Anthem-X curated by Jared Owens

Chelsea-based Malin Gallery is pleased to present the group exhibition Anthem X curated by artist Jared Owens, during Miami Art Week 2022. Located in Wynwood, the exhibition features artworks by 42 innovative artists each working from a singular perspective. The artists included represent some of the most promising artistic voices of now and the future. The exhibition foregrounds the work of an intergenerational cohort of artists excavating the sociocultural terrain in bracingly novel and radical ways. Working in a diverse array of media, the artists in Anthem X employ revolutionary approaches to reformulating personal and collective identities within the American context. The artists in this exhibition are united in their desire to amplify voices that counter past societal omissions and negations - to inspire as yet unknown anthems that speak to the power of previously obscured histories. The multiplicity of their perspectives cannot be reduced to a singular narrative or origin story; hence, Anthem X. A portion of sales from Anthem X will go to support the Right of Return USA Fellowship, co-founded by two exhibiting artists in the show, Jesse Krimes and Russell Craig. Right of Return is the only artistic fellowship that exclusively supports formerly-incarcerated artists.

Participating artists include: Timothy Bair, Daveed Baptiste, Mary Baxter, Bryana Bibbs, Bubi Canal, Angela China, Tameca Cole, Lindsey Brittain Collins, Michael Coppage, Russell Craig, Stef Duffy, Patricia Encarnación, Daniel Gaitor-Lomack, Valerie Hegarty, Heather Jones, Melissa Joseph, Jesse Krimes, Omar Lawson, Mark Loughney, SK Lyons, Chella Man, Marcus Manganni, Athena LaTocha, Sylvia Maier, Helina Metaferia, Mychaelyn Michalec, Amy Myers, Prinston Nnanna, Jared Owens, Tom Prinsell, Yuval Pudik, Ernesto Renda, Gilberto Rivera, Nazeer Sabree, Danielle Scott, Foad Satterfield, Stephanie H. Shih, Taryn Simon, Sagarika Sundaram, Maryam Turkey, Fletcher Williams, Cedric Wilson, and Aimee Wissman.

The organizing principle for Anthem X was inspired by Ada Limó n’s poem A New National Anthem, which addresses the racism and violence imbued within the The Star Spangled Banner, most overtly in its rarely-sung third stanza, and calls for an entirely new type of anthem. Limó n highlights how the National Anthem has been redacted over time yet retains searing elements of its racist origins - paralleling the ways in which orthodox accounts of American history have attempted to expunge the persistence of racism and exclusivity in American society. Limó n strips the National Anthem of its sacred character and calls instead for a new anthem, both more inclusive and less bellicose.

…And what of the stanzas we never sing, the third that mentions “no refuge could save the hireling of the slave”? Perhaps, the truth is, every song of this country has an unsung third stanza, something brutal snaking underneath us as we blindly sing…

Ada Limón, A New National Anthem, 2018 - 

Written during the War of 1812 by the young Francis Scott Key, an ardently pro-slavery lawyer and amateur poet, the Star Spangled Banner was considered controversial even in the early 19th century. It took more than a century before it was adopted as the “National Anthem.” The most troubling portion of the song is its third stanza, with which few Americans are familiar:

No refuge could save the hierling and the slave From the terror of Glight or the gloom of the grave, And the star spangled banner in triumph doth wave O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave

Francis Scott Key, The Star Spangled Banner, 1814 -

Notably, the Star Spangled Banner was only elevated to the status of “National Anthem” during the era of reconstruction, when attempts were made to codify racism in the nation’s laws and culture, with the erection of confederate memorials around the country, the imposition of Jim Crow laws and the emergence of the KKK as a signiYicant force in national politics.

As if to amplify Limó n’s call to action, the artists in this exhibition to make manifest obscured or negated histories and truth - united in their desire to reveal what is “snaking underneath us” and create as yet unsung anthems. Jared Owens, the exhibition curator explains:

For Anthem X, I selected artists whose practice has a foundation in social commentary and activism. Many of the the participants are artists whom I have personally befriended during my time as a fellow at Silver Arts and through studio visits and other associations. As a formerly incarcerated artist, I wanted to include examples of some of the stunning work being produced by other formerly-incarcerated artists. However, it was of great importance to me to show the work of formerly-incarcerated artists alongside that of other artists who have had not involvement with the criminal justice system. I also want the exhibition to illuminate some of the intersecting networks of afYinities that are a vital outcome of the residencies, studio programs and informal communities that sustain many artists today. Moreover, I hope that the show will facilitate creative cross pollination between the artists from these intersecting networks. My intent is to foster a deep dialogue among the participants that moves us towards a new, radically inclusive and forward looking “anthem."