Please Pay Me So I Can Pay Them, 2024. Wire and mixed media; 65 x 65 x 6 in (165.1 x 165.1 x 15.2 cm). Courtesy the Artist and Venus Over Manhattan, New York.
Brad Kahlhamer’s Please Pay Me So I Can Pay Them (2024) is featured in Grace Under Fire, a group exhibition curated by Laura Dvorkin, Maynard Monrow, and Kyle DeWoody at the Library Street Collective. Opening on October 24, 2024, at the Shepherd in Detroit, the exhibition explores themes of hope and resilience in challenging times, emphasizing community, spirituality, and nature as pathways to healing and strength. Set in a decommissioned church, the show highlights art as a means of grounding and restoration. Kahlhamer’s sculpture, inspired by traditional Native American dreamcatchers, transforms the symbol into "cosmic nets" or "enriched dream reactors," amplifying its protective qualities and reimagining it as a unifying symbol of collective dreams and aspirations. This modern reinterpretation aligns with the exhibition’s broader themes of perseverance and creative potential.
