Lisa Kirk
dal 19/2/2009 al 28/3/2009
Segnalato da
19/2/2009
Lisa Kirk
Invisible-Exports NYC, New York
House of Cards. For the last decade, Lisa Kirk has produced bold multi-media work and environmental installations that explore the spectacle of capitalism, terrorism and political violence. The exhibition offers a familiar yet deconstructed vision, drawn from our collective nightmare of a post-capitalist future.
In the current economic crisis, Americans have been forced to reckon directly with
the anxious and guilt-ridden underbelly of the late-capitalist system that has, for
several generations, sustained us. For the last decade, Lisa Kirk has produced bold
multi-media work and environmental installations that explore the spectacle of
capitalism, terrorism and political violence. Her exhibition House of Cards offers a
familiar yet deconstructed vision, drawn from our collective nightmare of a
post-capitalist future. The work, maison des cartes, a show model “shanty timeshare”
built from 52 separate pieces of found materials, will occupy the central space of
the gallery, and will continue by transforming the gallery’s office into a
functioning real estate salesroom. There, viewers will be presented with the chance
to buy into the private residence club. Upon the show’s completion, the structure
will be rebuilt in a new location where shareholders will have the opportunity to
experience shanty living. After 52 weeks, maison des cartes will be disassembled and
distributed to the shareholders as 52 separate and unique artworks.
Kirk’s work delivers a raw portrayal of the emotional experience of living in the
early 21st century, but as much as House of Cards is social critique and satire, it
is also a study in contemporary political imagery. The shanty is a powerful reminder
of the Third World costs of Western wealth, the looming history of the Great
Depression, and a harrowing invocation of the way we imagine the instability and
insecurity of our own well-being.
Kirk’s shanty will be coupled with an underground installation of her updated
project, Revolution (06-09). Last exhibited at P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center,
Revolution appeared as a fragrance lab and terrorist headquarters suspended
upside-down from the museum’s ceiling. Curator Hans Askheim has said, “Kirk
demystifies the idea of revolution, and suggests a new reading of radicality. [She]
also attempts to decode our bourgeois culture by using the language of advertising,
and seek to reveal how “radical chic” is used as a propaganda tool for the market
economy.”
Lisa Kirk’s work has been exhibited at P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center | Museum of
Modern Art affiliate; Galería Comercial, PR; Participant INC., NY; and MOT
International, London. She has also contributed projects to North Drive Press, NY;
Creative Time, NY; and Charlie, NY. Her curated projects include LEGION, Bonds of
Love, at John Connelly Presents, The Outlaw Series and You. Her work has been
reviewed in Artforum.com, L’uomo Vogue, Plan B, The Guardian, Time Out London/New
York, The New York Times, The New Yorker, New York Magazine, and Art Review.
Opening Friday, February 20, 6 – 8pm
Invisible NYC
14A Orchard Street - New York
Wednesday through Sunday, 11-6:30pm, and by appointment
Free admission