FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Arlington Arts Center Media Contact: Laura Devereux 703 248 6800
[email protected] www.arlingtonartscenter.org BY PROXY: ARLINGTON ARTS CENTER’S FIRST ONLINE EXHIBITION BY PROXY On view: July 9 – September 7, 2020 Exhibition Launch: Thursday / July 9 / 6-6:30pm EXHIBITION WEBSITE arlingtonartscenter.org/exhibitions/current BY PROXY ARTISTS Gal Cohen, Maps Glover, Jeremy Hutchison, Mariah Anne Johnson, Ivetta Sunyoung Kang, and My Husband Gal Cohen, Sharon’s House of Dreams by Quarantine Dream House Machine ARLINGTON, VA – Featuring new and recently created work, By Proxy explores the tension between solitude and solidarity that has characterized public and private life for many people since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. While the experience of quarantine has brought on a heightened sense of isolation, at least for those who are in a position to stay home, the pandemic has also made strikingly clear the limitations of the individualist ethos that has long dominated the American imagination. This period of isolation from one another has only served as a reminder of our need for both direct personal contact and, on a broader scale, for social solidarity and mutual aid. The work in By Proxy exists along this spectrum, from the sense of isolation to the desire for connection and communication. Presented entirely online, the show can’t help but grapple with the mediated togetherness offered by technology. Several artists in the exhibition take advantage of social media and other technological platforms in order to engage with wider audiences and launch interactive projects. These artists reimagine the possibility of social practice for an age of physical distancing, collaborating and creating relationships with participants from afar.