Through recordings, miniatures, and theatrical structures, Supporting a Young Man at the Beginning of His Career explores what it means to be "supported," and who—artist, art, or audience—might take on that role. The show moves between two scales of theatre: one stripped to its bare essentials, the other rendered in careful miniature.

Scenes from Mochloulis's recent work—including a stand-up set at Amant, NY (November 5, 2025), a behind-the-scenes tour of Frog Man & Baby Frog at Artists Space, NY (October 17, 2025), and an opening-night performance (December 20, 2025)—are re-enacted in different formats. Voices are displaced or removed: sometimes only audience audio remains; sometimes overlapping recordings from different angles are played. To engage with these materials—including a joke involving a frog and a man, written and performed by the artist over the years—visitors are invited to step onto the stage and bow down to the prompter, submitting to the small, awkward rituals of seeking clarity in public. Miniatures and plush figures act as counterpoints: Michigan J. Frog plushies sit in small director's chairs; a shrunken version of Mochloulis faces a frog parent and child; a camera and monitor replay the joke from new angles. The humor is dark and skewed, marked by refusal, desire, and discomfort; the lines between performer, observer, and character blurred. Across all scales, the works resist straightforward interpretation, instead forming shifting traces of what an audience is—or what the artist imagines one to be. In both its address and reflection, Mochloulis, as the young man, attempts to meet himself, only to discover that elements of his own creation—his desires, impulses, and projections—disrupt the narratives he is trying to construct.

The pressures of being supported, the weight of social expectation, and the hope that art might resolve identity make this process at once connective and destabilizing. His intention—tested and challenged—lays out a map that allows for both forgiveness and recognition.

The exhibition was made possible through the generous support of the Carved to Flow Foundation.

Photograph of Aristotelis Nikolas Mochloulis (2025) by Maya Tounta, B&W film, silver gelatin print, scanned. Courtesy of the artist and Maya Tounta.