Artist P. Staff has opened their first solo exhibition in New York, titled "Possessive," at the David Zwirner gallery. The show, which runs until October 25, 2025, transforms the gallery's three-story Upper East Side townhouse into an immersive environment centered on themes of the human body and perception.
The exhibition's main work is a large-scale video installation, complemented by a series of sculptures and atmospheric modifications to the gallery space itself. This marks Staff's debut show with David Zwirner and their first solo presentation with any New York gallery.
Key Takeaways
- P. Staff's exhibition "Possessive" is their first solo show in New York, hosted at the David Zwirner gallery.
- The centerpiece is a new 20-minute video, "Penetration," installed across all three floors of the gallery.
- The exhibition uses sound, light, and sculpture to create an immersive experience that simulates being inside a living body.
- The show explores complex themes including bodily awareness, surveillance, and identity, without offering direct political statements.
Transforming the Gallery Space
The "Possessive" exhibition is designed to alter the visitor's sensory experience of the gallery. The windows of the townhouse have been covered with a yellow film, casting a jaundiced light throughout the interior. This visual element is paired with an auditory component to create a comprehensive environment.
On the ground floor, a speaker broadcasts the sound of a beating heart, which permeates the entire building. According to descriptions of the show, this combination of sound and light is intended to make the architectural space feel like a living, breathing organism. The goal is to shift the focus from passively viewing art to being acutely aware of one's own physical presence within the installation.
From Biennial to Major Solo Show
P. Staff, who is based in London and Los Angeles, gained significant attention for their contribution to the 2024 Whitney Biennial. That installation, which first appeared at the Kunsthalle Basel in 2023, featured an electrified net suspended above viewers. The piece generated discussion for its suggestions of both a nervous system and a sense of danger. The current exhibition at David Zwirner builds on Staff's practice of creating physically and psychologically engaging environments.
The Centerpiece Video 'Penetration'
The core of the exhibition is a new video work titled Penetration (2025). The 20-minute video is uniquely installed, with different segments projected across the three separate floors of the gallery. This fragmented presentation makes it impossible for a visitor to view the subject's body in its entirety from any single vantage point.
The video depicts a person standing still while a green laser beam is directed at their bare abdomen. The camera focuses closely on the torso, with one floor offering a towering view of a tattooed stomach. The subject's reaction to the laser is minimal; at one point, they light and smoke a cigarette, appearing disaffected by the examination-like procedure.
Technical and Visual Details
The video installation is not just about its subject matter but also its visual treatment. Throughout its runtime, "Penetration" incorporates intense flashes of deep blue, bold red, and bright white light. These strobing colors periodically flood the gallery rooms, bathing the space and the other artworks in vibrant hues and further immersing the viewer in the experience.
Themes of Surveillance and the Body
While P. Staff's work avoids explicit political messaging, it engages with complex contemporary themes. The act of a laser scanning a body in "Penetration" can be interpreted in several ways. It could suggest a medical examination, a form of surveillance, or a scientific study.
The artist has previously described their work as embodying a form of "trans poetics" and has explored topics related to governmental control over bodies, such as historical sterilization laws in the United States. This context adds layers of potential meaning to the video, particularly regarding the policing and categorization of human bodies.
"Staff intentionally offers no tidy answers, leaving their subject in a state of uncertainty that befits our current moment," notes one analysis of the artist's approach, highlighting the deliberate ambiguity in their work.
Ambiguous Sculptures and 'Distrain'
In addition to the central video piece, "Possessive" includes a series of sculptures arranged throughout the townhouse. These works are constructed from wood spikes concealed beneath draped latex sheets. Each piece is titled with a variation of the word "distrain," a legal term referring to the seizure of property to satisfy a debt.
The physical forms of the sculptures are left open to interpretation. Their shapes evoke a range of associations, including:
- Furniture partially wrapped for moving or storage.
- Human-like figures cocooned in restrictive material.
- Alien or non-human beings emerging from a shell.
The connection between the sculptures' forms and their titles is not made explicit. This ambiguity encourages viewers to consider themes of containment, pressure, and value without a prescribed narrative. The pieces contribute to the overall unsettling atmosphere of the exhibition, which focuses on the visceral and often uncomfortable experience of embodiment.
The exhibition as a whole challenges the conventional gallery experience, where visitors often feel detached from their physical selves. By turning the space into a corporeal environment, P. Staff directs attention inward, prompting reflection on what it means to inhabit a body in a world of observation and control. The show concludes its run on October 25, 2025.