Soft Solidarity (SoS)
A4 and Pearl River Mart are proud to present Soft Solidarity (SoS), a multi-site group exhibition at Chelsea Market and the Pearl River Mart store in SoHo curated by Joyce Yu-Jean Lee. The exhibition features the work of six Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) women-identifying artists who share a love for contemporary art and traditional craft and have come together in “soft solidarity.” Coined by sociologist Mervyn Horgan, the term describes a kind of loose unity unconstrained by background, location, or socioeconomic status. It is perhaps especially applicable to the AAPI community, one of the most diverse in the country, spanning multiple ethnicities, backgrounds, and experiences.
Lee, experiential artist and Assistant Professor of Art and Digital Media at Marist College, has assembled a group of artists whose work conjures and revels in feminine strength by reviving colorful cultural crafts from mothers and grandmothers, honoring lost loved ones in reflective memoriam, and celebrating organic feminine forms and textures. The works are timeless but also respond to this particular time of adversity. They are simultaneously soft yet strong, pliable yet powerful, delicate yet potentially dangerous, empowering yet comforting.
Viewers are invited to enjoy, learn, and listen. To reflect upon histories but also to consider current pressing needs. The title, Soft Solidarity, abbreviated as “SoS,” is a kind of public call to the community at large: To take a stand against discrimination, hate, and violence. To help fight inequality and exclusion. To support safety and look out for those in need. To make a community, wherever you may be.
Soft Solidarity (SoS) spans two sites: the Pearl River Mart SoHo gallery (on view May 18 through August 28) and the main concourse of Chelsea Market (on view May 14 through June 6).
There is an opening reception at Chelsea Market on May 14 from 5 to 8pm. Tickets are available for the Sunset Celebration which includes snacks and drinks by Lunar but you can also visit the exhibition for free at any time during market hours: Monday through Saturday 7am - 2am, Sunday 8am - 10pm.