Jillian Mayer, Post Posture, 2018. Installation View.
JILLIAN MAYER
Post Posture
February 17 – March 31, 2018
Postmasters is very excited to announce Jillian Mayer's first solo exhibition with the gallery, Post Posture.
There is a variation of Rudolph Zallinger's iconic "March of Progress" illustration that depicts the same progression with the
addition of a final figure, hunched over a keyboard in front of a computer, its posture mirroring that of the ape at the beginning
of the sequence. Its titled, "Something, somewhere went terribly wrong."
Mayer responds to our postural decline with a positive solution: Slumpies. These utilitarian sculptures, which the artist began
producing in 2016, accommodate and encourage cell phone usage. Each anticipates a particular gesture that is the result of
holding a phone or digital device, giving shape to the negative space around a bodily form. Ranging in scale from tabletop to
large-scale floor and wall pieces, made primarily of fiberglass and resin, and painted with colorful oils and acrylics, the works
are whimsical and welcoming, sturdy enough to climb on and comfortable enough to lounge in, alone or with a partner
depending on the design.
In a recent article for ARTnews, Carolyn Twersky writes that "Slumpies can resemble deformed rocks that have been repeatedly
vandalized with paint, [acrylic flakes], and the odd plant. They are 'purposefully bulky, cumbersome, quasi-utilitarian,' Mayer
said in a recent interview. They're inspired by the less-than-elegant forms that people's bodies take when they interact with
phones—a stance that can only be described as 'slumping.'" Their non-sleek functionality brings to mind the works of Franz
West, while the medley of materials and textures call upon Jessica Stockholder and Rachel Harrison.
Our phones are surrogates for sociality. Even when we're surrounded by people, we're compelled to respond to our digital
networks, and to the endless possibilities these exchanges seem to promise. It's a reality that's often judged, or portrayed in
the media as the decline of civilization as we know it - a fear of technology that predates the Luddites, also evinced in the
variation of Zallinger's illustration. "Text neck," "tinder finger," and "cell phone elbow," are just a few of the emergent
"syndromes" unique to the smartphone era, which Slumpies cheekily cure. Slumpie Promotional Video 1 and 2 are commercial-
like video works that draw inspiration from infomercials, which inspire a satirical call to action along the lines of: "Aren't you
tired of holding up your neck while you text?"
Slumpies have a built-in obsolescence: the smartphones of today won't be around forever, or even much longer. As technology
inevitably changes, ushering in a new set of sociocultural conventions, Mayer's sculptures will be lasting artifacts of a moment
and its hyper-specific gestures.
Jillian Mayer (b. 1986) is an artist and filmmaker living in South Florida. Her videos, online experiences, performances,
sculptures, installations, and public works reflect upon and mediate digital experiences - of the self and communally. Solo
exhibitions include Pérez Art Museum Miami, Florida (2016); LAXART, Los Angeles (2016); the Utah Museum of Fine Arts, Salt
Lake City (2014); and David Castillo Gallery, Miami (2011 & 2016). She has exhibited and performed at MoMA PS1, Long
Island City, New York (2017); MoMA, New York (2013); BAM, Brooklyn (2013); the Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami,
Florida (2013); the Bass Museum of Art, North Miami, Florida (2012); the Guggenheim Museum, New York, Bilbao, and Venice
(2010); and the Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal, Québec as a part of the Montréal Biennial (2014). Mayer's work has
been featured in Artforum, Art in America, Art Papers, ARTnews, The Huffington Post, and The New York Times. She is the
recipient of the Creative Capital Fellowship (2015), the South Florida Cultural Consortium Visual/Media Artists Fellowship
(2011 & 2014), the Cintas Foundation Fellowship (2012), a Harpo Foundation Grant (2013), and the Zentrum Paul Klee
Fellowship (2013).
Named one of the "25 New Faces of Independent Film" by Filmmaker Magazine, Mayer has participated in film festivals
including Sundance, SXSW, Rottenberg, and the New York Film Festival. She is a fellow of the New Frontiers Lab and the New Narratives
on Climate Change labs with Sundance Film Festival, and is the co-director of Borscht Corp, a non-profit film and art collaborative
in Miami, Florida.
