September 22, 2021 – January 7, 2022

un/mute

Co-curated by Daina Mattis and Melinda Wang

Austrian Cultural Forum New York, 11 East 52nd Street, New York, NY; September 22, 2021 – January 7, 2022

Undercurrent, 70 John Street, Brooklyn, NY; September 22, 2021- November 21, 2021

Free and open to the public

www.unmute.nyc

About The Show

The Austrian Cultural Forum New York and Undercurrent are pleased to present un/mute, an international group exhibition of collaborative works by 28 artists across multiple disciplines. On view at the Austrian Cultural Forum New York and Undercurrent, the exhibition is the culmination of an 18-month-long project that was launched in 2020 to provide European and NYC-based artists an opportunity for critical exchange and collaboration during the COVID-19 global pandemic.

What do communication and collaboration mean in a time of uncertainty and isolation? How is the artistic process impacted by going “fully remote”? In un/mute, artists from 10 countries were paired to explore these questions. We recognize that effective communication requires active engagement of all the senses and an openness to diversity, interpretation and digitalization. But what does that look like in practice? The project challenged teams to overcome the limitations of lockdowns as they connected across artistic mediums, language, culture, generations and time zones to find new forms of expression and meaning within art.

un/mute is the physical manifestation of online conversations among strangers who became collaborators. What began as abstract, ephemeral and digital are now 14 tactile, analog and concrete artworks presented across two locations. The artists confronted the parameters imposed by the lockdowns and each team found creative solutions that we might all learn from. The common thread that runs through the sculptures, installations, films, drawings, photographs and performances is the importance of language.  

Ever-evolving, language encapsulates an innate power dynamic that is renegotiated, redistributed and reimagined in uncertain times. While words like “screenshare,” “Zoom-bombing” and “unmute” enter a universal lexicon, and “#relatable” memes are shared across cultures, we also face the limits of language as we work to avoid miscommunication and misunderstanding. Cultures and countries apart, the artists endeavored to find a bridge across two points in (virtual) space through the ephemeral Zoom link. What they also discovered were empathy from a fellow artist, discussions that sparked new ideas, a shared language around the creative process and a rethinking of the power of art.  

With cities re-opening, a recontextualized focus on systemic racism and xenophobia, and our collective experience of 18 months of self-reflection, un/mute observes the transition into a new epoch – one that imagines an inclusive and diverse ecosystem. Differences may surface in times of cooperation and compromise, but synergy can be forged through friction. We trip, we regain our balance, we shift, we reconsider. What is crucial is that when we do have the chance to rise to meet the moment, we seize the opportunity and “click unmute.”

Join the conversation online and follow ACFNY’s Instagram (@acfny) and Undercurrent’s Instagram (@undercurrent.nyc); please use the #unmuteNYC hashtag when posting.

un/mute is a project by Undercurrent and the following members of EUNIC NY – European Union National Institutes for Culture: Austrian Cultural Forum New York, Czech Center New York, Consulate General of Estonia in New York, Delegation of Flanders to the USA, Goethe-Institut New York, Lithuanian Culture Institute, Arts Council Malta in New York, Polish Cultural Institute New York and Romanian Cultural Institute. un/mute is also supported by EUNIC Global, the European Union Delegation to the United Nations, Hope Recycling Station and Jindřich Chalupecký Society.

Exhibiting Artists

Eren Aksu (Germany), Anna Bera (Poland), Aaron Bezzina (Malta), Alex Camilleri (Malta), Mariella Cassar-Cordina (Malta), Saddie Choua (Flanders, Belgium), Sanne De Wilde (Flanders, Belgium), FOQL (Poland), Gabrielė Gervickaitė (Lithuania),  Nicola Ginzel (Austria), Justyna Górowska (Poland), Kris Grey (NYC), Kyle Hittmeier (NYC), Ada Van Hoorebeke (Flanders, Belgium), Olesja Katšanovskaja–Münd (Estonia), Mo Kong (NYC), Yi Hsuan Lai (NYC), H. Lan Thao Lam (NYC), Marie Lukáčová (Czech Republic), Sheila Maldonado (NYC), Ieva Mediodia (Lithuania), Emmanuel Massillon (NYC), Alex Mirutziu (Romania), Luisa Muhr (Austria), Barbara Maria Neu (Austria), Emily Shanahan (NYC), Sydney Shavers (NYC) and Terttu Uibopuu (Estonia)

Recordings of the artists’ conversations and collaborative processes are available at www.unmute.nyc.

