Lawrence Weiner - Quid Pro Quo

1. THE ARTIST MAY CONSTRUCT THE WORK 2. THE WORK MAY BE FABRICATED 3. THE WORK NEED NOT BE BUILT

Art is something human beings make to present to others to understand their place in the world. --Lawrence Weiner

Gagosian Gallery is pleased to announce an exhibition by Lawrence Weiner. This will be Weiner's first solo exhibition in Rome in more than ten years and his first with the gallery.

A pioneering Conceptual artist of the 1960s, Weiner was among the first to dematerialize the object of art into pure language. Using elegant yet utilitarian typefaces and striking monochromes, either stenciled, painted, printed, or mounted in relief, he composes sculptural propositions as texts that describe process, material, and relations. By translating his studio work into words, Weiner communicates the content of each work without specifying any of its physical qualities, thus rendering the work objective, accessible, and useful for a diverse audience. Dedicated to the circulation of ideas and meaning, a single statement can be endlessly adapted into a myriad of forms, from paint to stone to song lyrics.

In Rome, Weiner has developed a site-specific installation for the oval gallery comprising two large-scale wall-drawings, a suite of seven drawings on paper, and one mixed-media work on paper. The content of the exhibition refers to Rome's past and present, from the legend of the seven hills to the enduring popular tradition of throwing a coin into the Fontana di Trevi to make a wish. Weiner works primarily in English, but here includes Latin phrases that have become part of common vernacular, like the title of the show, which literally translates as "something for something", indicating a more or less equivalent exchange of goods or services for value.

Lawrence Weiner
Quid Pro Quo