The Silicon Valley has historically paved the way as the leading force in innovation and technology.

Recognized globally as the birthplace of the internet and the home computer, the region’s accomplishments also include a lengthy history of bicycle innovations: the arrival of the velocipede; the early 220 yard Burbank Velodrome; and the ground-breaking formation of organized bicycle clubs. In what once was a popular bike capital, a study by Joint Venture Silicon Valley and the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition recently found that only 1.7% of Silicon Valley residents ride their bikes to work today. At the same time, the study argues that the region is poised to become a leader in bicycling.

On Your Left uses the lens of contemporary art to explore the form, function, and symbolism of the bicycle. Through sculpture, installation, video, painting, and drawings, the exhibition considers the bicycle as a meditation on the human experience, as an object of design and craft, and as a catalyst in creating a sustainable future.

Artists consider the bicycle as a way of understanding the natural world around us. Taro Hattori ruminates on the bicycle as an allegory for the cyclical nature of life and how we commemorate it. Taking us out for a ride is Jenny Odell whose work contemplates how riding a bike reformulates our experience of our surroundings. Gale Antokal creates ethereal drawings of bicyclists that evoke a sense of memory and reflect on the passage of time. Shawn HibmaCronan and Marcos Gaitan create sculptures that exemplify the potential of the bicycle form, while Pablo Calderon and Katina Huston create works that immerse us into the inherent aesthetic quality and craft of the bicycle. Andrew Li depicts how bicycles change the landscape of the city. Together, Sergio De La Torre and Chris Treggiari’s work presents the bicycle as an instrument used in circulating posters concerning the future of immigration, justice, and community.

Talking Art, our public program series, engages the community with practical skill-sharing and informative lectures on topics such as bike safety and bike laws. You are invited to participate in a bicycle tour along the Guadalupe River with artist Jenny Odell on July 15th. There will be concentrated times for visitors to contribute to the work of Hattori and create posters with De La Torre and Treggiari’s sculpture.

On Your Left is part of “New Terrains: Mobility and Migration;” a series of cross-disciplinary exhibitions and programs that explore how bodies move through social and political spaces in Silicon Valley. The collaboration will address timely topics such as bicycle transportation and urban planning, navigation and orientation, public protest, immigration, and migration. “New Terrains” will engage the body in participatory experiences that highlight sight, sound, and scent, as well as exhibitions that consider how contemporary artists explore movement, such as walking and dance, in their work. Collaboratively presented beginning in spring 2018, “New Terrains” will include organizations of all sizes and types — from museums and artist residencies to community centers and civic think tanks. Exhibitions and programs will take place across Silicon Valley into the spring of 2019.

“New Terrains” was developed collaboratively by Art Ark Gallery, San José; San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA), the de Saisset Museum, Santa Clara University; History San José, MACLA (Movimiento de Arte y Cultural Latino Americana), San José; Montalvo Arts Center, Saratoga; Palo Alto Art Center, San José Museum of Art, San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles, The Tech Museum of Innovation, San José; Institute of the Arts and Sciences of the University of California Santa Cruz Arts Division, and ZERO1.

On Your Left is supported in part by the ICA Director’s Circle Members and a program grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation