Press Release

Mrs. is pleased to present Fire Island Sun, Queens-based artist Chris Bogia’s third solo exhibition with the gallery. As its title suggests, the exhibition centers on Bogia’s longstanding relationship with Fire Island, exploring its landscape, architecture, and cultural history through a material language that brings together both familiar and newly developed techniques.

Fire Island has been central to Bogia’s practice for over fifteen years, notably through his role as co-founder of the Fire Island Artist Residency, the first LGBTQ+ residency of its kind. Fire Island Sun marks the first time the artist has brought the island to the forefront of his studio practice, translating years of socially engaged work into a deeply personal body of new sculptural objects.

Anchoring the exhibition is a six-foot mandala composed of yarn and lacquered wood. Rendered in vibrant oranges and pinks with green and blue accents, the work radiates outward, evoking both the physical presence of the sun and its symbolic resonance. This motif reappears in various forms throughout Bogia’s work, much like the sun on the horizon that remains constant to the viewer. The yellow orb reappears in a portrait of the Belvedere Guest House, an iconic architectural landmark and storied retreat for gay men since 1957. While literal, these forms also serve as a nod to the warmth of the community and the feeling of collective gathering.

One of Fire Island’s defining features is its absence of traditional roads, in favor of an intricate network of boardwalks, which Bogia has abstractly replicated in miniature throughout the exhibition. These Boardwalk Compositions meander across the walls, embellished with cast bronze push-pins, glassy monarch wings, flocked ceramic snakes, and brightly-colored plastic ticks; a material nod to Miuccia Prada. Constructed from reclaimed boardwalk planks sourced from Cherry Grove, the works carry layered material and cultural histories rooted in the country’s oldest most celebrated LGBTQ+ enclave.

As Bogia notes, “Fire Island is a place where I feel safest. This show is a love letter to a place that has inspired me.” That legacy continues to evolve, shaped by community and care. For Bogia, Fire Island is not only a site of refuge and creative exchange but one that requires ongoing stewardship. This exhibition is offered as part of that continuum.

Chris Bogia (b. 1977, Wilmington, Delaware) received an MFA from Yale University and his BFA from New York University. He was a recipient of the Jackson Pollock - Lee Krasner Foundation Grant; a Queens Council for the Arts, New Works Grant; a Rema Hort Mann Foundation Artist Community Engagement Grant, and the Tiffany Foundation Grant. He was also an artist in residence at the Queens Museum Studio Program from 2017 - 2018. Recent solo exhibitions include a public project with Art-in-Buildings, New York and two presentations at Mrs., Maspeth, NY, in 2019 and 2022. Group exhibitions include Hesse Flatow, The Public Art Fund and The New Museum, New York, BRIC, Brooklyn, NY; Primary, Miami, FL; Wasserman Projects, Detroit, MI; and Shulamit Nazarian, Los Angeles, CA. The artist has also participated in NADA Miami, 2018 and 2020 as well as the Felix Art Fair, 2023 with Mrs., Maspeth, NY. Bogia is the co-founder of Fire Island Artist Residency (FIAR), the world’s first LGBTQ artist residency and was FIAR’s acting director between 2011- 2020. He is currently an instructor of sculpture at New York University.  The artist has been represented by Mrs. since 2020.

Chris Bogia’s Fire Island Sun will be on view May 9 through June 27, 2026 at 60-40 56th Drive, Maspeth, Queens. An opening reception will be held on Saturday, May 9, from 4–7pm.

A sister iteration of the exhibition will be presented throughout July at the Carrington Cottage, located in the Carrington Tract (colloquially known as the Meatrack) between Fire Island Pines and Cherry Grove on Fire Island, NY, curated by Jesse Firestone. This project is supported by The Friends of Carrington, The National Park Service, and The Cherry Grove Archive Collection.

For press inquiries or more information, please contact hello@mrsgallery.com.