On April 28, Sandra Binion stages two performances at Asian Improv aRts Midwest. “Duras Piece” (1998) is an adaptation of two novels by French writer Marguerite Duras, performed by Sandra Binion with a projected video by the artist and Jeb Bishop on trombone. It was previously staged at Fassbender Gallery and Hothouse in 1998, and Chicago Cultural Center in 1999. For “Suite for Bass and Ironing Bored Variation” (1983) Sandra Binion and invited ironers perform alongside bassists Sam Wagster, Anton Hatwich, Nick Macri, Zoe Markle, and Andrew Scott Young under the direction of Tatsu Aoki. Offering a play on the similitude of the two “instruments” and the repetition of gestures, together they improvise structures based on a color score. Versions of this piece were performed in Chicago at Art Expo in 1981, Randolph Street Gallery in 1984, and Chicago Cultural Center in 1999. Tickets are $20, available at the door or online: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sandra-binion-duras-piece-and-suite-for-bass-and-ironing-bored-variation-tickets-857056457937

This performance is presented as part of:
Sandra Binion: Autobiography of Looking
Curated by Mariana Mejía
April 12—June 9, 2024
throughout Chicago

Sandra Binion: Autobiography of Looking is a retrospective survey of five decades of the artist’s interdisciplinary work taking place from April 9 through June 9, 2024 throughout Chicago. Curated by Mariana Mejía, the program includes an exhibition at Audible Gallery, guided sessions of the artist’s archives at Hyde Park Art Center, and a series of performances at auxiliary venues. The works on display convey the trajectory of Sandra Binion’s interdisciplinary career from her early stages as a solo performance artist in the mid-1970s through her expansions into installation, video, sound, photography, painting, scent, and literature. Although based in Chicago, much of Binion’s early work was deeply influenced by long periods she spent living in other cities such as New York, Honolulu, Los Angeles, and Berlin; and many of her recent projects have taken place in France, Italy, Sweden, and Japan. This exhibition and performance series offers many Chicago premieres of artworks and performances, and provides local audiences with a rare opportunity to engage deeply with the full spectrum of her work.

On the occasion of this retrospective survey, the artist is self-publishing a 300-page monograph that will be available at all events. The book includes descriptive annotations of over 50 performances, installations, and exhibitions from her career; with an introduction written by curator Mariana Mejía and essays by musicologist Ryan Dohoney, performer and scholar Tara Aisha Willis, and art historian Chris Reeves.

For more information and full schedule of events, visit: https://sandrabinion.com/section/527574-Sandra%20Binion%3a%20Autobiography%20of%20Looking.html

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Tags: Albany Park, Andrew Scott Young, Anton Hatwich, Asian Improv Arts Midwest, Duras Piece and Suite for Bass and Ironing Bored Variation, Jeb Bishop, Marguerite Duras, Mariana Mejía, Nick Macri, Sam Wagster, Sandra Binion, Tatsu Aoki, Zoe Markle