signs and symbols: artists & allies iv

About

signs and symbols is delighted to present artists & allies, the fourth edition of our annual summer program — a dynamic exhibition of time-based media — featuring video works, video documentation of performances and live streamed-performances.

Conceived as an experimental glimpse into our program and upcoming season, our annual summer exhibition celebrates the spirit of collaboration and experimentation, and the importance of community — #signsandsymbolscollective. The exhibition is comprised of a selection of works by artists of the gallery, along with “ally” artists who collaborate with our artists or inspire us and contribute to our mission and discourse. Online for the second year, this year's iteration consists of works that best lend themselves to virtual viewing. The selection of works are both new and old — new works along with timely historic works and projects we find ourselves revisiting anew.

After a year of isolation, we can finally touch again. We crave sensuality — hands caressing, mouths softly sucking on toes, strangers dating, fingers extracting pearls. A woman laments the criminalization of sex work. A mother makes sense of her experiences. We crave freedom and release, too — smashing through walls, through music, through tennis with witches. Caught between the throes of the pandemic and a promised recovery of normality, between nihilism and desire, we drift in liminal spaces. A new reality is sculpted. We are haunted by the memory of the insurgence, by incalculable loss, by our own ambitions, by past lives. In our search for connections and answers, we walk on the beach at night, exchange messages with friends across the world and wander through an empty home in Korea in search of roots. We relearn who we are. We thank those who came before us. But as we emerge, what lies ahead? Impressions of digital and analog technologies, artificial intelligence, the trustworthiness of images, a 3D printing of a fist — the future remains uncertain. Or, as Batman delivers in a message: "The future is shit." Only time will tell.

Devised with the intent for dialogue and exchange, artists & allies is not a singular position, but presents a diverse assemblage of style and substance from artists with unique sensibilities, and doubles as a snapshot and overview of our program and entry point to many of its strongest voices. Enjoy! xx
 

participating artists include:

annabel daou | rachel libeskind | tony orrico | ornella fieres | pola sieverding
jen denike | joan jonas | michelle handelman | carol szymanski | jaša | jamie diamond
sharon louden | brian clyne | the bad reviews | rania jaber | philip rabalais | david hurlin
adam broomberg | katy schimert | inner course | fawn rogers | ann weathersby | jill casid
barbara gundlach | steven steve paul | shelley marlow | melinda jean myers | eileen cowin
itziar barrio | jeewi lee | aja jacques | segolene hutter | isaac schaal | hrag vartanian
 

performance and happening dates:

Sunday, August 8 | Tony Orrico, David Hurlin & Philip Rabalais | performance documentation | 6pm | released online signsandsymbols.art

Sunday, August 29 | Shelley Marlow | performance | 2pm | Instagram Live @signssymbols