artists & allies v

About

signs and symbols is delighted to present artists & allies, the fifth edition of our annual summer program dedicated to time-based media. Held both online and in person this year, the exhibition features video works and new live performances. The virtual component of the exhibition will be on view on our website through September, with performances hosted at the gallery on select dates in August. During the opening reception on Thursday, August 4 at 7pm, a live performance by gallery artist Tony Orrico with collaborator David Hurlin will inaugurate artists & allies V, in addition to marking Orrico's first performance in New York since 2019.

A tradition since the gallery's very first year, artists & allies brings together new, historic and even in-progress works by gallery artists alongside "ally" artists. It is a celebration of experimentation, a commitment to collaboration and an ever-evolving exchange between mediums, subjects, generations and individuals. As we enter the fifth year of this program, artists & allies is also a testament to the joy and power of community — we consider ourselves incredibly lucky to continue to be surrounded by family and friends in the forms of artists.  

Guided by signs and symbols' artist-centric ethos, artists & allies  is shaped by the artists, rather than a singular theme or point of view — we follow where they lead us. And so we turn a mirror towards ourselves — our ingrained biases, our hopes and dreams, our fears, our memories, our creative practices. A journey unfolds from buildings in Berlin to the Chilean desert to virtual realities. From our children to our mothers to our grandmother (from the beyond). An artist sits perilously high atop a tower. Another artist smokes a cigarette. Women spin without end. An artificial intelligence tells a story. A digital assistant rebels. The moon, indifferent, cycles above us. What side are we on? What do we desire? We ponder the malleability of words, the inadequacy of language, the demands of social norms in the art world. Release is found through creation and destruction, through dance, through movement and sound.  

Enjoy! xx
 

participating artists include:
pola sieverding | ornella fieres | annabel daou | carol szymanski | mischa leinkauf | michelle handelman | discoteca flaming star | alex mcquilkin | adam broomberg | tony orrico |  jamie diamond | itziar barrio | barbara gundlach | laura parnes | sarah anderson | jaša | alison nguyen | melinda jean myers | laila franklin | kate vincek | david hurlin | shelley marlow