Three Artists Reflect on Their New Exhibitions at AS220
Details from new artworks by Alex Gonzalez, Lyric Marie Johnson, and Sam Glevick. They are three of six artists featured at AS220 in September.
AS220 in Providence is opening a new series of exhibitions Saturday, September 5 from 5-7pm. The shows, spread across multiple gallery spaces in the heart of downtown, will celebrate interdisciplinary works by six local artists. They will feature Sophia B. Camporeale, Zabulus, Lyric Marie Johnson, Sam Glevick, Clare Brunet, and Alex Gonzalez and will be on view through September 26, 2026. Recent conversations with three of the exhibitors highlight the exciting range of artistic interests and methods that will be on offer this month.
On view in AS220’s Aborn Gallery on Empire Street, Lyric Marie Johnson will be the subject of their first solo exhibition, Relics of Liota. A talented emerging artist and educator, Johnson studied Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Brown University and has immersed themself in the local art community. Johnson is the Education Director at the Jamestown Arts Center as well as a Welding Instructor at The Steel Yard in Providence, and their work has been juried into recent exhibitions at Gallery 263 in Cambridge and Wickford Art Association in Rhode Island. Johnson, who works in clay, metal, and mixed media, is sharing a body of work created over the last year that centers the stories of a species of queer, non-binary, Black American ancestors called Liotas.
Recent ceramics by Lyric Marie Johnson, who will have a solo show in AS220’s Aborn Gallery. Photo courtesy of the artist.
Asked what they hope viewers take away from their solo show, Johnson says, “Artists are creators, mythologists, and anthropologists; we uniquely can visualize and represent new worlds that bring peace and comfort, while presenting idealistic cultural norms that make audiences question the realities of our modern world. Through this story I’ve crafted, the audience will be forced to think about the real history of Black Americans in the United States. I ask them to confront why I don’t want to confront that painful history. I hope that people engage with the work beyond face value and think about why I’ve chosen a path as a mythologist versus a historian.”
Johnson continues, “Another aspect of the show that I hope stands out is the craft and dedication to creating a diverse history for the Liotas, who embody imagined Black American ancestors. Through making work for this show, I’ve dabbled in mediums that I’ve never tried before because I had a specific vision of what these beings would want to create. I took a lot of risks, made mistakes, but overall kept the spirit of fun and imperfection, like the Liotas would (in a way, letting the spirit of Liota pass through me as I made the artwork).”
A few blocks away from Johnson’s solo exhibition, the organization’s Resident Gallery at 131 Washington Street will host a solo show focused on Alex Gonzalez. Gonzalez studied landscape architecture, earning his BA from the University of California at Berkeley and his Master’s at the Rhode Island School of Design in the discipline. Gonzalez has exhibited locally at places like East Manning Projects and MakeDo Studios and earlier this summer was a workshop instructor for Rhode Island Latino Arts. He is one of a number of talented local artists who reside in live/work spaces that anchor AS220’s mixed use properties. Titled Absurd Ecologies, Gonzalez’s show draws on his background as a designer in tune with the natural world.
Alex Gonzalez’s painting Industrious Re-Evolutions will be on view in AS220’s Resident Gallery. Photo courtesy of the artist.
Speaking about his body of work which will be on view, Alex Gonzalez says, “I’ve been exploring spatial ambiguity through recontextualization of patterns present in both natural and anthropological systems. I am drawn to vibrant colors, dynamism, whimsy, and play. My process has been a push, pull, and balance of interconnected elements that in the end come together to form a self-contained ecosystem or vignettes into familiar but alternate worlds.”
Around the corner from Gonzalez’s show, in AS220’s Project Space Gallery at 93 Mathewson Street, Sam Glevick will share a collection of works executed in gouache that focus on the theme of Searching for Sunlight. An award-winning artist, Glevick earned a BFA in Painting from Syracuse University and shows frequently in artist markets throughout the region as well as in recent exhibitions at Warwick Center for the Arts, Dryden Gallery, and others.
Sam Glevick’s gouache Smell of Sunshine and Wood Paneling will be on view in AS220’s Project Space. Photo courtesy of the artist.
Glevick is skillful with the sometimes temperamental medium of gouache and uses it to create thinly layered images that have a glittering quality fitting their subject matter. Asked about their preferred medium, Glevick says, “For me, painting with gouache isn’t just about how I enjoy working with it, it’s also about how it makes me feel, and how that seems to come through to others in the finished work. Over time I’ve realized part of why I connect with this medium so much is because of some of the properties it has to offer, like the opacity of the color and its matte finish. And talking with people about the work has shown me that it translates into a sense of familiarity or nostalgia for them, which makes the work feel really special and intimate.”
Seeing new artworks by artists like Glevick, Gonzalez, and Johnson gives viewers the chance to experience what the next generation of local artists care about and to see their varied skill sets at work. AS220’s September 5 openings offer opportunities to connect with these artists, learn about their work, and see their latest pieces. Whether sculpture, ceramics, painting, or drawing, the artworks span media, themes, and approaches in ways that will offer entry points for appreciation.
Asked what it means to them to be highlighted at AS220, Lyric Johnson says, “AS220’s mission and values parallel my goals for my practice as an artist, which is to make my work, and art in general, accessible to all, regardless of background, socioeconomic status, and identity. I feel extremely lucky to be able to have my first solo show with an organization whose foundation centers strengthening communities through free expression. As a multidisciplinary artist whose academic background is in science, AS220 was one of the first organizations that showed faith in my vision and gave me a chance to pursue art seriously through creating work for this show. I am proud to pour back into a community that has given me so much life and freedom by supporting my artistic voice!”
A large-scale sculpture will be a highlight of Lyric Marie Johnson’s AS220 exhibition, the artist’s first solo. Photo courtesy of the artist.
AS220’s September exhibitions will be on view September 5 - 26, 2026. Opening receptions will take place Saturday, September 5 from 5-7pm. Gallery hours are Thursday and Friday from 1-6pm and Saturday from 12-5pm.
To learn more about Lyric Marie Johnson, visit their website www.lyricmariejohnson.xyz or follow them on Instagram at @lyricdoeseverything. Learn more about Alex Gonzalez at alexgonzalez1.weebly.com or on Instagram @alx.scapes. Learn more about Sam Glevick at their website www.samanthaglevick.com or on Instagram at @sglevick.
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