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Jillian Mayer Post Posture 2018 installation view |
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Jillian Mayer Post Posture 2018 installation view |
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Jillian Mayer Post Posture 2018 installation view |
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Jillian Mayer Slumpie 3 – Q-Chair 2016 fiberglass, resin, wood, hardware, oil enamel, and acrylic 52 x 35 x 37 inches |
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Jillian Mayer Slumpie 3 – Q-Chair 2016 fiberglass, resin, wood, hardware, oil enamel, and acrylic 52 x 35 x 37 inches |
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Jillian Mayer Slumpie 31 – Wet Bar Standing 2017 fiberglass, resin, wood, hardware, oil enamel, and acrylic 49 x 28 x 28 inches |
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Jillian Mayer Slumpie 31 – Wet Bar Standing 2017 fiberglass, resin, wood, hardware, oil enamel, and acrylic 49 x 28 x 28 inches |
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Jillian Mayer Slumpie 32 – Privacy 2017 fiberglass, resin, wood, hardware, oil enamel, and acrylic 28 x 58 x 42 inches |
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Jillian Mayer Slumpie 32 – Privacy 2017 fiberglass, resin, wood, hardware, oil enamel, and acrylic 28 x 58 x 42 inches |
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Jillian Mayer Slumpie 90 – Classical Wall 2018 fiberglass, resin, wood, hardware, oil enamel, and acrylic 75 x 51 x 17 inches |
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Jillian Mayer Slumpie 90 – Classical Wall 2018 fiberglass, resin, wood, hardware, oil enamel, and acrylic 75 x 51 x 17 inches |
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Jillian Mayer Baby Wall Slumpie 302 2018 fiberglass, resin, wood, hardware, oil enamel, and acrylic 12 x 16 x 6 inches |
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Jillian Mayer Slumpie 16 – Body Surf 2017 fiberglass, resin, wood, hardware, oil enamel, and acrylic 45.5 x 38 x 64 inches |
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Jillian Mayer Slumpie 16 – Body Surf 2017 fiberglass, resin, wood, hardware, oil enamel, and acrylic 45.5 x 38 x 64 inches |
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Jillian Mayer Slumpie 16 – Body Surf 2017 fiberglass, resin, wood, hardware, oil enamel, and acrylic 45.5 x 38 x 64 inches |
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Jillian Mayer Slumpie 4 – Lounger 2017 fiberglass, resin, wood, hardware, oil enamel, and acrylic 41 x 48 x 83 inches |
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Jillian Mayer Slumpie 4 – Lounger 2017 fiberglass, resin, wood, hardware, oil enamel, and acrylic 41 x 48 x 83 inches |
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Jillian Mayer Slumpie 18 – Cave 2016 fiberglass, resin, wood, hardware, oil enamel, and acrylic 40.5 x 31 x 94 inches |
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Jillian Mayer Slumpie 18 – Cave 2016 fiberglass, resin, wood, hardware, oil enamel, and acrylic 40.5 x 31 x 94 inches |
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Jillian Mayer Slumpie 16 – Knee Holder 2016 fiberglass, resin, wood, hardware, oil enamel, and acrylic 48.5 x 51.5 x 41 inches |
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Jillian Mayer Slumpie 16 – Knee Holder 2016 fiberglass, resin, wood, hardware, oil enamel, and acrylic 48.5 x 51.5 x 41 inches |
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Jillian Mayer Slumpie 89 – Harp Mode 2018 fiberglass, resin, wood, hardware, oil enamel, and acrylic 48.5 x 51.5 x 41 inches |
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Jillian Mayer Slumpie 89 – Harp Mode 2018 fiberglass, resin, wood, hardware, oil enamel, and acrylic 48.5 x 51.5 x 41 inches |
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Jillian Mayer Slumpie Sculpture Promo Video 1 2016 HD video (2 min 45 sec) edition of 5 + 2 AP |
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Jillian Mayer Slumpie Sculpture Promo Video 2 2016 HD video (3 min 57 sec) edition of 5 + 2 AP |
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Jillian Mayer Post Posture 2018 video, running time: 5:01 minutes Vernissage TV, March 18, 2018 | |
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Jillian Mayer Baby Wall Slumpie 304 2018 fiberglass, resin, wood, hardware, oil enamel, and acrylic 20.5 x 15.5 x 5.5 inches |
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Jillian Mayer Baby Wall Slumpie 303 2018 fiberglass, resin, wood, hardware, oil enamel, and acrylic 21 x 17 x 7 inches |
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Jillian Mayer Baby Wall Slumpie 301 2018 fiberglass, resin, wood, hardware, oil enamel, and acrylic 22 x 13.5 x 5 inches |
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Jillian Mayer Post Posture 2018 installation view |