October 3 – November 7, 2013 Curated by Sara Black and Karsten Lund For this experimental group exhibition, thirteen artists or collaborators explore manifestations of "imperfect symmetry"—a phenomenon emerging at the hazy border of two more familiar concepts, symmetry and asymmetry. Through photographs, videos, sculptures, sound works and performances, these artists offer varied interpretations of this odd but evocative notion, which is potentially full of metaphorical or interpersonal meaning. A collective investigation featuring multiple points of view, this group exhibition is working through an idea rather than starting with something fully formed. Imperfect symmetry might be understood as a moment of tension as symmetry falls apart or fails to coalesce; or as a permanent state, observable in the natural world; or as a metaphor for human desires or habits as we try to understand one another or make contact with other people, among many other possibilities. Together the artists' wide-ranging artworks and live performances amount to a compendium of sorts: an inventory of examples or an anthology that gradually builds toward a more complete view of its topic. The exhibition is also accompanied by a publication featuring additional material by all the participants, presented as a series of autonomous entries. In its printed form, the publication is both an extension and an oblique reflection of the exhibition in the gallery space.
A related program of performances will take place off-site on October 25, 8:00pm at Defibrillator Performance Art Gallery, 1136 N. Milwaukee Avenue Additional information at www.dfbrl8r.org