From Arsenal Contemporary’s website

Arsenal Contemporary Art New York is pleased to present a two-person exhibition by Los Angeles-based emerging artists Miranda Byk and Anja Salonen. Tether / Contaminate is Byk’s first ever exhibition in New York and Salonen’s first exhibition in New York since 2017.

Anja Salonen draws inspiration from the digital world and the effects of a techno-neoliberal economic model at war with planetary boundaries. Gasoline rainbows, water pollution and the visual phenomena of chemical contamination are all referenced in her paintings as irreparable consequences of technological developments, resource extraction, and large-scale industrialization. Her work places the human body at the center of this conflict as the main subject of biometric surveillance and personal data mining. In her work, contamination exists as a two-fold dystopian phenomenon, the failed strategic management of human and natural resources, but also resolute interconnectedness of all things living and inert.

Both Byk and Salonen draw from science-fiction and fantasy novels for inspiration. Each artist has deployed a visual vocabulary that is resolutely their own while referencing their respective areas of interest. Together, however, their work testifies to a world that is undergoing profound changes and emphasizes the importance of imagination and creativity as critical tools towards a better future for humanity.

Anja Salonen (b. 1994, Los Angeles, CA) Lives and works in Los Angeles, CA. She attended the Rhode Island School of Design and California Institute of the Arts, where she earned her BFA in Fine Arts. She is a visual artist, musician, and performer. Recent exhibitions include In Lieu (Los Angeles), Loyal Gallery (Stockholm, Sweden) and Kravets Wehby (New York).

The exhibition is taking place at Arsenal Contemporary Art in New York, at 21 Cortlandt Alley, 2nd Floor, during May 12 - Jun 17.