Gordon Matta-Clark: A Retrospective

[Gordon Matta-Clark]

Gordon Matta-Clark: A Retrospective

Chicago, USA: Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, 1985

8 x 5.5 x 1.75"

Edition size unknown

Produced for a posthumous retrospective of the artist's work, this collection of ephemera includes a plastic respirator mask, a photocopied description of the Fresh Air Cart taken from the artist's catalogue raisonné, a Museum of Contemporary Art Guest Pass, and a Matta-Clark postcard, housed in a clear ziplock pouch. 

The breathing apparatus was provided for viewer participation in the exhibition's installation of the artist’s Fresh Air Cart (see below). The work consists of a vehicle made from two wheelchairs bound back-to-back, equipped a tank of "pure" air (79% nitrogen and 21% oxygen). 

Intended as a comment on air pollution, the Fresh Air Cart was first seen in 1972 when Matta-Clark wheeled the cart in the Wall Street District of Manhattan, inviting passers by to breathe the clean air though the mask. When staging this work, Matta-Clark used the pseudonym 'George Smudge', citing him as a "para-medical philanthropist".

Visitor | Jeffrey Epstein’s Black Book (Deluxe Edition)

Visitor

Jeffrey Epstein’s Black Book (Deluxe Edition)

New York City, USA: Self-published, 2019

[200] pp., 14.5 x 11 cm., hardcover

Edition of 20

Sinister and cynical exploitation, or the ultimate book fetish item? This "Deluxe" edition of Jeffrey Epstein’s unredacted infamous black book by Visitor features a gold hot-stamped black leather hardcover and mirror finished gold foiled ‘Blacktop Construction’ French Paper Company text stock throughout. 

The original, belonging to the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, first became known after his butler and house manager Alfredo Rodriguez acquired it and offer it for sale. 

Rodriguez (who died of a very rare cancer related to asbestos inhalation in 2011) worked at Epstein's Palm Beach mansion from 2004 to 2005 and was intimately aware of his boss' activities. He claimed to have witnessed underage girls naked at Epstein’s pool and child pornography on Epstein’s personal computer. 

The book reportedly includes the names of 1571 celebrities, politicians, princes and princesses, bankers, artists, scientists and oligarchs. Rodriguez annotated the book with cryptic marginalia - with arrows and stars beside certain names. He was said to have circled the names of those he believed were co-conspirators and witnesses to Epstein's crimes. Prince Andrew's name is circled. Former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak's name is circled. Donald Trump's name is circled. 

The book first turned up in a courtroom in 2009, after Epstein's 2008 prison sentence, when Rodriguez tried to sell it to an undercover FBI agent. He told investigators that the black book was a 'treasure trove', a 'gold nugget' and "the Holy Grail". He also referred to it as his insurance policy against Epstein, who wanted him to “disappear.” 

Rodriguez was convicted and spent 18 months in prison for obstruction of justice, a sentence five months longer than Epstein's. 

The book’s most recent courtroom appearance was last December, as “Exhibit 52” in the trial of Ghislaine Maxwell, who was found guilty of helping Epstein to sexually abuse teenage girls. Her sex trafficking conviction was upheld last week by a US judge, who denied a requested retrial. She will be sentenced on June 28, 2022. 

A redacted scan of  Epstein's book was uploaded by Gawker, and can be found here. Vistor's Deluxe Edition can be purchased from Printed Matter, for $800.00 US, here. 

 

Jeff Koons | Balloon Dog (Blue)

Jeff Koons

Balloon Dog (Blue)

Limoges, France: Bernardaud, 2021

40 x 15.4 x 47.9 cm.

Edition of 799 numbered copies [+50 AP]

Published last year and already has an estimated value of between fifteen and twenty-five thousand dollars, making this edition worth almost twenty minute dollars a year after publication. 

Roula Partheniou | Untitled (Fragile)

Roula Partheniou

Untitled (Fragile)

Sackville, Canada: Self-published, 2022

2 × 10 × 10 cm

Edition of 15 

A hand-painted sculpture (acrylic on Wood) of a roll of "Fragile" tape, as part of Partheniou's inaugural exhibition with Marta in Los Angeles, "Two and Two Together". The show features other tape rolls, chalk brushes, cheezies, frisbees, stationery and other items replicated by hand. The exhibition runs until April 23rd and the gallery is open by appointment, Wednesday – Friday, from noon to 5PM, and to the public on Saturdays, also from noon to five.

For more information, visit their website, here. 

Owen Marshall | The Opposite Side Was Not Considered

Owen Marshall

The Opposite Side Was Not Considered

Toronto, Canada: Ninth Editions, 2019

18 x 24"

Edition of 10 signed and numbered copies

Silkscreen and Graphite on Paper. [see previous post]

Owen Marshall | Communism Isn’t Stupid

Owen Marshall

Communism Isn’t Stupid

Toronto, Canada: Ninth Editions, 2019

18 x 24"

Edition of 10 signed and numbered copies

The only artwork we brought home with us from our recent trip back to Toronto is this screenprint and graphite on paper work by Owen Marshall. 

Other works in the series include "Tiny Flag", "I Didn't Actually Do the Reading", "Curse you Jesus" and "I Am Very Sorry Grandma" (which is reportedly a response to "Curse you Jesus"). We were torn between this one and another favorite (see next post). 

I'll be working with Marshall and Ontario Culture Days in 2023 to turn these works into actual flags atop flagpoles, either in Toronto or London, Ontario. 

The work is available from Ninth Editions for $90.00 CDN, here. 

 

Cary Leibowitz