Moyra Davey, Copperheads 101-200, 2013. Courtesy the artist, Janice Guy, New York and greengrassi, London
Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC/CUNY) and Lehman College (Lehman/CUNY) will present Mediums of Exchange, a two-part art exhibition and the first collaboration between two of the largest gallery spaces in the City University of New York network, opening first on Jan. 31 at BMCC and then on Feb. 9 at Lehman.
An opening reception is scheduled for the Downtown iteration of the show at BMCC on February 6 beginning at 6 p.m.
The project is co-curated by Lisa Panzera, director of the Shirley Fiterman Art Center at BMCC and Bartholomew F. Bland, director of the Lehman College Art Gallery.
Mediums of Exchange will include more than 30 contemporary artists who appropriate and contextualize money, using currency as a material in their work, or taking a conceptual approach to the global economic system.
Artists across the centuries have depicted the acquisition of money and wealth as a morality tale—a desirable enterprise as well as the source of many evils. In the decade following the financial crisis in 2008, artists have been working to transform an uncertain economy into artworks of visual significance.
Exploring the ever-changing forms and uses of currency, the artists in Mediums of Exchange at the two gallery spaces engage in sociological, psychological, and economic approaches that raise new questions about the role of money around the world. Andy Warhol, who frequently spoke about his fascination with the dollar, is the chief historical precedent for the artists in this exhibition.
Mediums of Exchange – Downtown at BMCC
When: January 31 – March 30, 2019
Where: Shirley Fiterman Art Center, Borough of Manhattan Community College, 81 Barclay Street, New York, NY 10007
Reception: Wednesday, February 6, from 6 to 8 p.m.
Artists featured at BMCC: Nina Beier, Moyra Davey, Stuart Elster, Jane Fine, Meschac Gaba, Ghost of a Dream, Jonathan Herder, Takashi Kunitani, Agnieszka Kurant, Rob Pruitt, Yuken Teruya, Hanna von Goeler, Mark Wagner, Michael Wang, Nari Ward and Andy Warhol.
Mediums of Exchange – Uptown at Lehman College
When: February 9 – May 4, 2019
Where: Lehman College Art Gallery, Herbert H. Lehman College, 250 Bedford Park Boulevard West, Bronx, NY 10468
Reception: Wednesday, February 13, from 5 to 8 p.m.
Artists features at Lehman College: Micah Adams, Melanie Baker, Amel Bennys, Ebony Bolt, David Dew Bruner, Sonya Clark, Jennifer Dalton, Alexis Duque, Stuart Elster, Jane Fine, Erika Harrsch, Louise Laplante, Eugenio Merino, Tom Pfannerstill, Houben R.T., John Salvest, Reed Seifer, Oriane Stender, Hanna von Goeler, Mark Wagner, Andy Warhol, Stacey Lee Webber, C.K. Wilde and Tim Yankosky.
