Carol Syzmanski's 'He Said I Thought' at Signs and Symbols explores corporate life through suits and poetry

Carol Syzmanski's exhibition 'He Said I Thought' at the Lower East Side gallery Signs and Symbols presents a dense, intertwined installation. The multi-disciplinary conceptual artist incorporates text pieces, 8-channel video, textual wallpaper, and sculpture. Sculptural elements include mesh reworkings of designer suits by Valentino, Jill Sander, and Alexander McQueen. These garments reference Syzmanski's previous career as a corporate banker, where she was required to maintain such a wardrobe. A live performance of a full dramatic work sharing the exhibition title is also featured. This performance folds the suits and found poetry into narratives with #MeToo themes. Different "suits" deliver each narrative, with sardonic commentary interjected by a misogynistic boss character. The boss is voiced as a disembodied Wizard of Oz voice from the gallery office. This role marks the NYC acting debut of the article's author. The cast and crew size nearly matches the audience capacity in the intimate venue. Syzmanski's artistic practice during her banking years included a daily email practice generating crowd-sourced poetic synonyms. These were arranged according to categories from Roget's Thesaurus, forming her 'Cockshut Dummy' series. The exhibition opened in October 2019 at the New York gallery.