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Wh o se

@whose-pgh.bsky.social

press release for The Wood Shrinks from the Kisses. on view Saturday, January 3rd and by appointment for the following week.

text on white bg:

“‘Oh Earth, either yawn to swallow me, or by changing it, destroy that form, by which I have pleased too much, and which causes me to be injured.’ Hardly had she ended her prayer, when a heavy torpor seizes her limbs; and her soft breasts are covered with a thin bark. Her hair grows into green leaves, her arms into branches; her feet, the moment before so swift, adhere by sluggish roots; a leafy canopy overspreads her features; her elegance alone remains in her. This, too, Phœbus admires, and placing his right hand upon the stock, he perceives that the breast still throbs beneath the new bark; and then, embracing the branches as though limbs in his arms, he gives kisses to the wood, and yet the wood shrinks from his kisses.”

-The Metamorphoses of Ovid, translated by Henry Thomas Riley

Max Husten was born in 1999 in New York, NY. He graduated from Rhode Island School of Design in 2021 with a BFA in Painting. In 2022, Husten was included in the group show Shit in a Bucket at Cigar Factory Long Island City (New York, NY). In 2024, Husten moved to Philadelphia, PA, where he currently resides. The Wood Shrinks from the Kisses is Husten’s first solo exhibition.

Several of the watercolors included in the vitrine were painted during Husten’s initial forays into plein air painting, a practice that followed his departure from RISD and began in the midst of America’s lax COVID-19 lockdowns. These plein air sessions ignited a broader fascination with the contours of trees, and especially with their knots. A majority of the paintings included in The Wood Shrinks from the Kisses are based on trees Husten encountered in life. These works were often sketched on location and later completed in his home studio. It should be noted that the sketches arrived in his studio at various states of completion.

Whose is a curatorial project based in Pittsburgh, PA. Forthcoming documentation of The Wood Shrinks from the Kisses will be photographed by Thomas Callahan.

December 26, 2025 at 5:35 PM

Wh o se

@whose-pgh.bsky.social

Notesapp wall of text: read as follows.

This summer, my friend invited me to curate some shows is her house. I'm proud of the shows we put on and am thankful to her for her trust and cooperation.

It has now become more practical for me to stage shows away from this space. After some discussiom, we agreed that Whathouse is the name of her house venue, and any offsite projects should be considered a separate entity.

Whose is a curatorial project based in Pittsburgh, PA.

For updates on future happenings at Whathouse, follow @everdark_pgh.

- Patrick Totally

December 20, 2025 at 3:52 PM

Wh o se

@whose-pgh.bsky.social

"The Wood Shrinks from the Kisses" is the first solo exhibition of paintings by Philadelphia-based artist Max Husten.

"The Wood Shrinks from the Kisses" will be open to the public Saturday, Jaunary 3rd, and will be viewable by appointment for the proceeding week.

flyer for a show of paintings by max husten. the image is a painting from the show, a tree dense with knots in a park setting.

the text on the flyer is as follows:
The Wood Shrinks from the Kisses,
paintings by Max Husten

Saturday, January 3rd

at Whathouse’s new location in South Side Flats
2004 East Carson Street, Pittsburgh, PA
available to view by appointment until January 10th
@whathouse_pgh

December 16, 2025 at 3:01 PM

Wh o se

@whose-pgh.bsky.social

(3/3)

little reading area, several artist books and zines

detail from the large mixed media painting

December 15, 2025 at 6:56 PM

Wh o se

@whose-pgh.bsky.social

(2/3)

December 15, 2025 at 6:53 PM

Wh o se

@whose-pgh.bsky.social

Thomas Boettner, "Herrenlos Ohio Exotica redux"

(1/3)

documentation by Thomas Callahan

documentation of "Thomas Boettner, "Herrenlos Ohio Exotica redux". Two yellow paper cutout portraits of the same person in a pup mask, with inverted values in each piece.

Six framed reproductions of newsprints with a reflective backing.

December 15, 2025 at 6:48 PM

Wh o se

@whose-pgh.bsky.social

November 22, 2025 at 9:44 PM

Wh o se

@whose-pgh.bsky.social

Herrenlos Ohio Exotica redux opens tomorrow at 5pm, with musical performances following at 6pm. $15. cash preferred.

@straightpanic.bsky.social @raptv.bsky.social @charlevoix.bsky.social @seraphim777s.bsky.social @lepidoptero.id

show flyer for the opening of Herrenlos Ohio Exotica redux by T Boettner. here is the info:

opening Saturday, November 22nd
5pm-9pm
adults only

with loud music performances by Crushing Union, Brennen Rigley, uncertain, and Ephor Lepidopteroid
$15
cash preferred

177 43rd st., Pittsburgh, PA.

November 21, 2025 at 8:14 PM

Wh o se

@whose-pgh.bsky.social

November 20, 2025 at 9:46 PM

Wh o se

@whose-pgh.bsky.social

press Release for Herrenlos Ohio Exotica [redux].

Thomas Boettner @ Whathouse November 22nd - December 20th 2025

Text by Thomas Boettner and Patrick Totally

Thomas Boettner is an American musician, visual artist, and published author. He previously released music through the aliases Fire Island, AK and Straight Panic, and is currently releasing under the name secret historian. His work, while often dense and abstracted, aims to provide an argument for authentic, radical experience that eschews easy categorization or generalities. After time spent in South Carolina, Alaska, Minnesota, Louisiana, and Rhode Island, he can currently be found in Cleveland, Ohio with his dog and his pup pack.

Herrenlos Ohio Exotica was initially staged at The Hildebrant in Cleveland, Ohio. The most prominent difference between the first iteration of the show and the redux is the inclusion of Golgotha, an especially large mixed media painting which has been worked on for several years and has been displayed in several states of completion. Each of the tapestries in the show is an open-edition print of a smaller format collage.

Herrenlos Ohio Exotica redux is intended for mature audiences.

In addition to several of Boettner’s sketchbooks, viewers are free to peruse the copy of Collected Zines 2009-2020 in the gallery space. Visitors can purchase hard and softcover editions of Collected Zines 2009-2020 at the following url:
lulu.com/search?contributor=Thomas+Boettner

Also, editions of his tapestries may be purchased here:
straightpanic.threadless.com

The opening of Herrenlos Ohio Exotica redux coincides with a concert hosted in Whathouse’s basement space. This show features performances by secret historian, Crushing Union, She Walks Crooked, and Brennen Rigley.

Whathouse is cooperated by bosh sullen and Patrick Totally.

November 16, 2025 at 5:46 PM

Wh o se

@whose-pgh.bsky.social

Opening Saturday November 22nd at 5pm, "Herrenlos Ohio Exotica redux" is a survey of work by Cleveland-based pup and multiplidiscinary artist Thomas Boettner. Boettner has been an active member of the US noise and zine scenes for two decades. This will be his first show of visual art in Pittsburgh.