1. THE ARTIST MAY CONSTRUCT THE WORK
2. THE WORK MAY BE FABRICATED
3. THE WORK NEED NOT BE BUILT
EACH BEING EQUAL AND CONSISTENT WITH THE INTENT OF THE ARTIST
THE DECISION AS TO CONDITION RESTS WITH THE RECEIVER UPON THE
OCCASION OF RECEIVERSHIP
Lawrence Weiner, Statement of Intent, 1969
OSL contemporary is pleased to present the exhibition WHISKED AWAY FROM, with new works by New York-based artist Lawrence Weiner. The show comprises three sculptures and four drawings. It marks Weiner’s first solo show in Norway.
Weiner is recognized as one of the foremost artists working in America today. A leading figure in the Conceptual art movement of the 1960s, Weiner’s seminal and singular practice defies traditional notions of what constitutes a work of art. By using language as his material, Weiner has defined his work as sculpture and when asked, he refers to its medium as ‘language + the material referred to.’ Weiner maintains that language itself is 3-dimensional, declaring that the work is what it says it is. His work seeks to transcend the restraints of any particular culture and context, leaving it open to the individual’s intellectual reading as a ‘receiver’. In doing so his work is ever present, ever in flux and never ever finished. It offers a radical redefinition of the relationship between artist and receiver, thereby promoting a universal accessibility for art.
Today, Weiner’s only permanent work to be seen in Norway is WATER MADE IT WET, installed on a large commercial building in Svolvær’s harbor for the Lofoten International Art Festival in 1999. He has participated in two shows at Kunstnernes Hus in Oslo. His 1996 work, THINGS MADE TO BE SEEN FORCEFULLY OBSCURED was included in the group show Draft Deceit in 2006, and his 1994 piece, USE ENOUGH TO MAKE IT SMOOTH ENOUGH ASSUMING A FUNCTION was exhibited in the Kunstnernes Hus foyer in 2014. This is not to say that Weiner’s contact with Norway was slight. Just as he was formulating his seminal Statement of Intent he fabricated A GLACIER VANDALISED somewhere on the Svartisen glacier.
Lawrence Weiner (b. 1942 New York, NY) lives and works in New York.
Significant solo exhibitions of the artist’s work have been held at numerous museums and institutions. In 2007, the Whitney Museum of America Art, New York and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles organized the first major retrospective of his work in the United States, which travelled to K21 Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfälen in Düsseldorf. Other recent and notable exhibitions include Blenheim Palace, Woodstock, England (2015); Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam (2013); Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona, Barcelona (2013); Tate Modern, London (2012, 2006); ARKEN Museum, Køge, Denmark, Centro de Arte Contemporáneo de Málaga, Málaga, Spain (2008); Haus der Kunst, Munich (2007); Museo Tamayo Arte Contemporáneo, Mexico City (2004); Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, Wolfsburg, Germany (2000); Walker Art Center, