Join us Thursday, July 24th, from 6-9 pm to celebrate the opening night of Joy Rong Chen’s Recital —a multimedia art exhibition, hosted by ZDS Creative. Be of the first to browse the work, meet the artist, grab a drink and stick around for an opening night performance. Recital will be on view at 85 West Street in Greenpoint from July 24th - August 22nd, 2025.

Joy Rong Chen is a (struggling) actor who lives in New York City. Her paintings and stone carvings depict an alternate universe, Bobbietopia, and its inhabitants, fluffy baby clowns called The Bobbies.

Rectial reunites Bobbie paintings and stones created over the last three years, from first character study to panoramic painting.

The Bobbie specimen is a cross between the tragic fool, Pierrot, and the vigorous, red-blooded children of 20th century Chinese propaganda posters. Both Pierrot and the poster children contain Inherent Contradictions: the clown who brings joy is also the long-suffering loner; the vibrant depictions of a world coexist with its sinister reality structure.

The Bobbies are rendered always mid-spectacle. They are tangled in stage curtains, engaged in gladiatorial combat, hung limp like marionettes. Even at rest, the threat of spectators, though desolate yet, looms overhead. The Bobbies are, like denizens of the digital age, engaged in a perpetual performance of self to an empty audience.