Momentous Gesture — Rafael Soldi

Momentous Gesture—curated by Rafael Soldi—presented a diverse group of artists from the Strange Fire archive whose work embraces predominantly gestural qualities while musing on critical intersectional socio-political issues—global conflict, environmental collapse, gender and racial oppression—reminding us that beauty can be found in a rigorous social conceptual framework. Spanning video, collage, painting, performance, and photochemistry, these artists weaponize gesture to bring focus to important questions about the world around us.

Meghann Riepenhoff addresses climate change by making work in collaboration with endangered bodies of water. Mary Ann Peters’ paintings respond to contemporary events in the Arab world as they relate to her identity as an Arab-American living in the U.S, often touching on topics like shelter and global migration. Serrah Russell’s gestural collages become a visceral dictionary for decoding the isolation caused by repeating smoke events caused by forest fires. dani tirrell is a queer, black, trans spectrum movement artist. The Bluest Feelings is an installation using movement, photography and words to address dani's views on how the femme centered body is gestured to be oppressed, harmed and controlled. Hailing from Chile, indigenous Mapuche non-binary artist Sebastián Calfuqueo’s work appeals to their cultural inheritance in order to propose a critical reflection on the social, cultural and political status of the Mapuche subject in the contemporary Chilean society and Latin America.

This exhibition is made possible by a smART Ventures grant from the Seattle Office of Arts and Culture.

EXHIBITION: Momentous Gesture