The Institute of Contemporary Art at the University of Pennsylvania welcomes you to celebrate the opening of our Spring 2018 exhibition season, comprised of the exhibitions Suki Seokyeong Kang: Black Mat Oriole, The Last Place They Thought Of, Open Video Call, and Tag: Proposals on Queer Play and the Ways Forward.
The opening celebration is free for all to attend; register here.
Suki Seokyeong Kang: Black Mat Oriole, is the US museum debut of Seoul-based artist Suki Seokyeong Kang’s ambitious project Black Mat Oriole (2017). A culmination of five years of research and production by the artist, the exhibition is conceived as an installation that brings together sculpture, painting, and video to engage viewers with the power and politics of space. The opening weekend of the exhibition will include a new “activation” directed by Kang in person and will feature Seoul-based choreographers Hyeongjun Cho and Hongseok Jang. A discussion with the artist will take place on Sunday, April 29 at 2pm. This exhibition is curated by Alex Klein, Dorothy and Stephen R. Weber (CHE ’60) Curator and Kate Kraczon, Laporte Associate Curator.
The Last Place They Thought Of explores how geographical, ideological and spatial paradigms determine and reproduce uneven social relations. Four artists – Torkwase Dyson, Lorraine O’Grady, Jade Montserrat, and Keisha Scarville – take very different approaches to this phenomenon, deeply considering how histories of racial, sexual, and economic exploitation have shaped our understanding of geography, and the realities of our environment. This exhibition has been organized by Whitney-Lauder Curatorial Fellow 2017-19, Daniella Rose King.
Open Video Call includes new selected works on video by Philadelphia-area artists and filmmakers. Open Video Call is organized by ICA Assistant Curator Meg Onli and Curatorial Assistant Lauren Downing.
Tag: Proposals on Queer Play and the Ways Forward continues through August 12. Organized by guest curator and artist Nayland Blake, Tag explores how the expanding influence of digital and online technologies, fandom subcultures, and artistic discourse has created new possibilities for queer identification, changing how personal roles and forms of expressions are defined in contemporary society. Artists include A.K. Burns, Clifford Hengst, Arnold Kemp, Savannah Knoop, Dusty Shoulders, and Robert Yang, among others.
MEMBERS PREVIEW 5PM: Preview with artists and curators (ICA members only)
OPENING CELEBRATION 6:30PM: Free for all to attend; complimentary snacks & cash bar