The gallery is pleased to present “Quantum States”, a group show inspired by ideas from the field of quantum physics.
Quantum theory seeks to describe systems at extremely small scales, such as at the sub-atomic level. These systems are complex to measure, since phenomena at these dimensions can exhibit a plurality of states, like characteristics of both particles and waves simultaneously. The act of measuring these types of systems tends to push them into one state or another. Without a defined observation, the system stays in a kind of flux. These are known as “quantum states”, and scientists must use probabilistic, rather than finite means to describe them. These theories also allow for “entanglement” where two separate entities can exhibit correlative behaviors, even across vast distances (known as non-locality). Though perhaps counterintuitive, this scientific methodology has yielded a more comprehensive understanding of the fabric of reality.
This show looks to quantum states as a curatorial approach, gathering together artists who make work that parallels probabilistic thinking, entangled states and non-locality; acknowledging a complexity of interpretations and uncertainty in making meaning.
Included in the show will be a series of “cosmic eggs” (also known as Brahmanda) painted by anonymous tantric artists from Rajasthan, India. These forms have been made traditionally as a means to dissolve or subsume the self into the cosmic whole, and thus expand spirit and matter into a unified consciousness. Though many have been made and used for meditation purposes, in recent years others have been painted with specifically market driven aims for a global audience. Because of their anonymous nature, it is often impossible to ascertain the “authenticity” or “original” purpose of these works, keeping them in a kind of cultural superposition or state of fluctuation.
Chloë Bass‘s work looks at complex entanglements that occur within social and physical relations. Here, a suite of photo prints on canvas entitled What is shared, what is offered depicts arrangements of spices on a dish, connoting phase states of relationships: solo, together, apart, plurality. Jars of these spices sit on an accompanying shelf, tying the visual into the sensations of scent, emotion, and memory.
Peggy Chiang’s miniature excises the mundane remnant of a soda can, filling it with a meticulously carved interior diorama featuring a tree and other natural forms. Illuminated with a small flashlight sitting on top, the work suggests ideas of non-locality and the interconnectedness of matter.
Jules Gimbrone’s A Wheeze Like a Slap is one of a new series of works entitled More Sound than Body. The work is a reflection upon their recent experience of the death of their father, during which they witnessed the moment of passing both visually and through sound. Gimbrone is interested in perceiving the metaphysical transitions of a body in a state of flux. Using light, text, and mirror to create a dynamic system of sensing, Gimbrone’s piece manipulates wavelengths to generate a hybrid of form and energy.
Yutaka Matsuzawa (b.1922 – d.2006), known as one of the earliest practitioners of conceptual art in his native Japan and internationally, often intermingled ideas of non-Zen Buddhism, quantum physics and a dematerialized artistic practice. His 1964 lithographic print edition Psi Corpse / ブサイの死体遺体, marks a turning point in his output and birthing his “Non-Sensory Painting”, a form of art that eschews materiality, using language alone as a matter-pervading medium that connotes ideas that penetrates through space and time.
Hasani Sahlehe’s work involves spectra of colors and wavelengths resembling the charting of sound and light. His airbrushed piece, Love Song creates a poetic, rainbow-like gradient of colors akin to how scientists have visualized quantum wave functions, though here deeply embedded in human emotion.
Works from Mika Tajima’s Negative Entropy series transmute sound vibrations into woven textiles, capturing an acoustic essence of a place and materializing intangible fleeting moments. In this piece, the sound recording is from a bell ringing a call to meditation at Seishoji temple in Japan. Tajima’s capturing of sound, observed and transcribed, is akin to the wave-particle duality, where the act of measuring transmutes energy into something solid.
Lulu Varona’s work uses hand embroidery techniques to create quasi-narrative tableaus. Her works depict both pictorial and abstract forms in various phases. Resulting from the orchestrations of sequenced panels, the images depicted exist in many states all at once, dependent on the viewer for actualization through observation.
