Sign of the Times
8 Artists

Opening Reception: Thursday March 19, 2020, 6PM – 9PM
Show dates: March 19 – April 19, 2020

Westbeth Gallery
55 Bethune St
b/w Washington and West Sts.
NY NY 100214

Gallery hours: Wednesday – Sunday 1PM – 6PM

A group of eight artists, with disparate skills and visions, who distill and interpret the world we are living in.

With painting, sculpture, installation, photography and hybrids of such mediums, our group present a varied take on documenting our times.

Each artist has presented work with their interpretation of what “Sign Of The Times” means to them.

Illtyd Barrett – Sculpture
For Sign of The Times Barrett will explore the phenomena of the rise of populism and
consumerism which has led to a climate of anti-intellectualism and religious fundamentalism. Using hand-made pigments and substrates, Barrett proposes to exhibit both sculpture and 2D elements reflecting the above concerns.

Christina Duarte – Painter
Now is the time to recognize that society requires women to behave in a particular way that often hides their true selves. My pieces are a diptych dialogue about women showing two sides of their personalities as a narration of rising against prejudice, sexism and the stigma of personal struggle.

Elizabeth Gregory-Gruen – Visual Artist
I search to understand the chaotic jolts of real life experiences that break our humanity. Using random 12-gauge shotgun blasts to lacerate the perceived “perfection” of my work produces a disruptive visceral reaction to the current environment allowing emotions to resonate.

Steve Joester – Photographer
‘The number of wild animals living on earth is set to fall by two thirds by 2020, according to a new report. The analysis, the most comprehensive to date, indicates that animal populations plummeted by 58% between 1970 and 2012, with losses on track to reach 67% by 2020. Researchers from the WWF and the Zoological Society of London compiled the report.’

Stephen Hall – Painter
I feel as an artist living right now, the compulsion to document the precarious place our planet is in, is paramount. While calling out the erosion of our ecosystems and perhaps political actions, I also try to create beauty to remind us of what we are at risk of losing.

Martin Mahoney – Photographer
Always had a keen interest in photography which has intensified recently due to the alarming acceleration in the gentrification of his beloved East Village , attempting to capture what’s left of the old neighborhood and its denizens, which are being replaced by glass boxes, banks and bubble tea joints.

Rob Plater – Painter
As an American, I’ve struggled to both understand and cope with the various stigmas and stereotypes used as tools for social engineering. My paintings function as a satire and a direct statement about that struggle to blend in as opposed to being perceived as the “OTHER”, through the use of masks. Do the masks properly serve to hide our deeply imbedded insecurities? Or do they further push the narratives about us that we so desperately want to bury away from modern society?

Robert Ross – Sculpture
STOP, DANGER, HAZARDOUS MATERIAL, KEEP TO THE RIGHT, TRESPASSERS WILL BE PROSECUTED, CAUTION, DEAD END AHEAD