Semblance of Order presents new work by artists Michael Rado, Frances Lightbound and Louis Kishfy in response to designed objects in urban spaces that reinforce real and perceived security. Building upon research into defensive architecture in Chicago from the group’s previous collaborative project, Semblance of Order sets the haphazard against the highly-designed, prodding at the material systems of safety, prevention and (over)protection. It is through these concrete material systems that the group intends to dismantle and reconfigure abstract perceptions of authority, ownership and otherness.

Topographies of Defense (2015-2016) was a project led by Michael Rado, Louis Kishfy and Frances Lightbound which examined design in the urban sphere whose primary function is to discourage, rather than facilitate, human usage. Elements such as homeless spikes, decorative security facades, anti-skate rails, bollards, benches, planters and landscaping elements all contribute to a covertly defensive reconfiguration of public space. With a focused lens on Chicago, the project comprised an online photographic archive, an introduction during Sullivan Galleries’ exhibition Outside Design and culminated with a public symposium and gallery exhibition held at the LeRoy Neiman Center in Chicago.

Michael Rado is originally from the suburbs of Columbus, Ohio, and currently lives and works in New York City. Rado’s interdisciplinary work spans sculpture, installation, and video, and critically celebrates the spirit of his middle-class heritage, prodding at themes of privilege, privacy, and sovereignty. He earned his MFA in Studio from the School of Art institute of Chicago (2016), and BFA from the University of Michigan (2009). Rado’s recent work has been exhibited at a range of venues in Chicago, notably at EXPO Chicago (2016), Pulaski Park with Fieldwork Collaborative Projects, and at Edra Soto and Dan Sullivan’s East Garfield Park gallery, The Franklin. Along with Lightbound, he is a fellow in the 2016-2017 Field Trip / Field Notes / Field Guide fellowship.

Frances Lightbound is an artist based between Chicago and Glasgow, having earned her MFA from SAIC (2016) and a BA (Hons) from Glasgow School of Art (2012). Working primarily in printmaking, sculpture, and installation, her work examines symbolism and authority in the built environment and issues relating to the division of space and property. She is a current HATCH artist resident at Chicago Artists Coalition, and a participant in the 2016-2017 Field Trip / Field Notes / Field Guide fellowship.

Louis Kishfy is a technologist who currently lives and works in Rhode Island. Kishfy’s practice is rooted predominantly in sculpture and installation; exploring his interests in sociology, postmodern philosophy, and environmental psychology. He is a graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (MDes, 2016) and the University of Rhode Island (BS, 2012).

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Tags: Chicago, Frances Lightbound, ichael Rado, Louis Kishfy, Lower West Side, Semblance of Order, Uri-Eichen Gallery