MATERSBIER at the Stables in Exile

I’m very excited to share that my solo exhibition, MATERSBIER, will open on 13 October 2018 at the Stables in Exile here in London. With all of the political garbage happening in the world, I wanted to add a different voice. As I am probably freest with my thoughts about politics, history, and gender equality when I’ve had a few pints, the two are always linked inextricably in my brain.

Not only that, but I see beer as a point of meeting—where empathy and understanding at least have a chance. Last summer in Minnesota two beer delivery men talked a guy down from jumping off a bridge with the promise of some beer. That is an extreme case, and I probably won’t solve the world’s problems with beer or with painting; but at least it’s something.

The exhibition is named, in a way, after the Trappist monk’s patersbier—the beer the monks make and drink themselves. I make my own beer at home from scratch, but assuming acquaintances constantly ask, “What’s it like having a husband who brews beer?” In place of that erasure, I’ve made some beer and some paintings. I am adding my voice. The Brett Kavanaughs who proclaim, “I like beer,” do not get to ruin beer for me. Beer is a space for voices to be heard. Beer is mine.

ABOUT MATERSBIER

Sharing a pint is always a space for honest words (or as Benjamin Franklin supposedly said, “In wine there is wisdom, in beer there is freedom, in water there is bacteria”). American artist Leah Thomason Bromberg’s Matersbier offers space for honest and hopeful exchanges as it pushes back against today’s political climate that includes inflammatory speech, tribalism, and disturbing accounts of beer-drinking in the Senate. Drawings mounted onto beer coasters serve as sites for these exchanges, small paintings on paper echo the ephemera of beer labels and advertisements, and larger paintings on canvas recall moments the artist herself shared a beer and a bit of herself.

ABOUT THE STABLES IN EXILE

The Stables in Exile is a gallery that supports emerging artists. It is located in London inside St Catherine’s, Neasden. For many years the gallery was based at the Stables Gallery in Dollis Hill, then from late 2012 until recently in and around Willesden Green.

MATERSBIER

Launch Party:
20 October, 1-5 PM
More info here

Exhibition open:
13 October - 10 November 2018
Fridays 3:30-6 PM
Saturdays 10 AM - 4 PM
Sundays 11 AM - 1 PM & 6-8 PM

Stables in Exile
St Catherine's Church, Neasden
London
NW 10 1QB