Programming

HIGH-LEVEL OPENING RECEPTION: Thursday, September 23, 2021, 6 – 9 PM at the Austrian Cultural Forum New York on the occasion of the United Nations General Assembly. Opening remarks by European representatives and performances by Mariella Cassar-Cordina (Malta), Tricia Dawn Williams (Malta), and Nicola Ginzel (Austria), as well as Luisa Muhr (Austria). Due to COVID-19 safety precautions, this event is by invitation only.

 

ARTIST TALK & PUBLIC RECEPTION: Friday, September 24, 2021, 6 – 9 PM at Undercurrent. Artist talk, moderated by Romanian Cultural Institute Director Dorian Branea, featuring several artists of un/mute and co-curator Daina Mattis, from 6 – 7 PM. Reception to follow from 7 – 9 PM. Visit www.undercurrent.nyc for more information.

 

AFTER HOURS AT THE ACFNY: November 16, 2021, 6 – 8 PM. Meet the artists behind our current international group exhibition un/mute and join us for 4 site-specific performances throughout the evening.  As strangers who became collaborators, the artists for un/mute created artworks virtually and will be meeting “IRL” for the first time. Come celebrate the creative impulse, international collaboration, and the power of art!

 

MAGIC TALK / Rap Performance by Marie Lukáčová: In celebration of the last weekend of un/mute at Undercurrent, join us for a performance by Czech artist Marie Lukáčová. Marie will be performing her confrontational feminist rap in Czech, focusing on gender gaps and motherhood. English translation of her lyrics will be accompanied with her animations. Visit www.undercurrent.nyc for more information.

Press Release

ACFNY Installation Views

For high-resolution images, please contact info@acfny.org.

Upper Mezzanine

Mo Kong (NYC) + Olesja Katšanovskaja-Münd (Estonia)

Mo Kong + Olesja Katšanovskaja-Münd

Backwards Transition, 2021

Rock and video
Runtime: 26 seconds

Mo Kong + Olesja Katšanovskaja-Münd

Sociological Mining, 2021

Wallpaper

91  x 122 inches

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Mariella Cassar-Cordina (Malta) + Nicola Ginzel (Austria)

Mariella Cassar-Cordina + Nicola Ginzel

Sonos Civitatem MMXX, 2020

Video,frottage and sheet music

Runtime: 9 minutes, 44 seconds

Mariella Cassar-Cordina

Sonos Civitatem MMXX, 2020

Music for piano, voice and electronics

11 x 17 inches

Nicola Ginzel

Affordable Health Care for All, 2020

Red carbon frottage on Shoji Paper, gouache, watercolor, ink, espresso, turmeric, colored pencil, oil and dry pastel

35.4 x 23.6 inches

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Justyna Górowska (Poland) + Ieva Mediodia (Lithuania)

ARKTIKAANTARKTIKA  0.9, 2021

Giclee on Hahnemuhle Photo Rag paper

13.5 x 41 inches

Arktikaantarktika 0.9, 2020-21

Video

Runtime: 3 minutes, 17 seconds

Lower Mezzanine

Ada Van Hoorebeke (Flanders) + Luisa Muhr (Austria)

Stoff Stuk / Go-to Shapes, 2021

Video (looping), sound (looping), aluminum, dye, fabric (natural dyes, wax) and performance

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Gabrielė Gervickaitė (Lithuania) + Yi Hsuan Lai (NYC)

