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The Institute of Contemporary Art at Maine College of Art & Design (ICA at MECA&D) is pleased to announce Pyrite Radio, a solo exhibition of sculpture, audio, and video by the late artist and educator Peter Simensky (1975-2023). Born and raised in Maine and a former faculty member in the MFA in Studio Art program at MECA&D, Simensky worked with artist communities nationally and internationally before his passing in 2023. The exhibition marks the East Coast premiere of his radios.

In Pyrite Radio, Peter Simensky extends his longstanding exploration of gold, currency, and systems of value into the domain of underground radio, actively circumventing regulated modes of communication and reorienting points of connection. Employing iron pyrite, a material historically associated with failed fortune-seeking in the American West, Simensky utilizes the properties of “fool’s gold” as a covert transmitter of information. By “tuning in” to just the right frequency—i.e., poking at a rock—various local AM radio stations can be heard, including those coming from the transmissions within the gallery. These crystal radios oscillate between scientific and intuitive methods of working, constantly requiring exploration, discovery, and comfort in the unknown. In Pyrite Radio, value shifts away from the physical object and concepts of ownership into the mystery and complexity of community-building.

Pyrite Radio engages perception through glistening, sprightly objects that attract audiences with their visual qualities. The pyrite and its faceted surfaces serve as the central element of the work, both reflecting light and capturing sound. The radio sculptures, which take the form of stands, chimes, and boxes, are adorned with colorful plastic beads, sparkling sequins, and whimsical children’s umbrellas. Pieces of iridescent plexiglass, coated wire, and golden emergency blankets function as antennae for the low-powered AM transmitters. Hardware components and outsourced sound equipment are incorporated throughout for both technical and non-technical functions, demonstrating Simensky’s propensity for imperfect systems.

​​Existing as both an exhibition of artworks and a platform for collaboration, Pyrite Radio is continuously activated with sound. Throughout the exhibition, selected artists, musicians, DJs, writers, and radio stations—including previous collaborators and new partners from near and far—engage with the radios by broadcasting a variety of programs. These collaborators, like Simensky, accept the radios' temperamental nature and prioritize experimentation and dissonance. By combining formal and technical strategies with togetherness and joy, Pyrite Radio interrogates complex histories and hierarchies to shift focus towards an alternative value system: collective engagement and the importance of our shared relationships.

Peter Simensky’s Pyrite Radio, along with the concurrent ICA group exhibition A Sea of Particles, collectively represent the third installment of the ICA at MECA&D’s Getaway! exhibition series, exploring the power and pitfalls of escapism as a reaction to the question, “What do we do in response to our current crises?”. These group and solo exhibitions unpack various topics within the broader theme of escapism, examining both the complex impulses that drive us away from challenging circumstances and the destinations and activities we pursue when we do. Through diverse research and artistic practices, this series aims to provide a space for imagination, equipping our communities, both within and beyond MECA&D, with new tools to create the worlds they envision.

First Friday Art Walk

Visual Arts

Peter Simensky: Pyrite Radio

Institute of Contemporary Art at Maine College of Art & Design

Peter Simensky: Pyrite Radio

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