About signs & symbols
New art space to open on the LES on April 29, 2018
signs & symbols is pleased to announce the opening of its first permanent space after operating nomadically for two years. Located at 102 Forsyth Street on New York's Lower East Side, signs & symbols will open its inaugural exhibition to the public on April 29, 2018, from 6-8pm, and thereafter will hold regular hours Wednesday - Sunday, 11am - 6pm.
signs & symbols defines itself as a curator's studio and a non-gallery gallery. The space serves as a curatorial platform and multi-disciplinary incubator bringing together diverse mediums to stimulate dialogue and creative connections. Its curatorial vision is informed and anchored by the work of three important figures -- Ulay, VALIE EXPORT and Vito Acconci -- and thus encompasses performance, photography and architecture, with a focus on site-specific and performative practices, with an emphasis on the body in performance, painting and other time-based media. To complement the exhibition program, signs & symbols will present a performance series, conceptual installations, work in progress-positions, lectures, workshops and artist talks. signs & symbols invites artists for one-off projects to make the space their own. Performance projects will be accompanied by an edition in collaboration with the exhibiting artist.
signs & symbols’ ethos is artist-centric offering a place for experimentation and the development of work. To promote artists' interests, signs & symbols will offer negotiated resale royalty agreements for sales and work closely with exhibiting artists without requiring exclusive representation. We aim to create a cross-cultural dialogue presenting the work of international and local artists, and collaborating with international galleries and project spaces to create an artist exchange program.
Amidst the shifting models of contemporary exhibition practices, signs & symbols aspires to become a platform for re-thinking and re-adjusting. Open, undetermined and evolving, the very structure of signs & symbols evinces its performative nature; it is a space in a constant state of becoming and transforming.
signs & symbols’ inaugural project on April 29th will feature a solo exhibition by English artist Rachel Garrard, where her performative painting practice will give life to 102 Forsyth Street through her canvases. Other artists in its first year program will include Derrick Adams, Carmen Winant, Sarah Entwistle, Tony Orrico, Ornella Fieres, Wermke Leinkauf, Sharon Louden in collaboration with Hrag Vartanian, Rachel Libeskind, Sarah Meyohas, Drew Conrad, JAŠA, Jen DeNike among others.
signs & symbols is co-founded by Mitra Khorasheh and Elise Herget, who wish to combine their passions and individual backgrounds and expertise in this exciting new venture. The space will be curated and programmed by Khorasheh, an independent curator and educator, and co-directed and run with Herget who comes from an extensive development and non-profit background. Herget is currently the Director of Individual Giving and Special Events at The Watermill Center.
For more information, please visit www.signsandsymbols.art | or via instagram @signssymbols