Sirota’s Piranesian Bling series featured at the Franklin Street Works in Stamford, Connecticut

Assistant professor Anya Sirota’s Piranesian Bling series explores the representational value of ruination in the collective optic. Drawing inspiration from Detroit’s iconic Packard Plant, the work assembles metal-plated replicas depicting architectural fragments. The constellation of derelict miniatures both materializes and abstracts the Packard Plant’s symbolic stature as an unintentional monument to capital extraction.

The Sunken Living Room is an exhibition of contemporary art, most of which was created during the current recession, beginning in 2008. This original, group exhibition will be on view from March 22 – May 25, 2014 at Franklin Street Works in Stamford, Connecticut. The show’s title simultaneously reflects the interior design phenomenon of the slightly stepped down or “sunken’ living room, popular during the last big U.S. recession of the 1970s, and the crash of the housing market during the recession in 2008. Using sculpture, video, texts, drawings, prints and photos, artists working today tackle recession-related topics that include: labor, debt, the collapse of the housing market, post-industrial cityscapes, unemployment, and banking practices.

Visit the Franklin Street Works website for more information.