When Artists Say We

The exhibition When Artists Say We reflects on the context in which artists work as colleagues, as collaborators, in collectives, as friends, as critics, as bystanders, and as allies, sharing New York City as their site of practice.

Artists have always created alliances. The needs that drive artists together are manifold: a discourse that educates, a horizon that widens, a complexity of knowledge, the ability to fail, or a larger capacity to remember critically and productively within their own field and beyond. But artists are also driven by the need for shelter, protection, and support. Such relationships are grounded in structures and language that are inherently self-critical and rarely reflected upon when art is shown. When Artists Say We takes up this task by trying to present some of the forms such collective exchanges have taken in New York City over the last thirty years. One could understand these alliances as a necessary methodology that enables artists to do their work. But rather than assuming that all art is necessarily produced in collaboration, this exhibition suggests that art—made individually or as a collective—is constituted from within such exchange.

When Artists Say We is constituted by four different elements. In the center of the gallery, a mobile archive unit, designed by Nanna Wülfing, holds materials from approximately 90 New York-based artists, artist groups, collectives, and collaborations. To frame the exhibition within an attempt to map historical as well as personal relationships, twelve wall diagrams were commissioned for the surrounding walls, each charting particular discourses, relationships, histories, sites, and people, as well as the ideas that influenced them. Produced by Doug Ashford, Mike Ballou, Gregg Bordowitz, Dean Daderko, Liam Gillick/Gareth James, Arianne Gelardin, Oui, Julie Merehtu/Jessica Rankin, Yvonne Rainer, David Reed/Katy Siegel/Ulrike Müller, Mira Schor, and Jeremy Sigler, each diagram will take a distinct form: analytical, historical, non-linear, partial, suggestive, indexical…. Some of the diagrams will invite visitors to continue their mapping. In five small spaces that surround Artist Space’s main gallery, five artists—Ayreen Anastas, Andrea Geyer, Emily Jacir, Cristóbal Lehyt and LTTR—each put together an individual group show, mapping the work with which they and themselves in dialogue. And as additional element, weekly events, organized by Emily Jacir/Jenny Perlin/John Menick, Jesal Kapadia, Ben Kinmont, neuroTransmitter and Yates McKee, will be held for the duration of the exhibition on Saturday afternoons from 3-5pm, beginning April 1.

Participants include: Rey Akdogan, Rheim Alkadhi, Ayreen Anastas, Artwurl.org, Doug Ashford, Julie Ault, Mike Ballou, Martin Beck, Douglas Boatwright, Gregg Bordowitz, Nancy Brooks Brody, Ginger Brooks Takahashi, François Bucher, Nao Bustamante, Kabir Carter, Juan Céspedes, Champion Fine Art, Lynne Chan, Maureen Connor, Alison Coryn, Dean Daderko, Moyra Davey, Liz Deschenes, Discoteca Flaming Star, Leeza Doreian, Lala Endara, Ursula Endlicher, Joy Episalla, Edie Fake, Tony Feher, Fierce Pussy, Kirsten Forkert, Olivier Foulon, Rene Gabri, Meir Gal, Gang, Joy Garnett, Arianne Gelardin, Benj Gerdes, Andrea Geyer, Liam Gillick, Terence Gower, Group Material, Diego Gutiérrez, K8 Hardy, Kira Lynn Harris, Alia Hasan-Khan, Jennifer Hayashida, Sharon Hayes, Carla Herrera-Prats , Kathy High, Wayne Hodge, Ashley Hunt, Annemarie Jacir, Emily Jacir, Maryam Jafri, Gareth James, Jason Jones, Jasmine Justice, Chris Kahle, Sandy Kaltenborn, Munir Kamal Fakher Eldin, Jesal Kapadia, Nina Katchadourian, Susan Kelly, Tianna Kennedy, Ben Kinmont, Ella Klaschka, Silvia Kolbowski, Pedro Lasch, Lasse Lau, Cristóbal Lehyt, Zoe Leonard, Alexandra Lerman, Lin+Lam, LTTR, Kristin Lucas, Joanna Malinowska, Michael Mandiberg, Tara Mateik, Tim Maul, Yates McKee, Julie Mehretu, Lize Mogel, Avi Mograbi, Naeem Mohaiemen, Ken Montgomery, Stephen Morton, Carlos Motta, Carrie Moyer, Felipe Mujica, Ulrike Müller, neuroTransmitter, Angel Nevarez, Not An Alternative, Katherine Oechtering, Ken Okiishi & Nick Mauss, Oui, Sheila Pepe, Jenny Perlin, Katrin Pesch, Cesare Pietroiusti, Eli Ping, Zach Poff, Linda Post, Walid Raad, Anne-Julie Raccoursier, Yvonne Rainer, Jessica Rankin, Kamran Rastegar, Andrea Ray, David Reed, riffRAG (M16, L.N.R., Felix Gatopardo, K’poene), Alex Rivera, Marc André Robinson, Emily Roydson, Katya Sander, Paige Sarlin, Mira Schor, Paul Mpagi Sepuya, Simon Sheikh, Katy Siegel, Jeremy Sigler, Shelly Silver, Xaviera Simmons, Jason Simon, Anton Sinkewich, Nida Sinnokrot, Ania Soliman, The Speculative Archive / Julia Meltzer and David Thorne, A.L. Steiner, Javier Téllez, Valerie Tevere, David Thorne, Lan2 Tuazon, Johanna Unzueta, Rachel Urkowitz, Liselot van der Heijden, Bik Van der Pol, Alex Villar, Visible Collective, Vladimir Volnovik, McKenzie Wark, Hillary Wiedemann, Abbey Williams, Dee Williams, Matt Wolf, Nanna Wülfing, Carrie Yamaoka

