How to See in The Dark

This group exhibition explores how artists respond to uncertainty and complexity through socially and ecologically engaged practice.

How to See in the Dark is a group exhibition that features works by Eva Davidova (NYC/Madrid), Dakota Gearhart (NYC), Garrett Laroy Johnson (Chicago), and Alberto Ortega-Trejo (Chicago). The artists engage with a range of social, ecological, and philosophical concerns, responding to the complexities of the current cultural moment, which some interpret as shaped by reactionary technological ideologies.

The exhibition takes its title from a quotation by cyberneticist Heinz von Foerster—frequently cited by Chicago-based artist and theorist Brian Holmes: “If you want to see, learn how to act.” This idea serves as a conceptual foundation for the show, which explores how artistic practice can respond to uncertainty, disruption, and evolving systems of knowledge and power.

While the exhibition does not propose definitive solutions, it encourages active engagement with unfamiliar or unconventional perspectives. It invites viewers to reconsider entrenched assumptions and to remain open to alternative modes of thinking, seeing, and acting.

How to See in the Dark examines recurring themes in history and nature —such as cycles of violence, transformation, and resistance— ranging from historical traumas to geological and cosmological shifts. The exhibition suggests that understanding the present may require consideration of broader, more-than-human timescales.

Rather than offering optimism or resolution, the participating artists propose a long-term, intergenerational perspective grounded in collective inquiry. The exhibition introduces the idea of a “cyber-ecological spirituality,” or “eco-techno-theo” practices, as a conceptual framework for engaging with complexity and uncertainty without relying on traditional narratives of progress or redemption.

About Eva Davidova

Eva Davidova is an interdisciplinary artist with focus on new media(s). Her work addresses ecological disaster, interdependency, and the political implications of technology through performative works rooted in the absurd. She questions what we give for granted, and explores possibilities for agency through uncertainty and play. Davidova often deliberately “misuses” technology in order to disturb its acceptance, and that of the prevalent emotional manipulation that both physical and informational architecture exert.

Davidova has exhibited at the Bronx Museum, the Everson Museum, the Albright Knox Museum, MACBA Barcelona, CAAC Sevilla, Instituto Cervantes and La Regenta among others.

About Dakota Gearhart

Dakota Gearhart is a New York-based visual artist whose interdisciplinary practice includes video, installation, sculpture, and public art. Originally from Arizona and raised in Florida, she holds a BFA from Florida State University and an MFA from the University of Washington. Her work has been exhibited at institutions such as the New Museum, Bronx Museum, Queens Museum, and internationally in cities including Berlin, Tokyo, and Mexico City. She has received support from organizations such as the National Endowment for the Arts, United States Artists, the Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission, and the Foundation for Contemporary Arts, and has participated in over twenty residencies, including site-specific programs at Wave Hill, Recology, and the Elsewhere Museum.

About Garrett Laroy Johnson

Garrett Laroy Johnson is a media artist, theorist, researcher, educator, writer, organizer, and programmer based in Chicago. His interdisciplinary practice spans multiple fields and institutions, with a focus on generative and responsive computational media, as well as post-psychoanalytic and post-cybernetic process philosophy.

Johnson’s work investigates questions of subjectivity within group dynamics, approaching media through a generalist framework that supports cross-disciplinary collaboration and critical inquiry.

About Alberto Ortega-Trejo

Alberto Ortega-Trejo is a Mexican artist, researcher, and architectural designer whose work explores indigeneity in architectural modernity, extreme environments, and the spatial politics of colonial encounters in North America. He combines architecture, drawing, sculpture, writing, and video in his practice.

Ortega-Trejo has been recognized as an IDEAS Fellow and received grants from institutions such as the Jumex Foundation and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. His work has been exhibited internationally, and he has spoken at various institutions including MoMA, the American Institute of Architects, and UPenn. He is currently a lecturer at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and the Program Manager at the Katz Center for Mexican Studies at the University of Chicago.