THROUGH A GLASS, DARKLY NETWORK/SYSTEMS

DuPont I Gallery

Curated by Kristin Deady, Jenna Lucente, and Alexander Rosenberg

September 9 - December 31, 2022

OPENING EVENT: September 9, 2022 | 5 - 9 PM

This gallery includes work where glass is featured as a means to create, connect, consume, and store complex systems of data. Glass has played a critical role in making the world more interconnected by transmitting light across the planet almost instantly. Sharing knowledge across great distances has become fast, cheap, and accessible, but disinformation is spread just as easily and plentifully.

Dan Mirer’s large single channel projection evokes a microscopic cellular event, tirelessly pumping away in regular tempo and vivid contrast. One could easily be witnessing the inner workings of a microscopic biological computer, or another familiar but unknown material, shown at its original scale.

Several works in the space include neon, which at times, references an old-fashioned notion of futuristic technology. Sarah Blood’s work mixes the material with iridescent magnetic tape from video cassettes, instantly recognizable by anyone old enough to have used them, but also reminiscent of glitzy throwaway party decorations, or leftover tinsel from a Christmas tree.

In the same space, the visual network of Jessica Jane Julius’ Irradiated Circuitry disrupts and augments all the work in its proximity. This interconnected field appears to be simultaneously neural and technological. The centrally hung cloud-like structure provokes an anxious vibration in viewers, changing the way they experience the rest of the space. The effect is like an analog version of the anxiety caused by constant exposure to media through compulsively monitored personal devices.

Participating Artists: Sarah Blood, Matthew Jacob, Jessica Julius, Dan Mirer, Justin Spillers, and Zac Weinberg

DuPont I Gallery

For our Fall/Winter 2022 Season, The Delaware Contemporary presents Through a Glass, Darkly, in all of our main galleries occupying more than 6,000 square feet. Curated by three guest curators, Kristin Deady, Jenna Lucente, and Alexander Rosenberg, this museum-wide exhibition includes new and recent works by artists working with glass and glass-related materials and processes, exposing the material’s dual nature. Selected works engage the historical promise and power of the material to reveal and to bring clarity, while challenging viewers to acknowledge an inherent interconnectedness between enhancement and distortion. 

VIRTUAL GALLERY TOUR

Photo Credits: Dan Jackson