FRANCESCA BIFULCO
Ignited States of America
October 5 through November 2, 2024
Bermudez Projects is excited to present Francesca Bifulco: Ignited States of America, a dynamic, immersive exhibition born in the wake of the current socio-political upheaval wreaking havoc across the United States. In her new body of work – comprised of paintings, sculpture, installation, and performance – Bifulco expands on her 2020 series with an unbridled fury that is as aggressive and striking as the very topics she investigates.
Spanning the systemic injustices, racism, and political turmoil that have long plagued the nation, Bifulco tears the Band-Aid off and confronts us with a series of inequities dating back to the Indigenous Peoples to the event that incited this series: the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder.
“In the summer of 2020, Black Lives Matter marches were echoing throughout America in the name of George Floyd: large gatherings pounding the streets; their bodies and voices out, in spite of the new rules of personal safety imposed by the pandemic, for a shared cause,” Bifulco says in her artist statement.
Two monumental paintings were created at the time – The Pursuit of Madness and Ignited States of America – each portraying everyday people rapt in the melee of a bifurcated America, powerfully rendered in Bifulco’s razor-edge style. The sharp, frenetic lines parallel the painting’s chaotic scenery, exacerbating the contentious political landscape.
Now, with 10 new paintings set as altarpieces, along with mini altars, and text-based votive candle holders Bifulco navigates far more aggressive waters, chronicling some of the US’s most divisive topics – abortion, gun violence, war, White nationalism, Christian fundamentalism, LGBTQIA+ rights, Indigenous Peoples, racism, and political hypocrisy.
“In this series, I return to my subject of people focusing on the power of plurality against social distress. Scorched sacred altars encapsulate snapshots of past and present histories, immortalizing socio-cultural warfare, trauma and survival,” says Bifulco. “Clubbing atmospheres, immersive theater acts and performances bless the space with rhythms of equality, solidarity and collective liberation. The viewer is immersed in a staged dimension of Good vs. Evil to contemplate its fair share of blood, wounds, and deaths.”
This “staged dimension” is the gallery itself, transformed into a sacred, church-like space replete with darkened interior and affective lighting. Sculptural elements concentrated in The Crypt, along with scheduled performances throughout the run of the show both on the Apse-Stage – where the concept of disco and clubbing plays out through specialty lighting – and throughout the gallery heighten the experience, adding tension between the contemplative-inducing details of the paintings and the multisensory elements throughout the space.
Bifulco adds, “Through this allegorical scenic architecture that blends medieval symbols and mysterious forces, I examine the facets of a new resistance that is protesting the present by pulling back the curtain on the inner structures of injustice, oppression and power play of America’s shameless preaching machine.”
Ignited States of America Public Programs & Special Events (FREE at Bermudez Projects)
Opening Night Party
Saturday, October 5, 6-9 pm
Special Interactive Performances by Elif Savas and David Dickens
Music by DJ donnyj
Horny for History
Saturday, October 12, 7 pm
H4H is an ongoing digital series created by David Dickens and Ballview Entertainment focusing on the broader story of America through the lens of the individual biographies of each President while also answering the ultimate question: How Horny Were They?
Artist in Conversation with Collector Nick Salas
Saturday, October 19, 4 pm
Elif Savas
Friday, October 25, 7 pm
Special Immersive Performance with theater actor, writer and director Elif Savas
Closing Event w/ DJ, producer, radio host Daniel Troberg
Saturday, November 2, 5-8p
Dublab radio show host and longtime vinyl DJ Daniel Troberg will curate a special selection of Detroit-themed techno, house, and Disco to tie in to the themes in the exhibition. In a similar fashion, music as art that was mainly misunderstood and rejected in most parts of America but made its way to Europe in the late 80s to flourish and in later years got picked up and accepted in America again.