Role Exchange
June 29, 2007- August 3, 2007
Reception: June 28, 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
528 W 29th St
Sean Kelly is delighted to announce a group exhibition, Role Exchange , which opens on June 29th. The
exhibition brings together works in diverse media that address questions of identity, role-playing and
gender. The exhibition continues through August 3rd. The opening will take place on Thursday, June
28th, from 6pm until 8pm.
Alternate personas and role exchange have been consistent themes for artists at least since Marcel
Duchamp’s adoption of the persona of “Rrose Sélavy” in 1921. However, the point of departure for this
exhibition is Marina Abramović’s 1975 performance Role Exchange, in which Abramović exchanged
roles with an Amsterdam prostitute for a four-hour period. Abramović sat in the prostitute's window
and plied her trade whilst the prostitute assumed the role of the artist at her exhibition opening.
The artists in this exhibition address the process through which identity is constructed by exploring
different roles and characters.
Robert Mapplethorpe,
Andy Warhol,
Adrian Piper,
Johan Grimonprez,
Robert Gober and
Lyle Ashton Harris, to name a few, challenge traditional gender roles while Janine
Antoni,
Gillian Wearing and
Michel Journiac examine the relationships within the nucleus of the family.
Duane Michals, Yinka Shonibare,
Gavin Turk, and
Nikki S. Lee further investigate identity by introducing
the use of fictional characters. Leigh Bowery (photographed by Fergus Greer) and Lynn Hershman
Leeson actually inhabit these fictional characters in real time, blurring the line between the real and the
imaginary.
Though disparate in formal resolution, the twenty-seven artists represented in this exhibition share an
impulse to transform traditional social roles. They require us to redefine our perceived categorizations
of gender and identity, allowing for more nuanced systems of classification and a greater
understanding of their abiding interest in role exchange.
Art Reviews of Role Exchange
New York Times July 6, 2007 | | Roberta Smith | | "This elegant exhibition takes an interesting idea and walks with it. The idea is the practice — widespread among artists since the late 1960s — of creating fictional identities, especially in camera-based work. The walk encompasses far too many usual suspects: Cindy Sherman, Matthew Barney, Andy Warhol, Nikki S. Lee and Yasumasa Morimura.
The result is a greatest-hits parade that ranks as a museum-quality show, but by this I mean it’s one that feels as if it had already been done by a museum. If you have never given a thought to the exploration of identity and sexuality through the use of alternative personas, this show is a great place to start...." |
Books and DVDs related to artists in this show| Location | map | | Gallery | Sean Kelly Gallery | | Address | 528 W 29th St New York (Chelsea) NY, 10001 United States | | Phone | 212-239-1181 | | Fax | 212-239-2467 | | Hours | Tue-Fri 11-6, Sat 10-6 | |
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