Timely Sanctification

Chicago Artists Coalition is pleased to present Timely Sanctification, a duo exhibition featuring new works by current HATCH 2021-22 artists-in-residence Jade Williams and Gabriel Chalfin-Piney, curated by Cristobal Alday.

The exhibition will be on view from February 25 - April 7, 2022, with an opening reception on Friday, February 25, 5-8pm.

Timely Sanctification encompasses the ways in which the artists find themselves investigating histories and how they make sense of the spiritual and familial influences on their lives. 

Jade Williams jumps timelines in order to create an ideal world for her younger and future selves. She does so by using blueprints and collaging old family photos as well as implementing sound bites of family members’ voices responding to questions she is pondering: What happens when we don’t get the answers we are searching for? How can we be okay with not getting the closure we’ve sought so hard for? 

Gabriel Chalfin-Piney reflects on the impermanence of spirituality and how it can be contained and made “pocketable.” Through the use of found, foraged, and purchased materials and loosely adapted oral histories of the life of Saint Seraphim of Sarov, the historical accuracy of saintly people and places is highlighted. Can a sacred space fit into a sock? What makes a holy place deserving of a souvenir shop? 

Williams and Chalfin-Piney both use material manipulation that embed us into individual spaces such as the outer space, gift shops, grandma’s living room, the forest, and inner space all while we simultaneously watch their worlds collide. 

Exhibition activation facilitated by Zachary Nicol and Courtney Mackedanz, and accompanied by a live performance by Devin Shaffer will take place on Saturday, March 26 at 5pm.

It will also feature cross programming by HATCH 2021-2022 residents Bryana Bibbs and Sirimas Benz Amataya Kuipers. Dates will be announced at a later time.

Image Credit: Sagrado, Spliced image using works by Gabriel Chalfin-Piney and Jade Williams created by Cristobal Alday, 2022