When Artists Say We

mit Rey Akdogan, Rheim Alkadhi, Ayreen Anastas, Artwurl.org, Doug Ashford, Julie Ault, Mike Ballou, Martin Beck, Douglas Boatwright, Gregg Bordowitz, Nancy Brooks Brody, Ginger Brooks Takahashi, François Bucher, Nao Bustamante, Kabir Carter, Juan Céspedes, Champion Fine Art, Lynne Chan, Maureen Connor, Alison Coryn, Dean Daderko, Moyra Davey, Liz Deschenes, Discoteca Flaming Star  (Cristina Gomez Barrio & Wolfgang Mayer), Leeza Doreian, Lala Endara, Ursula Endlicher, Joy Episalla, Edie Fake, Tony Feher, Fierce Pussy, Kirsten Forkert, Olivier Foulon, Rene Gabri, Meir Gal, Gang, Joy Garnett, Arianne Gelardin, Benj Gerdes, Andrea Geyer, Liam Gillick, Terence Gower, Group Material , Diego Gutierrez, K8 Hardy, Kira Lynn Harris, Alia Hasan-Khan, Jennifer Hayashida, Sharon Hayes, Carla Herrera-Prats , Kathy High, Wayne Hodge, Ashley Hunt, Annemarie Jacir, Emily Jacir, Maryam Jafri, Gareth James, Jason Jones, Jasmine Justice, Chris Kahle, Sandy Kaltenborn, Munir Kamal Fakher Eldin, Jesal Kapadia, Nina Katchadourian, Susan Kelly, Tianna Kennedy, Ben Kinmont, Ella Klaschka, Silvia Kolbowski, Pedro Lasch, Lasse Lau, Cristobal Lehyt, Zoe Leonard, Alexandra Lerman, Lin + Lam, LTTR , Kristin Lucas, Joanna Malinowska, Michael Mandiberg, Tara Mateik, Tim Maul, Yates McKee, Julie Mehretu, Lize Mogel, Avi Mograbi, Naeem Mohaiemen, Ken Montgomery, Stephen Morton, Carlos Motta, Carrie Moyer, Felipe Mujica, Ulrike Müller, neuroTransmitter , Angel Nevarez, Not An Alternative , Katherine Oechtering, Ken Okiishi & Nick Mauss, Oui , Sheila Pepe, Jenny Perlin, Katrin Pesch, Cesare Pietroiusti, Eli Ping, Zach Poff, Linda Post, Walid Ra´ad, Anne-Julie Raccoursier, Yvonne Rainer, Jessica Rankin, Kamran Rastegar, Andrea Ray, David Reed, riffRAG  (M16 , L.N.R. , Felix Gatopardo, K´Poene), Alex Rivera, Marc Andre Robinson, Emily Roydson, Katya Sander, Paige Sarlin, Mira Schor, Paul Mpagi Sepuya, Simon Sheikh, Katy Siegel, Jeremy Sigler, Shelly Silver, Xaviera Simmons, Jason Simon, Anton Sinkewich, Nida Sinnokrot, Ania Soliman, The Speculative Archive  / Julia Meltzer / David Thorne, A.L. Steiner, Javier Téllez, Valerie Tevere, Lan2 Tuazon , Johanna Unzueta, Rachel Urkowitz, Liselot van der Heijden, Bik Van der Pol, Alex Villar, Visible Collective , Vladimir Volnovik, McKenzie Wark, Hillary Wiedemann, Abbey Williams, Dee Williams, Matt Wolf, Nanna Wülfing, Carrie Yamaoka ...