"In God We Trust: The Religious Mosaic in America" - exhibition at Zacheta National Gallery of Art, Warszawa (06.09 - 11.11.2013)

The exhibition focuses purely on the exploration of the variety of religious beliefs and practices of which the United States is composed. For both in the past and in the present, religion has played a highly significant and multifarious role in the United States, to the extent that today the country might be considered one of the most religiously diverse in the world. While the rich panoply of traditional religious communities and identities is still a major and changing element of the United States, we can also witness the emergence of new modes of religiosity whereby each person can define a religious identity for themselves in opposition to a relativistic vision of contemporary American society. The controversial motto used as the title of the exhibition, one that has often been questioned by different political and religious groups, may be interpreted in the context of today’s religious complexity as suggesting that America is no longer “one nation under [one] god”. For, in addition to its strong assertion of faith, the phrase does not foreclose a possibility of “choosing my religion” that can take on the most varied forms and facets.

The exhibition is a collaborative project, presenting excerpts from the oeuvre of artists who, while sharing one important thing, namely being active members of the cultural world nowadays, represent various generations and are diversified when it comes to their religious roots. They touch on issues related with religion, rare, unusual beliefs, sects and cults. They approach the topic, trying to make their spectators acquainted with an exceptional dynamics of faith-related phenomena and present a truly wide variety of creeds and cultures present in the United States of America. Moreover, the exhibition refers to numerous other important aspects of this complex issue; it describes mutual relations between religions and the society, economics/capitalism, politics, patriotism/Americanism, sports or popular culture.

The project "In God We Trust: The Religious Mosaic in America" includes works by: Nina Berman, Huma Bhabha, Peter Bogers, C-LEVEL Project (Eddo Stern, Peter Brinson, Brody Condon, Michael Wilson, Mark Allen, Jessica Hutchins), Erin Cosgrove, Dzine (Carlos Rolon), Jonathan Durham, Angela Ellsworth, Generic Art Solutions (Matt Vis and Tony Campbell), Anthony Goicolea, Guerra De La Paz (Alain Guerra, Neraldo de la Paz), Christian Jankowski, Joseph Johnson, William Klein, Oliver Laric, Nora Ligorano and Marshall Resse, David LaChapelle, Nate Lowman, Joanna Malinowska, Michael Murphy, Rashaad Newsome, Michael Rakowitz, Jay Rosenblatt, Martha Rosler, Andres Serrano, Jeff Sonhouse, Kim Sooja, Jim Shaw, Piotr Uklański, Jordan Wolfson, Shannon Taggart, Bill Viola.