Spirits of the Waves
Graham Fundation, Chicago
2019
Through a newly commissioned body of work, including a large-scale textile installation, intricate embroideries, works on paper, sculptures, and a performance, Nelly Agassi conjures historical and imagined narratives from the architectural details of the Graham Foundation’s Madlener House. Built in 1901–02 for Albert F. and Elsa S. Madlener, the house was originally designed by architect Richard E. Schmidt, with designer Hugh M. G. Garden, and then renovated in the 1960s by architect Daniel Brenner to transform it into the Foundation’s headquarters. The culmination of Agassi’s 2019 Graham Foundation Fellowship, this exhibition explores erasure, preservation, identity, and architecture’s capacity to change.
The exhibition is accompanied by a program of public events, including presentations by Graham Grantees Despina Stratigakos; Allyson Vieira in conversation with Terry Kapsalis; Diane Simpson, and a performance by Nelly Agassi and Ryan Packard and Peter Maunu... Read More