The Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (ICA LA) is pleased to announce its summer season of exhibitions, underscoring the museum’s commitment to artists living and working in Los Angeles—past and present—and supporting artists through exhibitions at various stages of their careers. On view June 19–September 5, 2021, ICA LA’s Summer 2021 exhibitions highlight two artists whose explorations in video and performance examine some of the most enduring and challenging issues of our time: Queer Communion: Ron Athey, the first historical museum survey dedicated to renowned Los Angeles-based performance artist Ron Athey (b. 1961), curated by noted art historian and performance studies scholar Amelia Jones and Kenneth Tam: Silent Spikes, a newly commissioned two-channel video by Brooklyn-based artist Kenneth Tam (b. 1982).

“We are thrilled to present the work of these two exceptional artists,” says Good Works Executive Director Anne Ellegood. “From different generations and with distinct backgrounds and life experiences, both artists work primarily through performance and video to examine the social codes and rituals that revolve around gender and other aspects of identity. We are incredibly honored to present this overdue survey of the work of the inimitable Ron Athey, whose challenging, provocative, and mesmerizing performances have had an enormous impact on contemporary art practice since the 1990s and whose deep enmeshment with various communities speaks to the power of collective discourse and action.”