ZieherSmith presents a solo exhibition by Rachel Owens, Props. The show will incorporate a dialogical theater project to her more traditional sculptural practices, both of which manifest Owens’ longtime interest in issues of social and political subjugation.

The centerpiece of the physical exhibition is Stage, a sculpture representing a skyscraper section, ambiguously either partially demolished or not yet complete. Stretching from floor to ceiling, the piece becomes a part of the gallery’s infrastructure. In addition, it will serve as stage and set for politically charged performances acted out by New York City artists and local Chelsea residents, giving the installation further power as metaphor for the breakdown of hierarchies and, more locally, referencing the recent proliferation of monolithic high-income condos bordering the neighborhood.

The main performance on Wednesday evening, September 22nd, 7:30 pm will be the result of a collaboration with artist and activist Candice Sering and a series of theater workshop intensives, co-facilitated by Owens and Sering and based on techniques from Theater of the Oppressed. 12-15 participants invited from the diverse neighborhood of Chelsea will act out individual stories pertaining to what it means to be a member of the community, and in particular, explore both personal and systemic forms of oppression. The audience of this “Forum Theater” will attempt to provide alternate resolutions to the short non-cathartic plays. Another edition of Theater of the Oppressed will first be performed by the Red Hook Theater Project, on Wednesday, September 15th, 7:30 pm.

Other sculptural elements of the exhibition echo these themes of destruction and renewal, oppression and release. Framing the entrance to the main gallery, Topiary features two massive pyramids of glowing shards of broken glass, materials salvaged from local restaurant detritus and transformed into archetypal symbol. Thrown, a set of gold-leafed bleachers, decentralizes the hierarchy of the classic, elevated throne and provides multiple resting spots for visitors, as well as audience seating for performances. Other works are anthropomorphized assemblages, with materials including drift wood, saw horses, top hats, and out-sized men’s shoes, often with a gold leafed or scorched surface that alludes to the all too frequent codependency between wealth and destruction or even violence.