Use Your Words is a show that brings together artists who play with language. Some works use invented typographies that draw attention to the abstract shapes of letter forms, while others highlight how words operate as signs and symbols in human speech. Taken together, we get the sense that like works of art, language is a complex phenomenon whose meaning is always open to interpretation. 

JJ Manford lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. His solo exhibition Moon Salon is on view through November 13th at Derek Eller Gallery and his work was included in recent group shows at Harper's Gallery, Alexander Berggruen Gallery, and Hesse Flatow, all New York. Manford co-founded the Brooklyn-based artist collective Underdonk, and has organized independent projects that have been featured in Hyperallergic, Two Coats of Paint, The Huffington Post, The New York Times, and The New Yorker. He is an adjunct professor at Pratt Institute and Borough of Manhattan Community College.