Orbits

About

Each exhibition of Orbits draws together the works of four artists from our respective cities to examine their interconnected legacies and the conversations that unfold in placing their work in dialogue with one another. The multigenerational artists included in Orbits were nominated by current TSA members to highlight the work of those that have contributed to their arts communities not only through their own works but also through their support of other artists.

While each TSA location will mount a distinct exhibition, they all share a common goal of bringing these 16 artists to new audiences and placing their work in a different context/conversation. Orbits is a microcosm of what we have been doing as an organization for the past ten years – providing an alternative space for artists to show together, meet, and build relationships.

At TSA’s New York space we will be showcasing the psychologically charged sculptures of Carol Bruns, a New York artist exploring the power of the archetype. Leroy Johnson’s collaged and twisting inner city landscapes reflecting his native Philadelphia and celebrating makeshift utility. Chicago artist Coco Picard’s intimate graphic novel portrait of the Atomic Bomb, and Christian Tedeschi’s poetic deconstructed and reinterpreted everyday objects.

Since starting in Philadelphia in 2009, we have grown into a nationwide non-profit network of artist-run spaces with additional locations in New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. We have shown the work of almost 1000 artists in about 250 exhibitions and projects, and we continue to provide an alternative platform for artists to exhibit and talk about their work. Highlights include: Sabina Ott: All Flowers Tell Me (Chicago, 2018), the first time work from Ott’s Sub Rosa series was exhibited in Chicago; Nor Heat Nor Gloom of Night (Los Angeles, 2018), whose display was influenced by the urban planner Otto Wagner on the 100th anniversary of his death; Didier William: We Will Win (New York, 2017), his first solo exhibition in New York; Drawing for Sculpture (New York, 2016), a survey of drawings by forty-one female sculptors; Force Fields (Philadelphia, 2012), a group show examining the legacy of filmmaker Ross McElwee; and the critically acclaimed Artist-Run at Satellite Art Show (Miami, 2015), a project that invited 37 artist-run spaces from around the world to each transform a room in an abandoned hotel into an immersive art installation.