New York, NY - 25 June 2009 - 15 August 2009

Mermaids vs. Unicorns

Jordan Wolfson: The Forest from Above in Reverse, 2006
Jordan Wolfson: The Forest from Above in Reverse, 2006

16mm film
Courtesy of Johann König, Berlin

Click on image to enlarge.

Rachal Bradley, Peter Coffin, Byron Coley, Martin Creed, Cyprien Gaillard, Manuela Gernedel, Celia Hempton, Shana Moulton, Jo Robertson, Eduardo Sarabia, Lucy Stein, Jordan Wolfson, Sav X

In the Year of the Swine Flu, this Decade of the Cur, there is no longer such a thing as Good Taste. Even things that please the semiotic tongue are rank. If that's even possible. And it is.

Over the last several years, Jo Robertson in London and Byron Coley in rural Massachusetts have kept up a running dialogue discussing what happens when you get beyond Good. They have found that we seem to ache for art that creates and fulfills a person narrative, no matter how fractured.

A conversation about the girlish swagger of Ted Hughes and the narwhale-like compression of Sylvia Plath acted as the driving force behind the evolution of "Mermaids vs. Unicorns". This idea recurred and eventually developed into the explorative concept that would facilitate this show to venture across geographical and stylistic borders.

On June 25th, I-20 debuts the curator's second collaborative exhibition. The show is comprised of thirteen artists from Berlin, Guadalajara, London, New York and Paris. The artists all contribute an open dialogue between archetypes, relating to the differences between earth and sea.

"Mermaids vs. Unicorns" presents the viewer with a number of mediums ranging from photography to ceramic installation to oil painting. The theme allows for a variety of interpretations, from the literal to the extreme. Frolics are enjoyed, identities are stolen or obliterated, communication breaks down, and the mammals will lie down with the fish.

Byron Coley

Curated by Byron Coley and Jo Robertson.

I-20 Gallery

557 West 23rd Street
10011 New York, NY
Phone: 
+1 212 645 1100
Fax: 
+1 212 645 0198
Exhibition
25 June 2009 - 15 August 2009
Online since 25 June 2009
Opening Hours: 
Tues-Sat 11 am - 6 pm