signs and symbols

signs and symbols is pleased to present Leveraging sound from sensation with every in and out breath until the heart becomes a tender object, a video exhibition by Tony Orrico as part of the gallery's ongoing series of online-only solo presentations.

Leveraging sound from sensation with every in and out breath until the heart becomes a tender object is the capture of an impromptu performance by Orrico. Bedsheets sourced from the artists’ quarters become the arena for this spontaneous, 22 minute action. They hang in a ring, stapled to the ceiling of his studio, and are tied in a low gather that resembles the anatomy housing the breath. The fabric begins to move and ripple; which appears to be caused by the growing intensity of the sound and breath. As the camera navigates the terrain of Orrico’s body (as if to be searching for the origin of the sound), it intervenes in the shared enclosure, becoming an unseen performer. Orrico notes: “I am leveraging sound from sensation in a real and rational sense; a process detached from emotion or psyche.” From what he describes as the “micro-collapse” beneath what is felt, Orrico uses that as impetus to motivate sounding. The trailing body is residue, constantly softening to support the sustain.

*Please note that Orrico's video will be viewable online from Thursday, May 14 at 6:00pm until Wednesday, May 27 at 6:00pm. Following the end of the exhibition, the video will only be accessible via private link and password. We trust that given our current circumstances, everyone will act in good faith and good will, understanding that these are primary artworks by our artists that are collected and which would otherwise be password protected.

tony orrico’s work has reached mass circulation for its ingenuity within the intersections of performance and drawing. His work explores how consciousness and physical impulses manifest into visible forms. He uses his own somatic research, Suspension Practice, as point of entry into his visual work. Orrico has performed/exhibited his work across the US and internationally in Australia, Belgium, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Mexico, the Netherlands, Poland, and Spain. His visual work is in the permanent collections of The National Academy of Sciences (Washington DC) and Museo Universitario de Arte Contemporáneo (MUAC, Mexico City) as well as prominent private collections such as Grazyna Kulczyk, Kablanc/Fundación Otazu and Bergmeier/Kunstsaele, among others. He has presented at the CCCB, Centre Pompidou-Metz, The New Museum, and Poptech 2011: The World Rebalancing. Orrico was one of a select group of artists to re-perform the work of Marina Abramovic during her retrospective at MoMA (2010). As a former member of Trisha Brown Dance Company and Shen Wei Dance Arts, Orrico has graced such stages as the Sydney Opera House, Teatro La Fenice, New York State Theater and Theatre du Palais-Royal.