Mobility and Its discontents
March 6 through June 12, 2015
Alberto Borea, Wall Street, 2013. Silk-screen on canvas. Courtesy of the artist and Y Gallery. [Image Description: A black and white photograph features a man laying down in the fetal position on the edge of a large, stone, stairway entrance to a government building. The man’s back is to the camera. He wears jeans, leather brogues, and a leather jacket. On the staircase behind him are large marble sculptures of allegorical figures.]
The 8th Floor is pleased to announce the upcoming exhibition Mobility and Its Discontents, featuring artwork by Jane Benson, Alberto Borea, Ángel Delgado, Javier Téllez, Lan Tuazon, and Jorge Wellesley. The exhibition examines the dynamics of mobility and its physical, psychological, socio-economic, geographic, and political boundaries. Mobility and Its Discontents signals a shift in the Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation’s mission, now focused on broadening public access to artistic and cultural activities in New York City. Featuring artists from Venezuela, Peru, the United Kingdom, and the Philippines, alongside two Cuban artists from the Shelley and Donald Rubin Private Collection, the show brings the Rubins’ dedication to contemporary Cuban art into conversation with a wider artistic community, reflecting the diversity of New York’s cultural life. The works in the exhibition convey experiences of separation, isolation, and distance, experienced on both a local and global scale, in sites such as the United States-Mexico border, New York City’s financial district, and Havana, Cuba. Collectively, they contribute to a dialogue about the barriers encountered in contemporary life, suggesting possibilities for transformation enabled by connectivity and increased access.
Installation views of “Mobility and Its Discontents” at The 8th Floor, March 2015. Courtesy of the Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation.