Theorem

Antonia Contro with Elizabeth Bradfield

September 26 – November 28, 2021

This visual and sonic exhibition explores how art, science, and story can reflect inner topographies. Theorem is inspired by and expands upon the fine art book Theorem, a collaboration by artist Antonia Contro and poet Elizabeth Bradfield.

Contro says, “Theorem began in the summer of 2017 when poet Elizabeth Bradfield and I decided to collaborate. Prompted by a book of my images, Bradfield responded in writing. Over the course of two years we shaped this exchange into an evocative visual, tactile, and lyric experience in book form. In Theorem, spare images, distilled text, and the resonant space between investigate the legacy of secrets acquired in childhood and held through a life.”

Viewing of Theorem is included with the purchase of a guided tour ticket.

Elizabeth Bradfield is the author of Toward Antarctica, Once Removed, Approaching Ice, Interpretive Work and Theorem, a collaboration with artist Antonia Contro. In 2022, Tupelo Press will publish Cascadia: A Field Guide Through Art, Ecology and Poetry, which Bradfield is co-editing with Derek Sheffield and CMarie Fuhrman. Her work has been published in The New Yorker, Atlantic Monthly, Poetry, and her honors include the Audre Lorde Prize and a Stegner Fellowship.  Founder of Broadsided Press, Liz works as a naturalist/guide and teaches creative writing at Brandeis University. www.ebradfield.com

Antonia Contro is an artist whose work ranges from drawing and painting to multimedia installations and concept-based collaborations that engage artists and practitioners from a variety of disciplines. Contro’s exhibitions include Tempus Fugit at American Philosophical Society Museum, Ex Libris at Chicago Cultural Center, Closed/Open at Newberry Library, and Descry at The Museum of Contemporary Photography. Contro’s work is in the Art Institute of Chicago, Hammer Museum, Harvard Art Museums, Menil Collection, Museum of Contemporary Art, New York Public Library, and other private and institutional collections.  www.antoniacontro.com