James Allister Sprang audiovisual poem at Dowling Walsh Gallery

Acclaimed multimedia artist James Allister Sprang’s “sensory audiovisual poem for the spirit,” made its Rockland debut at Dowling Walsh Gallery on July 12 and 13 at Dowling Walsh Gallery.

James Allister Sprang described the Listening Session as an opportunity to turn away from the frantic pace of the modern world. The Listening Session is a 50-minute musical composition that anchors a session of somatic listening. The genre is ambient spiritual jazz.

The son of Caribbean immigrants, Sprang considers his relationship to diasporic timelines while weaving together his multimedia work. This work is informed by the Black interior as well as radical and experimental traditions. Sprang’s work lives in gallery spaces, theater spaces and the space between the ears. In 2022, Sprang was awarded both the Pew Fellowship and the Knight Foundation Art + Tech Fellowship for his work with the only 4DSound system in America. James has exhibited at The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, The Brooklyn Museum, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts Museum, Storm King Art Center, The Kitchen, Baryshnikov Arts, The Public Theater, TATE Modern (UK), and MONOM (Germany), among others. His work has been reviewed in ArtForum, Art in America and Art Papers.

Musicians included Jake Goldbas (percussion), Mathis Picard (keys), Rafiq Bhatia (guitar) and James Allister Sprang (modular synthesizer), with recording engineer Brendan McGeehan.