Merideth Hillbrand

TENDER

New Low is pleased to present TENDER, an exhibition of new works by Merideth Hillbrand. 

TENDER presents a series of serial sculptures that hang and lean in space - mirrors framed in walnut, punctuated by anodized / plated aluminum discs with engravings. The regularity of these structures means slight variations in color, text, and direction make for big differences in impression. The works presented here efficiently encapsulate Hillbrand’s lasting interests in design, formalism, photography, and language. 

It’s a series of contradictions:  warmth of walnut vs. the coldness of metal and mirror, the clarity of a reflection vs. the stutter of a text, the distance of looking vs. the viewer’s image inside the work. Simultaneously, exchange features prominently - the coins in TENDER are interchangeable, poetry mixes with acrophony,  bolstering or confounding meaning. Tango Echo November Delta Echo Romeo, 2023, uses the NATO phonetic alphabet to spell out this show’s title; a code developed during wartime denotes a delicate effect. 

In Behold!, 2023, Hillbrand makes clear her interest in exergue: defined as “a small space or inscription below the principal element or emblem on a coin or medal, usually on the reverse side”. Each work features exergue prominently, and these inscriptions may only be read in reflection. Etymologically, exergue comes from the Latin ex for out and the Greek ergon for work - something laying outside the works. In the case of Behold!, God is prominently missing from the ubiquitous US currency phrase “In God We Trust”, yet this absence is freely filled by the reflected image of the viewer, framed and captioned by Hillbrand’s chosen fragments. 

At once familiar, aloof, and polite, wall-hung, but multidimensional, these new works continue Hillbrand’s modus operandi of defying facile characterization. 

Merideth Hillbrand (b. 1988, New Haven, Connecticut, USA) is a Pisces Sun, Libra Moon, and Aries Rising. She received a BFA from The School of Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and an MFA from UC Riverside. She lives and works in Los Angeles, California, USA.