Where are you at this moment? – Bounding touch

Where are you at this moment? – Joint

Where are you at this moment? – Dancing in the day and night

(left to right), 2021, aluminum prints, 40 x 30 inches each

A dialogue in the cloud, 2021, unique zine, 8.25 x 10.5 inches

A dialogue in the cloud, 2021, zine, 24 x 36 inches unfolded

Upper Gallery

Alex Mirutziu (Romania) + Sydney Shavers (NYC)  

Alex Mirutziu

Seven places I can’t go to but talk to, 2021

Plaster and fishing line

Dimensions variable

Sydney Shavers

Untitled (Sit) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 2021

Wood, paint and fasteners

24 x 10 x 24 inches each

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Aaron Bezzina (Malta) + Kyle Hittmeier (NYC)

Kyle Hittmeier

Andromeda, 2021

Single channel projection
Edition 1 of 3

Runtime: 1 minute, 50 seconds

Aaron Bezzina

Double Catapult, 2021

Wood, screws, stain varnish and rubber

102.4 x 62 x 40 inches

Main Gallery

Alex Camilleri (Malta) + Terttu Uibopuu (Estonia)

76% Humidity, Chance of Rain, 2020

Film
Runtime: 3 minutes, 12 seconds

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Kris Grey (NYC) +Barbara Maria Neu (Austria)
Miss(ing), 2021

video (runtime: 4 minutes, 8 seconds), performance (15 minutes) and sculptures

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Eren Aksu (Germany) + Sheila Maldonado (NYC)

STILL, 2021

Carousel with 62 slides and printed text (8.5 x 11 inches)

Entrance
Lan Thao Lam (NYC) + Sanne De Wilde (Flanders, Belgium)

HERE/tHERE, 2021

Site-specific window installation

Full color adhesive vinyl

ACFNY – 101 x 60 inches, 101 x 22 inches

Undercurrent Installation Views

For high-resolution images, please contact info@acfny.org.

Entrance + Staircase

H. Lan Thao Lam (NYC) + Sanne De Wilde (Flanders, Belgium)

HERE/tHERE, 2021

Site-specific window installation

Full color adhesive vinyl

ACFNY – 101 x 60 inches, 101 x 22 inches

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Anna Bera (Poland) + Saddie Choua (Flanders, Belgium)

Close Up Black, 2020-21

Video, sound, and personal objects (plants, ornamental animals, book, drawing and photos)

Runtime: 8 minutes

Gallery

Emily Shanahan (NYC)  + Marie Lukáčová (Czech Republic)

Conversations between February and May, 2021

A collection of drawings and Risographs from each artist

Emily Shanahan, Grid drawing 1, Grid drawing 2, Grid drawing 3, Grid drawing 4, Grid drawing 5, Grid drawing 6, 2021, collage, ink, and graphite on paper, 14″ x 11″ each

Marie Lukáčová, Eye In My Hole , Havean, Mystic Touch, Ou My Queen, Snakes, 2021, 4 color Risograph, edition of 30 each with unique titles, 16.5″ x 11.4″ each

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Emmanuel Massillon (NYC) + Justyna Banaszczyk/FOQL (Poland)

[Untitled], 2021

Wood, video on CRTV, field recordings and quadraphonic sound

Dimensions variable

Credits

Co-Curators: Daina Mattis + Melinda Wang

Exhibition Executive Producer and Exhibition Coordinator/ACFNY: Nina Monschein

Exhibition Coordinator/Undercurrent: Daina Mattis

Assistant to Exhibition Coordinator/ACFNY: Anouk Weber

Assistant to Exhibition Coordinator/Undercurrent: Patricia Geyerhahn

Exhibition Design: Laura Zaveckaitė

Installation Architect/Design: Julius Ludavičius

Press: Dalia Stonienė, MaryKat Hoeser

Photographer: David Plakke, un/mute Team

Project coordinator and Chair/EUNIC Representative: Christian Ebner

Web Development: Moacir P. de Sá Pereira

Tue ‒ Thu: 09am ‒ 07pm
Fri ‒ Mon: 09am ‒ 05pm

Adults: $25
Children & Students free

673 12 Constitution Lane Massillon
781-562-9355, 781-727-6090