Together as a trio for the first time, sound artists Thessia Machado and Ranjit Bhatnagar, and performing artist and engineer Ed Bear, will collaborate in BRIC’s Gallery to create new audiovisual instruments, systems, and sculptures from e-waste in the exhibition, Penelope Umbrico: MONUMENT. They premiere their new imaginations of humming, buzzing, blinking, and whirring possible worlds.
BIOS:
Thessia Machado is a visual/sound artist, instrument builder and performer whose work plumbs the materiality of sound and its effect on our shifting perceptions of space. She creates circumstances in which to mine the matter of her pieces for their innate physical properties and the sonic and visual relationships that can arise from their interactions. In performed works, the ensemble of things is augmented by a dynamically responsive and intentionally unpredictable human element. Electronics are almost always implicated. Thessia’s sculptures, drawings and installations have been shown at The Drawing Center, NY; BRIC, Brooklyn; The German-Japanese Cultural Center, Cologne; Cyberarts Gallery, Boston; and District Gallery and SomoS Gallery in Berlin. She was awarded the Berlin Prize at the American Academy in Berlin and the Foundation for Contemporary Arts Artist’s Grant in 2017. Thessia has attended residencies at The MacDowell Colony, Yaddo, the NARS Foundation, and the Irish Museum of Modern Art, among others. And she is a recipient of fellowships from the New York Foundation for the Arts, Harvestworks, The Experimental Television Center and The Bronx Museum.
Ed Bear is a performing artist and engineer. His work with robotics, sound, video, transmission and collective improvisation investigates the questionable calibration of perception. As an educator and designer committed to an open source world, he researches and practices material reuse and as a civil responsibility. He has toured extensively in North America and Europe as a performer and teacher, working with organizations such as The Mattress Factory, The Montreal Pop Festival, Oberlin Conservatory of Music, and Renssalaer Polytechnic Institute. Since receiving his B.S. In Electrical Engineering from the Polytechnic Institute of NYU, Ed Bear has provided freelance design, manufacturing and engineering services to start-ups, acclaimed artists and musicians, film and theater productions, and leading education institutions. He is currently working with littleBits, Inc. to revolutionize modular electronics.
Ranjit Bhatnagar works in music, installation, and text, with a particular interest in algorithmic techniques and in improvisation at all stages of creation. His works have been exhibited across the United States and in Europe. Last summer, Ranjit worked with Ad Hoc Art Collective to build a large scale musical installation in Denmark. He has worked with New Orleans Airlift to build several tiny musical houses. He has performed recently with Lea Bertucci, Thessia Machado, and Margaret Leng Tan. His heaviest work is Stone Song, a 7500 pound outdoor sound sculpture; his longest is The Tapestry of the Search for Terrestrial Intelligence at 44 yards.
Venue Information:
The Stoop at BRIC House is a public cultural gathering space featuring free, drop-in programming, and offering a place to sit, observe, and participate in multi-disciplinary work.
Beginning Nov. 1, 2022, attendees of any BRIC House programming will no longer have to show proof of vaccination or a negative test to enter the building. Masks are encouraged but not required in all BRIC operated spaces. If you have questions regarding this protocol, please email Safety@bricartsmedia.org