A recent Parsons School of Design alumna debuted her first post-graduate exhibit in a Manhattan gallery space last week.

The exhibition, titled “The Fly Walks,” features photographs by visual artist and Parsons 2021 graduate Andrea Mato, and was curated by her former classmate, Eliot Engelmaier, who graduated from Parsons the same year. The show opened at Space240, located at 240 E. 29th St., with an opening night celebration from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m on March 31.

Originally scheduled to open on March 2, the exhibition was postponed when a person involved in the showcase came down with COVID-like symptoms.

Nearly 30 days later, the work of Mato, who has a Bachelor of Fine Arts in photography, is finally on display in the gallery. Her work showcases interpretations of the urban landscape through the abstraction of visual forms and explores the themes of displacement and alienation. 

Mato said she started the project while she was a student at Parsons. She would walk throughout the city to shoot photos for her class assignments and soon found the practice of walking a creative outlet. 

No matter where she is in the world, this new way of seeing has stuck with her — as showcased in “The Fly Walks.” For this body of work, Mato said she walked around for hours looking for a connection with her surroundings.

“In a way, I unconsciously started taking photographs that were like close-ups or reflections,” Mato said. “I was creating these abstractions that created this connection with this space that I had no connection with at all.” 

For “The Fly Walks,” Mato walked throughout Brooklyn, choosing a new place on the map each time and exploring the micro-geographies in the area. Born in Venezuela, Mato said she’s always felt alienated by Brooklyn; the exhibition provided the chance to seek a connection with the space.

The show’s title, “The Fly Walks,” was inspired by a comment made by a Parsons classmate during a critique, the artist said. The classmate said her work looked like it was from the perspective of a fly walking because of the detail and walking elements in her practice. 

“They were comparing me with a fly, just someone that looks at things closely, [and looks at] very mundane, everyday things,” Mato said. “So I thought it was a perfect title because it brings everything together.” 

Space240 was founded by Olivia Bransbourg with the goal of expanding and exhibiting more artists’ creations. The building is a hybrid commercial space that is a gallery and Bransbourg’s own studio. 

The exhibit also features intricately designed perfume bottles from Attache Moi, a perfume company founded by Bransbourg, creating a multi-sensory experience in the space. 

“Each perfume is crafted in France and serves as canvases for all artists, such as photographers, writers, filmmakers, sculptors, and composers to express their emotions born from these fragrances,” the Attache Moi website states. 

The fragrances featured in the exhibition are Attache Moi Ici Et La, It Was A Time That Was A Time, Attache Moi 55 and Attache Moi, which are made of Mandarin, Jasmin, Bergamot, Ambergris and various other scents. 

Bransbourg had previously tapped Mato to photograph the Attache Moi perfume bottles a couple of years ago and the two remained in contact, Mato said. As time passed, Bransbourg had exhibitions at her space, and reached out to Mato about another possible partnership through showcasing her personal photographs. 

“Honestly, I was just really excited,” Mato said. “I was like, yes, of course. Let’s do it. And then, from there, I reached out to Eliot [Engelmaier].” 

Engelmaier and Mato, friends from college, said that this relationship wouldn’t have been possible without school. Their friendship was apparent as they finished one another’s sentences.

“Eliot, you can complete my thoughts,” Mato said.

Engelmaier, a visual artist, typically creates work exploring ideas such as connections with self, the human connection and identity, primarily through lens-based mediums. Over the summer, they completed a curatorial internship at MoMA PS1, a non-profit arts center in Queens, and have worked to produce zines and exhibitions for Photo Feast, a photography club at The New School. Engelmaier considers their personal work to have a curatorial style, so “The Fly Walks” was something they were very interested in curating, they said.

As both friends and colleagues, Engelmaier and Mato bounce ideas off of one another while curating the images for the show.

“We got to focus more on conceptual ties and the feeling we wanted the work to create,” Engelamier said. “The main goal with the show was trying to create the most atmospheric space with these words that were coming from a culmination of different projects — and trying to think about how we could enhance existing works.”

Engelmaier and Mato met several times beginning in November to brainstorm and discuss concepts and themes that connect the work that Mato had in mind to present. Mato took the images for a Parsons class before the exhibition; the curation process was very important for the team to bring the sense of visual imagery together. 

Engelmaier described the images as surreal, freeing, grounded, ordinary and mundane. These were ideas that have been present in their conversations as they curated the show. 

The Attache Moi perfumes are also on display in the show, so Engelmaier and Mato worked to choose the proper selection of images that would cohesively go alongside the scents of the perfume. Mato said she felt the images connected well with the perfumes as they zoom into a space and share specific details about it. 

Through the selection process, Mato and Engelmaier decided on seven film photographs, which Mato printed on 24 by 30 inch photo rag paper.

“I have liked seeing these photographs for a long time now; I think they have just become part of my subconscious way of thinking,” Mato said. 

Engelmaier and Mato said they chose the final selections of photographs based on the general feelings of the images, the space and the Attache Moi fragrances.  

In Mato’s photographs, there is an element of abstraction. Through her unique perspectives, she hopes viewers are intrigued by focusing their attention on these specific details. Her goal isn’t to portray a specific message through her work, but for viewers to form their own interpretations. 

She said she is excited for guests to take in her work and experience an unfamiliar world she has created with her pieces. 

“The Fly Walks” is Mato’s first exhibit outside of the several shows she was part of at Parsons. 

“It is so incredible, Olivia [Bransbourg] has given me this opportunity, [even though] I just recently graduated,” she said. “I think it’s also amazing to have Eliot [Engelmaier] helping me throughout this process. It’s definitely nerve-wracking. Hopefully, it brings other things in the future.”

To read more about the show, visit the exhibition page on Space240. After opening night, guests can email contact@space240.com or call +1 646 696 4599 to book an appointment to view the show, which will be on display through May 31.