Robert Buck
A.K. Burns
Phil Chang
Anne Collier
Melissa Dubbin & Aaron S. Davidson
Liz Deschenes
Elena Dorfman
Roe Ethridge
Zoe Leonard
Ryan McGinley
David Benjamin Sherry
James Welling
Hannah Whitaker
Minor White
Kevin Moore
The show features works by artists Robert Buck, A.K. Burns, Phil Chang, Anne Collier, Melissa Dubbin & Aaron S. Davidson, Liz Deschenes, Elena Dorfman, Roe Ethridge, Zoe Leonard, Ryan McGinley, David Benjamin Sherry, James Welling, Hannah Whitaker and Minor White.
Curated by Kevin Moore
Steven Kasher Gallery is pleased to present the group exhibition Alchemical, curated by Kevin Moore. Alchemical
features 25 works by 19 contemporary artists. Mainly consisting of large-scale photographs, the show also includes
a neon sculpture by Matthew Spieglman and an istallation by Daniel Lefcourt. The show features works by artists
Robert Buck, A.K. Burns, Phil Chang, Anne Collier, Melissa Dubbin & Aaron S. Davidson, Liz Deschenes, Elena
Dorfman, Roe Ethridge, Zoe Leonard, Ryan McGinley, David Benjamin Sherry, James Welling, Hannah Whitaker,
and Minor White.
Kevin Moore writes, “Alchemical is not a show about chemistry. It is not a
show about photographic abstraction or manipulated photography or the
obsolescence of photography as one more useless modern technology. It is
not a show about photography at all. Rather, it is a show about an impulse
to visualize radical, quasi-mystical transformation, to turn economic
depression into inspiration, stagnant politics into heroic mobilization,
environmental disaster into cleansing reordering, dirty coal into light
lithium. Short-circuiting the usual channels of science, technology, and
expert knowledge, Alchemical looks instead to a cloudburst, an explosion, a
strange light, to enact cathartic transformation, viz., the creation of a
universal elixir. Viz., a miracle.
Alchemical offers no solutions, explanations, rationalizations. It does not
wish to “reach out” to, “move forward” through, or “throw down” any
particular set of current problems—the days of rational science,
enlightenment idealism, corporate strategizing, and utopian convictions are over. Best hope for a lightening bolt, a
golden ray, a glowing goat, just as the millions flocking to churches, playing the lottery, and tuning in to TV shows
about vampires and psychics have learned to do. Change is inevitable but one might as well envision it positively,
spectacularly, lead-into-goldly. Be wary of stocks, real estate, retirement plans, Rothkos. Trust only intuition and
black magic to get you where you need to go.”
Kevin Moore is the author of Starburst: Color Photography in America 1970-1980 (Cincinnati Art Museum/Hatje
Cantz, 2010) and Jacques Henri Lartigue: The Invention of an Artist (Princeton University Press, 2004), and a
contributing author to Robert Heinecken (Ridinghouse, 2012) and Words Without Pictures (LACMA/Aperture,
2009).
For more information about the exhibition and all other inquiries, please contact Christiona Owen;
212 966 3978, christiona@stevenkasher.com.
Opening Reception: July 10th, 2013
Steven Kasher Gallery
521 West 23 Street, New York
Gallery hours: Tuesday through Saturday, 11 AM to 6 PM
Free Admission