In February 2024, Tooth + Nail opened their doors to the public as a ceramics studio and event space for workshops, classes, screenings, and more. From opening day until December 2025, it also operated as a gallery for local artists. My show—Erotic City—was their inaugural exhibition. The work was made in the space while it was still being imagined and built out so, embracing the industrial mess of sawdust and plaster dust, I used materials mostly found in hardware store and found on the side of the road. My goal was to showcase what a gallery housed inside a working artist studio could do, so my approach was to create multimedia sculptures, host workshops in tandem with the show’s themes (censorship, sex-forward images, transness, and working class artists), and create a fully accessible event. Every gathering was COVID-safe, with KN95 masks required and provided, air purifiers on in the space, and attendants available for the freight elevators as an alternative to stairs. Events included a ceramic chain making class, xxx-rated valentines making, costumed opening and closing receptions, and an artist talk with Q&A (filmed and edited by Delaney Doersch with assistance from Carter Uslabar).
All photos are courtesy of Emily Dalske
