Measures of Distance
1224 W Loyola Ave, Chicago IL
November 7, 2020 - December 20, 2020
Intimacy and alienation do not constitute a binary, but rather operate as simultaneous phenomena; expanding and contracting distances requiring fluid performances of vulnerability, support, propriety, and separation. For Measures of Distance, Lia Kohl and Nick Meryhew navigate this matrix, exploring alternative intimacies, physical proximities, and ambiguous distances through video, performance ephemera, and sculptural objects.
Measures of Distance is a street-view exhibition on view 24 hours a day, with projections after dark. Excerpts are arranged below in an attempt to make this work more accessible during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thoughts and feedback are welcomed at measuresofdistance@gmail.com.
Lia Kohl is a cellist and multidisciplinary artist based in Chicago. She creates and performs embodied music and multimedia performance that incorporates sound, video, movement, theatre, and sculptural objects. She is a curator and ensemble member with the acclaimed performance ensemble Mocrep, with whom she has toured nationally and internationally. She has presented work and performed at the Art Institute of Chicago, the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, and held residencies at Mana Contemporary Chicago, High Concept Labs and dfbrl8r Performance Art Gallery. As an improviser she performs around the world and with her clarinet/percussion/cello trio, ZRL. She plays with Chicago bands Whitney, OHMME, and Circuit des Yeux. She tours with Chicago based puppet theatre company Manual Cinema.
Nick Meryhew is an experimental musician, curator, improvisor, and armchair geologist. Their work explores ideas of assemblage, hybridity, and nonhierarchy through a sculptural approach to found sound. They frequently improvise as a medium through which to investigate social dynamics both personal and political. Nick is a founding/former member of performance ensemble Mocrep, and has presented work at No Nation Gallery, The Hideout, Art Institute of Chicago, High Concept Labs, and MCA Chicago. They currently perform in Chicago with The Lucky Trikes, Runaway Labs Theater, and alongside noise artists Hedra Rowan and Jen Hill. They have curated at Logan Square's Comfort Station since 2017, primarily working on the experimental sound and performance series Gather. They are currently co-artistic director of AG47 Collective, a youth arts collective that facilitates interdisciplinary arts workshops and exhibitions for teens in Logan Square.
Loving the Cannibal: Lia Kohl and Nick Meryhew’s Measures of Distance | Sixty Inches From Center - December 1, 2020
Artist talk with Corey Smith | December 15, 2020
