Double Down

In developing the concept for this exhibition we were interested in the experience of observation and perception. “Double Down” is a group show featuring fifteen artists whose included works deal with associations of reciprocal relationship, establishing intrinsic dialogues within one, or between multiple complementary and oppositional objects, putting the viewer in a different relationship to the work. Instead of an immediate reaction (dialogue) between the viewer and the artwork, here the viewer, in a sense, becomes witness or voyeur to the relationship.

The reciprocal aspect of “Double Down” also references corresponding phenomena outside the show, such as the reality we experience today where everything seems highly polarized, in politics especially, where fake news or alternative facts can confuse reason and perception. This was, in part, the germ of the idea for this show. In our current environment there is a sense of, one on side, a double world or a parallel world: double visioning, fracturing, shifting, with a concurrent doubling down of dogmatic statements, alternative reality. This schism of perception and reality creates a sense of unease.