May 4, 2020—May 22, 2020
Tomoko Abe, Susan Bee, Liz Biddle, Daria Dorosh, Rachelle Dang, Yvette Drury Dubinsky, H. A. Halpert, Maxine Henryson, Sareh Imani, Cynthia Karasek, Bonam Kim, Rosina Lardieri, Victoria Manganiello, Carolyn Martin, Aphrodite Navab, Sylvia Netzer, Ann Pachner, Ada Potter, Ann Schaumburger, Negin Sharifzadeh, Joan Snitzer, Susan Stainman, Erica Stoller, Nancy Storrow, Jane Swavely, Aliza Shvarts, and Crys Yin
Commissioning new work from twenty-seven artists—members of the New York A.I.R. collective and participants in the 2019-2020 Fellowship program—SYMPOIESIS prompts a collective reflection on the novel conditions of living and making in the time of COVID-19. Between May 4 and May 22, 2020, A.I.R. released three new works every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday via our website and social media platforms. Later in Summer 2020, we will be releasing educational exercises that will activate and enrich the concepts and processes behind these artists’ works.
When A.I.R. Gallery closed in early March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our online programming turned towards the theme of “intimacy without proximity,” a phrase drawn from Donna Haraway’s 2016 book Staying with the Trouble. The lessons of this text have recontextualized our understanding of being together, of tenacity, and of living beyond survival. As the artists of the A.I.R. collective undertake the challenge of shared practice in a time of social distance, they have turned the page to the third chapter of Haraway’s Trouble to consider “sympoiesis”—the ongoing, mutual, and relational activity of creation.
Rather than representing a cohesive artistic style or genre, A.I.R. has been defined by collectivization and co-ownership, a model resulting in a multiplicity of voices. The artists in this exhibition likewise embody a diverse array of narratives and practices, based in media ranging from photography, painting, and sculpture to performance, video, and time-based formats. This distinctly feminist form of working and living has been the basis for A.I.R. as a community invested in supporting others in the arts and beyond. Through a feminist politics the gallery operates as a platform for expression and exchange in ways that allow for healing, perseverance, and growth.
Highlighting the uniquely collaborative mission of A.I.R. as an organization, the exhibition’s format prompts each artist to respond to the pandemic as part of a dialogue with others, posing the possibility of a collectivized model for response-ability, responsivity, and future-building in a time of uncertainty and crisis.
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