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P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center |
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Exhibition Press Release
Joan Wallace: Methods of Attachment
October
24, 2004 Ð February 20, 2005
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(Long
Island City, NY, June, 2004) Ð P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center presents
a survey of paintings by Joan Wallace (b. 1959). Included in the exhibition
are works made in the mid-to-late 1980s by the collaborative team of
Wallace & Donohue, paintings by Wallace from the 1990s, including
Formula II (Something Borrowed, Something
Blue, 1992), which was part of Cady Noland's installation for Documenta
IX in Kassel, Germany in 1992, and two new works produced especially
for this exhibition. New works include Panic Table (2004), which turns a
monochrome painting into a table replete with a pool ladder and an escape
hatch/trap door, and Piece of Cake (For Jack Goldstein) (2004), a painting incorporating
a short video movie, which is dedicated to the late, influential California
conceptualist.
Wallace's
work occupies a unique position among the currents that have animated
art and engaged artists since the 1980s: appropriation, the "end"
of painting, and the reinvestigation of Pop, Minimal, and Conceptual
art. From 1983 to 1990, Wallace was part of
the collaborative team Wallace & Donohue, which created work that
is highly theatrical and self-aware, employing language, an absurdist
sense of humor, and various devices Ñ rotating and sliding panels, track
lighting, a surveillance camera Ñ to interrupt the otherwise passive
act of looking. Wallace & Donohue began to author their work separately
in 1988, and dissolved the partnership two years later. The paintings
that Wallace made in the 1990s grew increasingly complex, deftly incorporating
objects, video, and cultural and art historical references. After a
seven year hiatus that included writing screenplays as well as a column
on art, culture and film, Wallace returned to art-making in 2002.
This
exhibition is organized by P.S.1 Curatorial Advisor Bob Nickas.
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P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center
Background:
P.S.1 was founded in 1971 by Alanna Heiss as The Institute
of Art and Urban Resources Inc., a non-profit organization dedicated
to the transformation of abandoned and underutilized buildings in New
York City into exhibition, performance, and studio spaces for artists.
P.S.1 became an affiliate of MoMA in 2000 and now operates two internationally
acclaimed spaces for contemporary art: P.S.1 in Long Island City, which
contains museum-quality galleries, and The Clocktower Gallery, which
now contains the radio studio for P.S.1Õs online radio station, www.wps1.org.
P.S.1 is one of the largest and oldest arts organizations in the United
States solely devoted to contemporary art. Recognized as a defining force of the alternative space movement,
P.S.1 stands out from major arts institutions in its cutting edge approach
to exhibitions and direct involvement of artists within a scholarly
framework. P.S.1 acts as
an intermediary between the artist and its audience. Functioning as a living and active meeting place for the general
public, P.S.1 is a catalyst for ideas, discourses and new trends in
contemporary art. With
its educational programs, P.S.1 assists the public in understanding
art and provides the tools to appreciate contemporary art and its practices.
Funding:
P.S.1 receives annual support from the New York City Department
of Cultural Affairs towards operating costs. Programs of P.S.1 are supported by the
New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, The Office of the President
of the Borough of Queens, The Council of the City of New York, the P.S.1
Board of Directors, the New York State Council of the Arts, and the
National Endowment for the Arts.
Additional funding is provided by foundations, corporate and
individual contributions, and membership and admission donations.
Directions:
P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center is
located just across the Queensboro Bridge from midtown Manhattan, at
the intersection of Jackson and 46th Avenues, in Long Island City. It is easily accessible by bus and subway.
Traveling by subway, visitors should take either the E or V to
23 Street-Ely Avenue (Please note that the V does not run on weekends);
the 7 to 45 Road-Courthouse Square; or the G to Court Square or 21 Street-Van
Alst. Visitors may also take the Q67 bus to Jackson and 46th Avenues
or the B61 to Jackson Avenue.
Hours
and
P.S.1 is open from 12pm-6pm, Thursday-Monday. Admission:
Admission is a $5.00 suggested donation; $2.00 for students and
senior citizens; members free
Web Sites:
www.ps1.org
www.moma.org
For more information,
please contact Rachael Dorsey in the P.S.1 Press Office: T: (718) 784-2084
ext. *827/ F: (718) 482-9454/ e-mail: press@ps1.org.
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