Altered States

An altered state of consciousness is defined as any of various states of awareness (as dreaming sleep, a drug-induced hallucinogenic state, or a trance) that deviate from and are usually clearly demarcated from ordinary waking consciousness. Under this thesis, artist Gary Simmons curates Altered States, an exhibition of six artists whose work addresses issues of perception and absence in ways that challenge viewers to re-examine their relationship to the world at large, to question first glances and assumptions.

David Korty’s playful paintings address self-perception in the context of social media interactions and the prevailing political culture of castigation that has been fueled by the internet. Josh Callaghan’s sanded metal paintings invent a narrative of use and wear to form a revelatory patina. Referencing the utilitarian aesthetic of spaceships, both real and imagined, Callaghan’s works are multifaceted examples of the duality of representation, both absorbing and reflecting the image of the viewer. Genevieve Gaignard’s self-portraits blend humor, persona and popular culture to explore race, femininity, class, and their various intersections, revealing the ways in which the meeting and mixing of contrasting realities can feel much like displacement. Yuval Pudik’s collection of fragmented word pairings highlight the absences in verbal commentary, illuminating the words that are not said by investigating those that are. Rodney McMillian, who also focuses on issues of absence, presents a still life sculpture starkly contrasting the culture and history of America. Kandis Williams collage works systematically deconstruct then reconstruct cultural and historical narratives and imagery, unpeeling the layers of a flattened official record and reassembling it into a deeper exploration of race, nationalism and belonging.

Altered states of consciousness allow us to see our lives and ourselves with a broader lens and from different angles of perception than the ordinary mind. Artists have engaged altered states of consciousness to chronicle and consider life experience since the Middle Paleolithic era. The artists included in Altered States – Josh Callaghan, Genevieve Gaignard, David Korty, Rodney McMillian, Yuval Pudik and Kandis Williams – continue this legacy, employing abstract measures to chronicle a societal who, what, when and why.

Curated by Gary Simmons