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John Terdich:
Reimagining the Requiem

After John Terdich’s brother died in 1990, he created and exhibited Requiem Quartet: HOLD, an installation memorializing his brother and other victims of the AIDS epidemic. Using the same format in 2022, he staged Requiem Quartet: HOLD-The Four Seasons, an outdoor installation seasonally documented to explore our changing environments. His latest in the Requiem series, Requiem Trio: HOLD-For The Constitution, will consider the balance of power within our government in Art City’s MIAR Gallery August 14 - September 5, 2026.

Here, NEW Gallery joins the artist to discuss his artwork’s exploration of political, scientific, and philosophical questions.

NEW GALLERY: Your background is in drawing and painting, but you now create installation art. I'm curious, how did that happen?

JOHN TERDICH: I was working full-time in commercial art, but decided I wanted to do something related to AIDS after my brother passed away in 1990. Initially, I made calendars and gave them to 12 people and simply said, “Keep these calendars for a year and after a year they're going to be in a show.” I wanted to create something to show that life went on while this tragedy was simultaneously happening. These calendars then became a part of an installation, A Requiem Quartet for AIDS or Requiem One, which was the initial idea for this requiem series.

I wanted to install the work again for the 30-year anniversary, but it was COVID and obviously nobody was going anywhere. I decided to install the piece in the woods and photo document it once per season. This became the second iteration: Requiem Two.

This third requiem was sparked by the Chicago Historical Society’s call for works about America’s 250th anniversary. I decided that a requiem doesn’t have to solely be about things that are dead. It could be like the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come in the Christmas Carol, saying “Is this the way it's going to be? It doesn't have to be this way.” My proposal wasn’t selected, but that gave me an opportunity to adjust the installation plans and propose it to other spaces like Art City’s MIAR Gallery.

NG: And this will be its inaugural display?

JT: Yes. It'll exist for the first time in the MIAR Gallery, which I think is perfect for it.

NG: What are the physical components that make up the HOLD-For The Constitution installation?

JT: The installation will contain three chairs, three sheets, three vases, and three flowers. There are also three music stands; each will hold a transcript of the constitution and be paired with an intravenous bag holder with a bag feeding into the flower vases. These objects will each be red, white, or blue. It's very simple.

At first I wanted to do this with an American flag on each chair, but I felt that would alienate a lot of people. Because this is metaphorical, I do not want it to be instructive about how anyone should think or feel.

NG: Can you tell me about the 2D works that will be part of this exhibition? They appear to be mapping visualizations.


JT: Those are part of a series of work that I began in 2015, utilizing traditional sign painting patterning to transfer images onto surfaces. I used this technique to visualize, layer, and make commentary on a variety of political symbols like the American flag and the "Don't Tread on Me" rattlesnake. While many of them are political, some of them are simply homages to artists or writers…

One of the works which I plan to show in MIAR actually contains the electoral college 2016 results, with each state to scale.

NG: You clearly are comfortable working in a variety of formats. How do you determine which medium you’ll be working with as you approach a new project?

JT: When one idea pops into my head, it will sort of gestate for a while until all of a sudden I just have to get it done. During the work process, not only the piece, but the idea organically evolves. Basically everything I do is project-oriented. The idea comes up, and if it has to be a painting, it's a painting. If it has to be a sculpture, it's a sculpture.

"[This exhibition] is metaphorical. I do not want it to be instructive about how anyone should think or feel."

NG: I love to always ask artists this: Is there anything you hope visitors leave thinking about or feeling when they come and see the show?


JT: I hope viewers reflect a little deeper on what is happening in our government and the various interpretations of the Constitution. It’s not a very abstract show in that way. I’m not saying it’s good and I’m not saying it’s bad. I just hope that it encourages people to think about the real role that plays in our day to day.

NG: To your point, it almost felt like an abstract thing for many years. Like "oh yeah, it's the rules that we all follow and it’s a given that they work and make sense." It’s interesting that now these systems seem much more fallible than we knew.

JT: That's right. And it’s not something to be taken for granted.

John Terdich is a multimedia artist trained in traditional two-dimensional media. His work considers the delicate state of our world, nature and the environment, society and its institutions, our relationship to each other, and our relationship to it all over time.

Images courtesy of the artist.

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