“Don’t Touch My Circles”: Kim Beck, Kevin Cooley, Nicki Green, Bill Jacobson, Jana Sophia Nolle, Stephanie Syjuco, and Marie Watt

Catharine Clark Gallery opens Summer 2019 with Don’t Touch My Circles, a group exhibition of work across media by Kim Beck, Kevin Cooley, Nicki Green, Bill Jacobson, Jana Sophia Nolle, Stephanie Syjuco, and Marie Watt. The exhibition’s title references a quote attributed to Greek mathematician and astronomer Archimedes (287 – 212 BCE) who, upon confrontation with a Roman soldier during the conquest of Syracuse, pointed to geometric figures drawn in the sand and entreated Noli turbare circulos meos (“Do not disturb my circles”) before he was stabbed to death. While the authenticity of the quote is uncertain, the metaphors it invokes are especially in salient in our political moment, as we consider how artists and creative practitioners stand up for their beliefs and ideas through their practice. In that vein, the works on view explore how familiar forms and motifs from art history – such as landscape and abstraction – can be invested with, and activated through, deep commitment to critique and political action. Accompanied by a viewing room presentation of LigoranoReese’s “The Truth Be Told” (2019), a time lapse video of a 2,500 pound sculpture of the word “truth” carved in ice on the National Mall. Join us for an opening reception on Saturday, June 29, 2019 from 2 – 4pm; artist talks at 3pm. Click here to view additional images from Don’t Touch My Circles