Art Stands Still
May 31 – July 13, 2019
Collar Works, Troy, New York
Curated by Natalie Fleming and Van Tran Nguyen
By its very definition, progress is forward movement. We are told that in order to be successful, we must continue striving for more. When you achieve one goal, another looms in sight, just up ahead. In art, we praise the avant-garde as the embodiment of progress, moving our society into the future through the force of artistic originality. Artists designated as avant-garde are cast as selfless, sacrificing their connection to others through their denial of any previous influences or collaborators.
We are happy to announce that this is not an exhibition of the so-called avant-garde. The artists in this exhibition have been brought together to interrogate our faith in progress and its devotees. Why do we favor independence over companionship and connection? Why is the future considered more valuable than the past or present? Who benefits from our acceptance of progress as natural? Rather than move forward, the artists in this exhibition create works that stand still, lie down, turn face, and move in the opposite direction.
The exhibition begins with the work of Paul Vanouse, who highlights the anonymity of labor, as Silvia Ruzanka and Antonella Piemontese display humanoid creations that obscure their identities and express their preference not to be seen. J Houston, Kurt Treeby, Emily Vey Duke and Cooper Battersby have decided not to let go of the past, creating works that obsess over the details of past events through documentation and narration. Janice Howard, Rina AC Dweck, Tae Kyung Seo, and the Environmental Performance Agency spend their energy taking apart what is already here, unraveling, pulling, and smashing their own objects, bodies, and environments. Regina José Galindo, Jaimes Mayhew, and Mike Yood show us that stillness and abstention can be powerful tools for creation: stimulating new feelings and conversation by connecting people and their environments in unusual ways. Finally, Abe Abraham and Brandon Giessmann’s works strive to create communities in the present, revealing the power of interacting bodies working in concert now rather than moving towards individual attainment.
Art Stands Still is a space for a community of alternatives to spatial, temporal, and social progress. Just for a moment, let’s not go anywhere, together.
This exhibition was supported in part by the RPI HASS Production Grant.
