Play ▶︎

Throughline is pleased to present “Play ▶︎”, featuring a new collaborative installation by member artists Venessa Monokian and JR Roykovich, opening Friday, June 26, 2026, with a reception from 6 to 9 pm, and on view in the gallery through Saturday, July 25, 2026.

Play is essential to the creative process. For their collaborative installation, artists Venessa Monokian and JR Roykovich (JRR) will create an incubator of experimental and evolving gestures that foster the idea of “play” as a necessary tool for idea generation and self-care. Throughout this endeavor, Monokian and JRR will allow Throughline’s gallery to shift and evolve, growing as ideas do, while also inviting and guiding visitors to contribute their own playful gestures; a series of “play dates” will nurture dialogue and observation within the community, reinforcing the use of collective playful artmaking as both a pedagogical tool and a mode of creative research. “Play ▶︎” centers artmaking as inquiry, care, and collective imagination.

Venessa Monokian is an artist whose work investigates ideas about her environment, extending beyond the tangible to explore the psychological elements of space. The viewer's physical interaction with her pieces is integral to the final experience, fostering a dynamic partnership between artist, art, and audience. Upcoming and recent projects include a solo exhibition at the Houston Center of Photography, and an artist book exhibition at Cornell University (2026).  In 2025, her work was part of CraftTexas 2025 at the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, and she did an Instagram takeover for the Magenta Foundation (Canada). Based in Houston, she holds an MFA from Florida International University and has exhibited internationally, including in Austin, New Orleans, Poland, and Argentina. 

JR Roykovich (JRR) is a conceptual and research-based artist who broadly investigates the physical and hypothetical spaces created by the intersections of Mystery, Technology, Queerness, and The Sublime. These explorations result in immersive mappings and installations that contain arrangements of found and made objects, drawings, and lens-based works. JRR holds an MFA from the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University and a BFA from George Mason University. Residencies attended include Lawndale Art Center’s Artist Studio Program, Lighthouse Works, the Galveston Artist Residency, the Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild, the Chautauqua Institution, and The Torpedo Factory in Alexandria, Virginia. JRR has shown across the United States and internationally, has work held in various public and private collections, and is a full-time faculty member at Texas A&M University. 

Scheduled Programs: 

• Opening (Press > PLAY ►): Friday, June 26th, 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm
  Launch of the exhibition as an active, in-progress installation, marking the beginning of a month-long durational work. 

• Event 1: Lens-based Play Date (Focused // PLAY ►) - Saturday, July 11th, 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm
  A space where focus softens, and process becomes image through collective looking and shared play.

• Event 2: Educators' play date: (All Work // No PLAY ►) - Saturday, July 18, 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm
  A conversation space exploring the tension between labor and creativity, where teaching, time, survival, and making intersect. 

• Closing: (Final // PLAY ►) - Saturday, July 25th, 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
  A culminating event where the fully realized installation is revealed. Developed through a month-long collaboration in the Throughline gallery space, the exhibition brings together conversations, constructions, exchanges, and collective contributions generated throughout the project.