Paroxysm: New Exhibit Exploring the Physical, Mental, and Social Symptoms of Our World

Paroxysm brings together 65 artists working across sculpture, painting, photography, video, and performance to explore and diagnose the worsening physical, mental, and social symptoms of our disordered world. Catalyzed by recent events, this group exhibition explores underlying chronic social diseases such as racism, misogyny, bigotry, xenophobia, and ableism. From para- ‘beyond’ and oxus- ‘sharp,’ paroxysm is defined as a sudden attack or violent expression of a disease, emotion, or activity. This cohort of artists, based in the United States and abroad, grapple with outbreaks of social and systemic violences that have sparked paroxysms of mental and bodily illness worldwide. The psychological impacts of isolation, the spread of infection, the marginalization of identity, and threats to bodily autonomy are all made visible through Paroxysm’s array of introspective works.