Signal Interludes
Signal Interludes
Ximena Garrido-Lecca
September 11 - December 12, 2026
Opening Reception:
Friday, Sept 11
Opening Party: 7–9 PM
Free and open to the public. RSVP
Additional Programs:
Developed specifically for St. Louis for Counterpublic 2026: Coyote Time, Signal Interludes draws from the city's history as an industrial manufacturing and distribution center situated at the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. The installation traces the movement of materials, people, and information through systems that have shaped both regional economies and global networks. Copper cables extend across the gallery through a series of suspended pulleys, linking sculptural forms into a single electrical circuit that continually shifts between moments of connection and interruption. An LED display records these changing signals over the course of the exhibition, creating a cumulative archive of transmission, disruption, and exchange.
Using rope as both a historical technology and conceptual framework, Garrido-Lecca considers its role in maritime trade, colonial extraction, industrial production, and contemporary communications infrastructure. Rope becomes cable; the mechanics of moving goods become the mechanics of moving data. The work asks how systems designed to facilitate movement and connection are equally implicated in exploitation, disconnection, and uneven distributions of power. Rather than presenting infrastructure as neutral, Signal Interludes reveals it as a site where histories of extraction continue to shape contemporary political and social life. This commission builds upon Garrido-Lecca's longstanding practice investigating the relationships between materials, technology, labor, and colonial histories through sculpture and installation.
An opening reception will take place on September 11, from 7–9 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. Additional programs may be announced upon the exhibition’s opening.
Signal Interludes is organized by Stefanie Hessler (Curator) with support from Kalaija Mallery (Artistic & Executive Director), Kristina Murray (Gallery Manager), Kevin Harris (Fabrication and Tech), and ashley king (Designer).
Ximena Garrido-Lecca
Ximena Garrido-Lecca (b. 1980, Lima, Peru) lives and works in Mexico City. She studied fine art at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru and completed an MA at the Byam Shaw School of Art in London. Recent solo exhibitions include Canal Projects, New York (2025), and The Renaissance Society, Chicago (2025). Her work has also been presented at Sharjah Biennial 16, United Arab Emirates (2025); 12th SITE SANTA FE International, New Mexico (2025); BOG25 International Art and City Biennial, Colombia (2025); XXIV Bienal de Arte Paiz, Guatemala (2025); Swiss Institute, New York (2024–25); CAN Centre d’art Neuchâtel, Switzerland (2023); Portikus, Frankfurt am Main, Germany (2022–23); Museo Madre, Naples, Italy (2021); 34th Bienal de São Paulo, Brazil (2020); Orange County Museum of Art, California (2019–20); Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Lima, Peru (2019); Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires, Argentina (2018); and Sala de Arte Público Siqueiros, Mexico City (2017), among others.
Stefanie Hessler
Stefanie Hessler is a curator, writer, and the Director of Swiss Institute in New York. She recently co-curated solo shows by Raven Chacon, Ali Cherri, and Lap-See Lam, as well as a large-scale East Village-wide exhibition titled Energies, which opened in September 2024. She has curated the Pavilion of Finland with an exhibition by Jenna Sutela at the Venice Biennale; the 17th Momenta Biennale, Montreal; Rising Tides, Gropius Bau, Berlin; Joan Jonas: Moving Off the Land II, Ocean Space, Venice; Practices of Attention as part of the 33rd Bienal de São Paulo; the 6th Athens Biennale; and Tidalectics, TBA21–Augarten, Vienna.
Signal Interludes is organized by Stefanie Hessler (Curator) with support from Kalaija Mallery (Artistic & Executive Director), Kristina Murray (Gallery Manager), Kevin Harris (Fabrication & Technology), and ashley king (Design).
Commissioned in partnership with Counterpublic as part of the third triennial edition, Coyote Time, a city-wide exhibition on view across St. Louis from September 10-December 12, 2026.
This exhibition is made possible through the generous support of The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and the Regional Arts Commission of St. Louis. Additional lead support comes from The Hearthland Foundation, in partnership with Counterpublic.