In Distress Signals, Fontana, Morales-Portillo, and Newman explore different types and scales of catastrophe, moments where systems and relationships collapse. Present in each artists’ work is not only this idea of failure but repeated failure, as societies and institutions continue to enact the same mistakes. These broken systems lead to progressively disorienting results, as continued catastrophes spiral increasingly out of control. The pieces in this show are distress signals of a sort.