Dates
On view: June 26 - September 13, 2026
Opening Reception: June 26, 5-7pm
About the exhibition
The Institute of Contemporary Art at Maine College of Art & Design (ICA at MECA&D) is pleased to announce Pyrite Radio, a solo exhibition of sculpture, audio, and video by the late artist and educator Peter Simensky (1975-2023). Born and raised in Maine and a former faculty member in the MFA in Studio Art program at MECA&D, Simensky worked with artist communities nationally and internationally before his passing in 2023. The exhibition marks the East Coast premiere of his radios and opens with a public reception at the ICA on Friday, June 26, from 5:00–7:00 pm. Pyrite Radio will remain on view through September 13, 2026.
In Pyrite Radio, Peter Simensky extends his longstanding exploration of gold, currency, and systems of value into the domain of underground radio, actively circumventing regulated modes of communication and reorienting points of connection. Employing iron pyrite, a material historically associated with failed fortune-seeking in the American West, Simensky utilizes the properties of “fool’s gold” as a covert transmitter of information. By “tuning in” to just the right frequency—i.e., poking at a rock—various local AM radio stations can be heard, including those coming from the transmissions within the gallery. These crystal radios oscillate between scientific and intuitive methods of working, constantly requiring exploration, discovery, and comfort in the unknown. In Pyrite Radio, value shifts away from the physical object and concepts of ownership into the mystery and complexity of community-building.
Pyrite Radio engages perception through glistening, sprightly objects that attract audiences with their visual qualities. The pyrite and its faceted surfaces serve as the central element of the work, both reflecting light and capturing sound. The radio sculptures, which take the form of stands, chimes, and boxes, are adorned with colorful plastic beads, sparkling sequins, and whimsical children’s umbrellas. Pieces of iridescent plexiglass, coated wire, and golden emergency blankets function as antennae for the low-powered AM transmitters. Hardware components and outsourced sound equipment are incorporated throughout for both technical and non-technical functions, demonstrating Simensky’s propensity for imperfect systems.
Existing as both an exhibition of artworks and a platform for collaboration, Pyrite Radio is continuously activated with sound. Throughout the exhibition, selected artists, musicians, DJs, writers, and radio stations—including previous collaborators and new partners from near and far—engage with the radios by broadcasting a variety of programs. These collaborators, like Simensky, accept the radios' temperamental nature and prioritize experimentation and dissonance. By combining formal and technical strategies with togetherness and joy, Pyrite Radio interrogates complex histories and hierarchies to shift focus towards an alternative value system: collective engagement and the importance of our shared relationships.
Peter Simensky’s Pyrite Radio, along with the concurrent ICA group exhibition A Sea of Particles, collectively represent the third installment of the ICA at MECA&D’s Getaway! exhibition series, exploring the power and pitfalls of escapism as a reaction to the question, “What do we do in response to our current crises?”. These group and solo exhibitions unpack various topics within the broader theme of escapism, examining both the complex impulses that drive us away from challenging circumstances and the destinations and activities we pursue when we do. Through diverse research and artistic practices, this series aims to provide a space for imagination, equipping our communities, both within and beyond MECA&D, with new tools to create the worlds they envision.
Pyrite Radio is organized by Director of Exhibitions Iris Williamson, with support and guidance from many friends, family, and colleagues of Peter Simensky. Additional support from MECA&D student researchers Francesca Woolson ‘26, Carolyn Day ‘26, Violet Barr MFA ‘27, and Katie Devlin ‘27. Production management is handled by Exhibitions Manager Sarah Sawtelle '19 and Exhibitions Assistant Caroline Kouba '22. Design by Omnivore.
Further details will be announced in June about audio-based collaborations with regional, national, and international sound-based artists, radio stations, and organizations. All programs are free and open to the public; additional programming will be announced. For more information, visit meca.edu/ica.
About Peter Simensky
Peter Simensky (b. 1975, Maine; d. 2023, California) was a transdisciplinary artist who explored value and the volatility of art objects through sculpture, print, video, and sound, among other mediums. He received a BA from the University of California, Berkeley and an MFA from Hunter College, CUNY. Simensky’s work has been featured in solo exhibitions at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (San Diego, CA); the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art (Portland, OR); Museum 52 (New York, NY); 500meter Museum (Sapporo, Japan); Project Row Houses (Houston, TX), and posthumously at Outlook Is__ Projects (Los Angeles, CA) and The Lab (San Francisco, CA). Simensky’s performances and installations have been featured at the Geffen Contemporary at MOCA (Los Angeles, CA), the Swiss Institute (New York, NY), the Wattis Institute (San Francisco, CA), the ICA San Francisco (San Francisco, CA), the 18th Street Art Center (Santa Monica, CA), the de Young Museum (San Francisco, CA), The Marin Museum of Contemporary Art (San Rafael, CA); Sculpture Center (Queens, NY); Palais de Tokyo (Paris, France); Mass MOCA (North Adams, MA), Tanya Bonakdar Gallery (New York, NY); and Socrates Sculpture Park (Queens, NY). Simensky received multiple grants and awards, including a NYFA Fellows Grant, an Oregon Arts Commission/Ford Family Opportunity Grant, and Foundation for Contemporary Arts Grants, and residencies including MacDowell Colony, La Tallera Proyecto Siqueiros, and Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture. He has been featured in multiple publications including Cabinet Magazine, Artforum, New Yorker, and more. He taught at Maine College of Art & Design; School of the Art Institute of Chicago; Stanford University; New York University; and University of California, San Diego; and was a Chair of Visual Art Studies MFA at Pacific Northwest College of Art and, most recently, Chair of Graduate Fine Arts at California College of the Arts.
Events
- Opening Reception: Friday, June 26, 2026, 5:00-7:00 pm, The ICA at MECA&D
- July Portland First Friday Art Walk: Friday, July 3, 2026, 5:00-8:00 pm, The ICA at MECA&D
- August Portland First Friday Art Walk: Friday, August 7, 2026, 5:00-8:00 pm, The ICA at MECA&D
- September Portland First Friday Art Walk: Friday, September 4, 2026, 5:00-8:00 pm, The ICA at MECA&D
All programs are free and open to the public; additional programming will be announced. For more information, visit meca.edu/ica.