Hales Gallery is proud to announce Hew Locke's new comission Reversal of Fortune for Fringe Projects Miami.
Since the financial crash of 2008 Hew Locke has been buying original antique share certificates from old companies, and painting directly on them. In Reversal of Fortune fifteen have been selected and printed up to create an installation on the facade, and inside the vault, of an empty store. He has chosen these defunct shares sometimes for their interesting history, and sometimes for their beauty. He highlights historical and economic cycles. Commerce has its’ ups and downs, yet it is human nature to be optimistic, to continue to trade. New-born companies garland their shares with confident typography and classical motifs implying stability and worth. Figures representative of the local population in the areas in which the companies operated are sometimes seen breaking-through. These are silent witnesses, those who paid the most to create the wealth without receiving the benefit.
Hew Locke
Reversal of Fortune
The Alfred I. duPont Building
169 E Flagler Street
Miami, FL 33133
7 October 2017 - 31 January 2018
Opening Reception: 7 October, 6.30 - 9pm
