“Revolution is not a one time event.” – Audre Lorde

On the occasion of CULT Aimee Friberg Exhibitions’ Seven Year Anniversary, we are delighted to present an exhibition that draws from the gallery’s past seven years and offers a glimpse into its next seven. Much has shifted since CULT was born: public optimism collapsed under the weight of emboldened racial bigotry, anti-globalist populism, and policy decisions that have wrought untold harm on the environment and marginalized individuals. On this occasion for reflection we consider Janus, the two-headed Roman deity presiding over the future and the past, transitions and doorways. As we navigate thresholds, at once cultural, political, and biological, the duality of Janus allows us to envision a stronger, more equitable future fueled by a cognizance of our shared responsibility to the planet and to each other. Works by Pardo Ariza, Hantehzadeh, and Chew investigate care and belongingness and the role language plays in building our realities and communities. Photographs by Loewenthal re-imagine our relationship and responsibility to the land; sculptures by Miki investigate wisdom in trans-pacific indigenous traditions and how objects function as figures and collaborators rather than items for exploitation and instrumentalization. Finally, the works of Goldstein, Nathan, and Santiago reconsider the illusionistic permanence of our current structures—retrieving histories of the past to build new systems for a new world, one that prioritizes and benefits us all. Janus is a talisman for optimism in light of a polarized cultural climate; this exhibition meditates upon the opportunities, rather than challenges, that arise from the ‘new normal’ we are collectively living.

To schedule an appointment to see works, or Troy Chew’s solo exhibition Yadadamean at the gallery, please contact info@cultexhibitions.com