Thanks - Group Show
Lu Magnus
March 29 - April 26, 2013
Curated by Adam Parker Smith
Featuring 77 of today’s emerging contemporary artists living and working in New York City, Thanks includes sculpture, video, drawing, painting, photography, prints, studio objects, art making byproducts, and inspirational objects all discreetly acquired by Adam Parker Smith.
The show was featured in this New York Times article by Melena Ryzik.
About Thanks
Beginning with a series of studio visits, Smith set out with the clear intention of “acquiring” work for the exhibition. However,he concealed the true concept, premise, and even timing of the exhibition from the artists. Through various surreptitious means, a work of art or object was taken from each artist’s studio. The pilfered work is not any random object but rather one that explicitly relates to the artist’s wider practice. For example, Micah Ganske, who designs and produces sculpture with a MakerBot 3D printer, is represented by one of his innovative sculptures.
Two weeks prior to its opening, the artists were informed of the exhibition. Only then were they let in on the true concept and scope of the exhibition. Presented with the choice – if the artist agreed, they would be included in Thanks; if they refused to give permission, works were to be returned immediately. However, all invited artists agreed to participate in Thanks.
Works are displayed on viewing tables in the gallery akin to anthropological exhibits in a natural history museum. Thanks is, after all, a cross-section of the contemporary art world & Adam Parker Smith’s circle.
This exhibition combines the work of a large portion of the emerging New York art scene, as well as Smith’s own personal practice, combined with his trademark sense of humor. Ideas of appropriation, ownership, and how artists influence each other are brought to the forefront in Thanks. The role of the curator is highlighted and questioned, and some of the social dynamics of the art world – artists who live and work together as colleagues, friends and competitors – are laid bare, shedding light into what it is like to be a practicing artist in New York City.
