Bethany Collins, Undersong

Undersong - n.
1. The burden of a song; the chorus; the refrain.
2. Accompanying strain; subordinate and underlying meaning; accompaniment; undertone.

PATRON is proud to announce our second solo exhibition with Chicago based artist Bethany Collins titled “Undersong”. The exhibition will open on September 15th, with an opening reception for the artist from 5 to 8PM, and will continue through October 27, 2018.

“Undersong” makes use of three texts—translations of The Odyssey; classified ads placed by former slaves searching for family; and patriotic hymns. The first format of Homer’s poem of nostos was passed down orally. “Lost Friends” ads were subsequently read aloud in church services to reach a broader audience. And patriotic hymns achieve national unity only through their collective voice. The vocalization of these texts becomes the undersong—the burden of the song; the chorus; the refrain—of an American landscape, one that feels intimately familiar, yet estranging.