Jane Lombard Gallery is pleased to present its inaugural Tribeca exhibition, The Nightmare It Is / The Nightmare It Was, a new two-part series of works by Romanian artist Dan Perjovschi. The 2020 presidential campaign has proven itself to be an unpredictable landscape, as political, cultural and economic gaps, interwoven with tensions from the COVID-19 pandemic, have carved divisions between the American people. Drawing on US-centric political subjects, from life and the media, Perjovchi's exhibition investigates challenging discussions surrounding tensions between the two American parties and how fact can so easily be obscured into fiction. The Nightmare It Is / The Nightmare It Was is on view from November 14 - December 19, 2020 with a public opening on November 14th from 1-4PM.

The first instalment of the two-part exhibition, The Nightmare It Is, will feature daily drawings by Perjovschi displayed on the inside of the main gallery window for contactless street viewing starting November 2nd. Utilizing water-based window paint and shorthand application, the rotating installation acts as a visual think board, providing a temporary and evolving platform for statements meant to encourage voters, reflect on America's response to quarantine, and react to potential futures. The Nightmare It Was, premiering on November 14th, will be the debut exhibition in the gallery's new space and will present a new body of work of illustrative commentary on a range of interconnected political issues that resonate on a transnational scale. The exhibition was made not only as a response to general U.S. political commentary, but also commentary on the country's response to crisis. Presenting us with quick witted editorials that defy art world binaries, Perjovschi's drawings are not cartoons, nor comics or graffiti, but conscientious visual and journalistic responses to socio-political unease. His intent is not to shock, but to understand. His works are imbued with an undeniable sense of humor, a necessity in these trying times.

As part of the exhibition, there will be an interactive installation* where viewers are encouraged to create their own chalk drawings that will act as a judgement-free platform for dialogue. Whether they exist as political commentaries or simple thoughts in that present moment, the space upholds an evolutionary through-line to the work.

Dan Perjovschi's satirical works are sketchbook interventions with images and text in news, transforming the gallery into a space of relatable frustrations with socio-political conditions. Maintaining an ephemeral foundation, Perjovschi does not ignore the inherent contradictions of the socio-economic privileged arena where his work can be found. To violence, opulence and extremism, he responds with puns, laughter and ridicule as the protection of freedom. He lives and works in Sibiu, Romania. Perjovschi has exhibited worldwide, including: the Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY; the Art Institute of Chicago, IL; Hamburger Kunsthalle, Hamburg, Germany; MOT Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, Japan; Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma, Helsinki, Finland; the 48th and 52nd Venice Biennale; 9th Istanbul Biennial; Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin, Germany and Manifesta 2, Luxembourg. Perjovschi has won prizes such as the Princess Margriet Award of the European Cultural Foundation and the George Maciunas Prize. His work is in the collections of the Ludwig Museum, Budapest, Hungary; the Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY; Center Pompidou, Paris, France; Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Sweden and the Tate, London, UK.

Jane Lombard Gallery, although (re)opened in 2015, has a 25 year history and an established reputation for bringing to the forefront artists who work within a global perspective/aesthetic relevant to the social and political climate of today. The gallery seeks to promote both emerging and mid career artists in a variety of media - painting, sculpture, installation and film - in the US, Europe and Asia. Formerly Lombard Freid Projects, founded in 1995 in Soho, the gallery later moved to Chelsea, first to 26th Street and later to 19th Street in 2010. The gallery is now located in Tribeca at 58 White St.

Press release courtesy Jane Lombard Gallery.