Curated by Ellen Hackl Fagan

Ghost Town, curated by Ellen Hackl Fagan of ODETTA Gallery, is a meditation on abandoned, vacant, or deserted places and objects that often evoke profound feelings of desolation, melancholy, or nostalgia. Part homage to these overlooked remnants of the past and part cautionary tale about transience and neglect, the artworks in this exhibition invite viewers to reflect on familiar signs, storefronts, and locations that many of us encounter during our travels  and in everyday life. The messages conveyed through these pieces expand the endless scroll of possible narratives hidden within the seemingly mundane, transforming the ordinary into a rich tapestry of personal and collective memory.

“The attraction I personally have to these works is about a deep wistfulness for the remnants of the ghosts of the past—captured in the cruddy, faded colors, peeling paint, and shattered glass. I have a long-standing fascination with the Moderne Design of the 1930s through the 1960s, evident in both the architecture and the bold lettering on these old storefronts and signs, which once signaled velocity, ambition, and effortless style.

What’s left behind is both sad and undeniably beautiful. Jonathan Richman of The Modern Lovers song about  a cruddy little chewing gum wrapper perfectly sums it up for me:

‘I love the faded colors like would end up at the dump,

My heart goes bumpety, bumpety, bumpety bump.’

There is a frailty implied in this type of work, often tinged with a dry, understated sense of humor.”

—Ellen Hackl Fagan

To enrich and deepen the thematic exploration of this open call, Fagan has thoughtfully invited two distinguished guest artists—Patrick Sansone and Richard Klein—whose works serve as poignant anchors for the exhibition. The emptiness and decay found in iconic roadside signs, forlorn window displays, and forgotten commercial facades are meticulously gathered and faithfully recorded in their photographs, drawn from extensive road trips and ongoing personal research. Sansone and Klein each approach these left-behind artifacts with a sensitive eye, transforming the poetics of abandonment into compelling visual narratives. Through the precision of photography and the tactile intimacy of assemblage, they navigate their own complex emotions surrounding loss, memory, and the passage of time—emotions that resonate with wistfulness, quiet reverence, and occasional wry amusement. Their contributions not only highlight the aesthetic beauty inherent in deterioration but also invite participating artists and viewers alike to consider the layered stories embedded in these spectral remnants of American vernacular culture. By featuring these invited artists prominently, the exhibition creates a dialogue between their established visions and the fresh interpretations submitted through the open call, fostering a more nuanced and expansive meditation on the theme of Ghost Town.

About the curator:

Ellen Hackl Fagan has been featured in over 30 solo, and numerous group, invitational, and juried exhibitions in the greater New York metropolitan area and Northeast. Fagan has works included in permanent public and private collections throughout the United States and Europe. Her work has recently been the full color feature in print in Post Road Vol. #37 Winter issue 2021. She has been the subject of multiple interviews both on the air and online including WBYX’s radio program out of Yale University, and the New York Public Library’s Artist Interview series. Known widely for her generosity in offering artists opportunities, Fagan is also a fluent and experienced curator; as creator and director of ODETTA, www.odettagallery.com, she has curated and produced over 100 exhibitions showcasing well over 250 artists. Fagan maintains her studio and curatorial practice in New York City, Connecticut, and Indianapolis, Indiana.

About LIC-A (Long Island City Artists) LIC Artists, Inc. is a non-profit arts advocacy organization founded by artists and incorporated in 1986 in Long Island City. 

LIC-A's Gallery space is generously donated by the Factory LIC. Its members are professional artists from Long Island City as well as elsewhere in Queens. LIC-A's programs are enabled largely through the volunteer work of member artists and supported by grants and donations. 

LIC-A is committed to broadening its community of artists, and expanding the audience for art produced in Queens through exhibitions, classes, and special projects and events.