Arting With ABE: A Magical Night at EV Gallery

Word and Photographs by ABE

This past Friday, Aug 5, an eclectic group crowded the sidewalks leading into EV Gallery, 621 E. 11th St. Artists Tilde Thorium and Nicole Aptekar exhibited artworks of mixed media, painting, and a lot of patience. Anaphoric Fractures opened to a robust audience, with wine, conversation, and some juicy gossip.

Walking around the gallery, attendees were not so focused on figuring out what the artwork means, rather trying to figure out what they were looking at. What seems to be black and white painted swirls around watercolor painting is actually digitally cut paper in multiple layers with acrylic paintings nestled inside. If that doesn’t sound intricate enough, consider that the artists worked on these pieces together, but in completely separate locations. Tilde lives and works in San Francisco, while Nicole resides in Brooklyn NY. The two artists are no strangers, having worked together since 2018. Onlookers were in awe of the detail of the works, often asking “how long did it take?” 

Nicole and Tilde both dominated the space; their bright, colorful hair matching the inner workings of the artwork. People chatted amongst the art, and there was an overall sense of community; as if everyone who came held a genuine interest in the art, or the artists themselves. Shivani Agarwal, an art therapist and clinical counselor said she came out specifically for the artists. “I haven’t really been going out much,” says Shiv “so it’s big love. Big love.” One person, who declined to be named, said he came from Rockaway Beach, “because Nicole has been talking about this show since I met her.”

There was art, laughter, and wine; a perfect combination to let loose. Perhaps even a little too loose, as someone spilled the secret of how the two artists met. Apparently, they met in what Tilde described as ‘a typical queer way’, and were seeing each other prior to working on art together. 

We don’t know the status of their current relationship, but we do know these two make amazing works together. It is not often in the art world that you find something completely unique that has never been done before. Nicole shared that she actually used CAD to cut the black and white areas you see. Gallery owner Kerri Lindstrom curated a show that was well done, well hung and well framed. A testament to the brilliance of the show would be the red dots next to pieces on the opening night.