Distension

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  Thomas Erben Gallery

  On view through Dec 19

  Source for Distension
  Oct 29 – Dec 19, 2026

  Thomas Erben is very much looking forward to presenting Distension , Olivia Reavey’s first solo exhibition with the gallery. Her work was first featured in a two-person show at the gallery in the fall of 2025, followed by a solo presentation at this year’s Association of International Photography Art Dealers (AIPAD) fair. Distension refers to Reavey’s way of making, an internal pressure that swells, billows, and finally bursts, taking shape in her photographic practice. In this exhibition, a small cast of an improperly boiled egg, ruptured and spilling from its shell, exemplifies the dedication to “impropriety” that Reavey’s photographs explore. The symbol of the distended egg–a most basic domestic skill gone awry–relates to visions of femininity whose boundaries Reavey continuously undermines. Placed on a column centered in the space, it establishes a gravitational field around which her silver gelatin prints orbit. In this universe, pressure builds through the use of found-objects, both failed and functioning, photographed by Reavey as extensions of the body. Her interest in collage, scale and the analog process are all in pursuit of dismounting expectations that photography has historically created for the figure.

  Schedule

  October 29 – December 19, 2026

  Plan exhibition visit

Everything on: Tonight · This weekend