Stunning Dunning Unveils His 'Signature Project,' 1m People StrongMove over Sunday in the Park with George. There are incalculable ways to harness the power and presence of pure visual art with the arresting and urgent immediacy of performance. Add in a palpable sense of humanitarianism and social justice and you will understand the work of Patrick Dunning, whose stunning The Signature Project runs through March 25 at the Sheen Center (18 Bleecker St.)

The project, Dunning told me, began in 1992, when he stepped away from a rapidly rising career as a painter to create a single painting featuring more than one million signatures of ordinary individuals from all around the world. The Signature Project, as a performance, has a mixture of art, music and dance as it retraces Dunning’s quest to unite millions of strangers within a single work of art. And, of course, there are stories to tell behind those signatures, and secrets to unfold.

I asked Dunning to provide me with his bio - some contextualizing - and he demonstrated precisely the kind of heart, whimsy and seriousness of intent that you might imagine:

"I'm Irish, an artist, but more importantly, I’m from Dublin, Ireland. It’s the fastest growing city in the world. You see, every day it’s doublin'. Ba-boom! Get it? Dublin. Traveling is in my DNA...

This year will be my 78th drive across the US. I have a passion for science and one day I'm hoping that we have the ability to defy the restrictions of the speed of light and fly at will to distant galaxies in the blink of an eye. The wonders of what must be out there."