growing down — ROMAN SUSAN

Rebecca Beachy
growing down
1224 W Loyola Ave, Chicago IL
October 10, 2020 - October 25, 2020

Down is the necessary orientation for any root and is a consistent compass for the evolution of my work. Growing down presents the best of gravity: the earth parts as water sinks in, roots reach down from a core, and the dark becomes the gathering place for opaque processes necessary for proper grounding. This work echoes this process and advocates for an ethics of deep rooting. Rooting is a necessary counter to a culture increasingly carried away by powerful wireless exchanges up above, failing to nurture the foundation needed to support and sustain the livelihood of humans and non-humans alike. Probing rootedness as a practice means exploring the connection of what is subtle and inherent within daily experience. For me this begins with deeply exploring material—that which is found in our homes, daily objects and bodies—to reveal inherent qualities, uncanniness, immanence and poetics.

This work advocates for moments of slow material recognition—where bones presented as clean, bright dust piles are realized in their essence only through a gradual process of identification. At first, one does not realize they are encountering body matter. Similarly, ancient oil that makes up asphalt is forgotten for what it is, yet it symbolically and materially bears the weight of countless lives, dividing foot from earth and transforming large and small mammals into tire-flattened membranes and unidentifiable dusts. Reflective road lines coat and frame boundaries containing multitudes. These are materials we are trained into forgetting and overlooking. growing down gestures to tell their stories as a means of reconnecting with place, relationship, and our own bodily presence on earth.

– Rebecca Beachy

Rebecca Beachy is an artist, writer, and educator in Chicago whose practice involves deepening attention to the materialities inherent in urban and natural orbits. Her work engages the many subtleties and the complex relationships we have with the natural world. She holds an MFA in Studio Arts and an MA in Art History from the University of Illinois, Chicago. Born in 1982, Beachy grew up in Denver, Colorado. Past exhibitions include Ralph Arnold Gallery with Roman Susan, Loyola University, Chicago; Sector 2337, Chicago; New Capital Projects, Chicago; Iceberg Projects, Chicago; FRISE, Hamburg, Germany. Beachy’s work has been featured in publications such as Antennae: The Journal of Nature in Visual Culture, UK; Æther Sofia/Haga, Bulgaria, Netherlands; City Creatures, University of Chicago Press, New New Corpse, Green Lantern Press. Beachy’s work has been written about in White Hot Magazine; ArtSlant; Hyperallergic; Armseye; Art Papers; NewCity Chicago; Chicago Reader; Chicago Tribune. Beachy is a recent recipient of 3Arts Make a Wave Grant. For more information about the artist, please visit rebecca-beachy.com.

First image: pillow + mammal skins (wrapped/coated in river clay); second image, immediately above: copper cones w/cremains (bone dust); homepage image: lunaria seeds (common name honesty) w/copper leaf; slideshow below: installation views of growing down at 1224 W Loyola Ave, Chicago.

Left to right: Red river clay, mammal skins on Copper foil, bird spikes; Asphalt-covered traffic cones in front of Asphalt-surfaced fiberboard ceiling panels; Fiberboard ceiling panels, bird spikes

Left to right: Copper-coated stones; Red river clay, Deer tail (Oconto county, Wisconsin); Gauze wrapped stone (green river clay); Copper resin, nest-mud-covered animal remains; Iowa river shale (Madison County); Asphalt stones (Lake Michigan); Red river clay, animal remains (cow hide)

Left to right: Red river clay, animal remains (cow hide); Asphalt stones (Lake Michigan); Iowa river shale (Madison County)

Left to right: Fiberboard ceiling panels, bird spikes; Red river clay, animal remains; Red river clay, animal remains (cow hide)

Red river clay, animal remains (cow hide)

Pyrolyzed moose droppings bio-char, red river clay

Left to right: Pyrolyzed bone char (hand-processed, Iowa wildlife); Copper-leaf railing, animal cremains (Amish horses, Chesterhill, Ohio)

Left to right: Asphalt-covered traffic cone; Wax, copper, plaster, potting soil & grass cones

Wax, copper, plaster, potting soil & grass cones

Bird’s-nest-mud wedge shelf; lower left: Copper-leaf railing, animal cremains (Amish horses, Chesterhill, Ohio)

Bird’s nest casts, green river clay and Iowa river shale (Madison County) on Copper foil, bird spikes; background: Asphalt-covered traffic cone; River clay slip, water, muslin, burlap, linen & thread

Left to right: Bird’s nest casts, green river clay, Iowa river shale (Madison County), Red river clay, skunk skin on Copper foil, bird spikes; background: River clay slip, water, muslin, burlap, linen & thread

Red river clay, skunk skin on Copper foil, bird spikes

Foreground: Asphalt, copper cones, animal cremains (Amish horses, Chesterhill, Ohio); background: River clay stones (Madison County Iowa)

Asphalt, copper cones, animal cremains (Amish horses, Chesterhill, Ohio)

Foreground: Turtle cremains on Copper foil, bird spikes; background: Rat trap, copper leaf, asphalt

Red river clay, mammal skins on Copper foil, bird spikes

Turtle cremains on Copper foil, bird spikes

Left to right: Turtle cremains and Red river clay, mammal skins on Copper foil, bird spikes; background: Rat trap, copper leaf, asphalt

Left to right: Pyrite sun + pyrite sand; Beaver-chewed branch, copper leaf; Green-river-clay cone casts

Left to right: Pyrite sun + pyrite sand; Beaver-chewed branch, copper leaf; Green-river-clay cone casts; Bird’s nest mud capsule (warbler embedded)

Pyrolyzed bone char (hand-processed, Iowa wildlife)

River clay slip, water, muslin, burlap, linen & thread (exterior view)

River clay slip, water, muslin, burlap, linen & thread (interior view)

River clay slip, storefront view with Asphalt-covered traffic cones

Pyrolyzed moose droppings bio-char, red river clay (exterior)

growing down Exhibition Guide (PDF)

Artist talk with Kristin Abhalter and Nathan Smith | October 22, 2020

Rebecca Beachy | 60wrd/min - December 14, 2020 + Newcity - December 24, 2020