Simone Jones's Solo Exhibition at Ronald Feldman Fine Arts Explores Modernity Through Video Installations

Simone Jones presented her first solo exhibition at Ronald Feldman Fine Arts in New York City from November 3 to December 23, 2011, featuring video installations inspired by Marshall Berman's book 'All That Is Solid Melts Into Air: The Experience of Modernity'. The show included 'All That Is Solid', a four-screen video installation where computer-generated 3D shapes tumble over film noirish photos of institutional hallways and staircases, accompanied by a sinister soundtrack. Another work, 'End of Empire', is a 14-minute video that reinterprets Andy Warhol's 'Empire' by panning up and down the Empire State Building with a crane-like robot projecting the image onto the ceiling and wall, ultimately showing the building's disappearance. Jones, based in Toronto, draws on Berman's concept of modernity as a duality of creative and destructive forces, with her pieces embodying this split through digital dematerialization. The exhibition contrasts historical references like Goethe's Faust, Robert Moses's public works, Thomas Cole's 'Course of Empire' from 1836, and Matthew Barney's 'Cremaster 3' from 2002, positioning Jones's work within a contemporary digital context. The gallery is located at 31 Mercer Street, between Howard and Grand, with contact information (212) 226-3232.