August 11 – October 13, 2018, Opening Reception August 11, 7-11pm
STNDRD presents Solid Air by Kristin Abhalter Smith. This two-part project includes the creation of ceremonial flags accompanied by a public spectacle to activate the site. The ritual performance is a collaboration between Kristin Abhalter Smith and Gwyneth Zeleny Anderson including creative participation by the artists Amanda Bowles, Rachel Herman, Andrea Freeman, and Amelia Jones.
Kristin Abhalter Smith creates opera-informed installations and performative objects inspired by the production of theatrical events. She has an M.F.A. in Design & Technology for Theatre from University of Minnesota and a B.A. in Design and Cultural Anthropology from Washington University in St. Louis. Abhalter Smith has shared artwork at Art on Armitage, For The Thundercloud Generation, Ignition Projects, and Peanut Gallery in Chicago, Demo Project in Springfield, Outcenter in Benton Harbor, Art of This and Art Shanty Projects in Minneapolis. Abhalter Smith is the founder and director of Roman Susan Art Foundation, an art space and platform for exhibitions and events in Chicago. She also designs sets and paints for stage and motion picture.
Gwyneth Zeleny Anderson is a depressive animist based in Chicago. She makes time for the animation, absurdity, patterns, and paradox of humans and not-humans, often focusing on sensations and systems that are invisible to us due to their immateriality, proximity, or assumed normalcy. She’s presented work in galleries, festivals, forests, and empty lots throughout the Northern Hemisphere, including with Roman Susan, Roots & Culture, Experimental Sound Studio, Hyde Park Art Center, and 6018 NORTH in Chicago; St. Charles Projects and the Institute of Contemporary Art in Baltimore; MoMA PS1 Print Shop in New York; and FRISE in Hamburg. She holds a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and received her certificate from the Center for Deep Listening in 2018.