Grip Strength: An Army of Lovers Shall Not Fail

2025-2026

Grip Strength: An Army of Lovers Shall Not Fail is an interactive series of soft sculptures reveling in queer strength, rage, and resilience. The sculptures play with the urgency to exhibit power by asking visitors to reenact international measurements of strength performed by the world’s strongest athletes. Grip Strength is driven by hands as a symbol of desire and connection. By donning a jersey and lifting soft sculptures, the audience has the opportunity to join the army of lovers, embrace playful touch, and test their grip strength.

The title of the exhibition is inspired the last line of Sappho’s Reply by Rita Mae Brown, from her book of poetry The Hand That Cradles the Rock (1971). An army of lovers reminds us of the power of collective strength. Excerpts from QUEERS READ THIS, published anonymously by queers, a distributed leafier at New York City Pride, June 1990, are woven throughout the exhibition, showcasing how queer rage has had the same demands for decades. Grip Strength: An Army of Lovers Shall Not Fail celebrates queer folks turning to strength as a way to form community and hang onto power.