The first exhibition mounted by the Indianapolis Contemporary – the organization formerly known as the Indianapolis Museum of Contemporary Art – opens Wednesday, July 17, in the Ash & Elm Cider Co. event space.
Open through Aug. 4, Synthesis will feature major installations by Brooklyn-based artist Victoria Manganiello (with Julian Goldman) and Indianapolis-based artist Lauren Zoll.
The opening reception will be from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. July 17. An artist conversation, moderated by Sarah Urist Green, is will take place from 6 to 7 p.m. that day.
Working at the intersection of art and science, Manganiello’s installation references early computing history, while Zoll’s paintings convert light into electricity.
Manganiello and Goldman’s Computer 1.0 will pay homage to the forbearers of computer history and the first computer – a mechanical loom; this installation will use hand-woven cloth with a programmed kinetic surface, recalling binary code, data, and communication infrastructure.
Manganiello is developing a new textile-based installation for the exhibition as well.
Zoll’s ongoing Solar Paintings body of work utilizes Anthocyanin dye, a water-soluble red-to-blue pigment that comes from a flower or plant such as blackberries, cherries, blueberries, mulberries, and black beans.
These pigments are often used in solar panels as a way of intersecting with light to recreate photosynthesis and, in Zoll’s paintings, to convert light into electrical energy. Zoll will also debut a new woven structure of black beans for the exhibition.
Synthesis is made possible by Ash & Elm Cider Co. with support from Purdue Polytechnic High School, and Barnes & Thornburg LLP.
The exhibition will be accompanied by several public programs including a hands-on circuits workshop with Victoria Manganiello on July 14; an opening reception and conversation with the artists moderated by Sarah Urist Green, who hosts the PBS program, The Art Assignment, on July 17; and a book club on Aug. 3, sponsored by King Dough.
Visit indcontemporary.org for more information and registration. Gallery hours are 3 to 8 p.m. Thursdays, 1 to 8 p.m. Fridays (extended hours Aug. until 10 p.m.), and 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sundays.
More information can be found at: indcontemporary.org/exhibition/synthesis
The Ash & Elm event space is located at 2112 East Washington Street, Indianapolis, IN, 46201. Parking is available across Washington Street (directly south of the building), or on Hamilton or Jefferson streets.
