, viewers follow a pigeon who accidentally eats a psychedelic off the ground. “Because he’s under the influence, he’s realizing all the shit that’s overlooked on the street, and how every block, corner, and person in New York is beautiful,” says Serebrennikov. “And naturally, he’s got a local irate rat that’s causing some mischief with him as well.”
“We saw ourselves reflected in the pigeon because I think everyone in New York has felt the nativity and confusion like this pigeon at some moment, right?” comments Morillo. “The rat and the pigeon are an analogy of both energies in the city—the good and the bad, the yin versus the yang.”
Balance is the word that best describes “A Beautiful Chaos,” as well as its creators’ outlooks on life. “A city of juxtapositions is about balance, a studio about art and design is about balance. [Balance] is the way Vicente and I collaborate as artists, as creatives, as friends, as business partners. Balance is the word that has stuck with us,” says Serebrennikov.
“What makes the chaos beautiful is the balance,” muses Morillo.
“A Beautiful Chaos” opens on October 6 at 119 N 1st Street in Williamsburg.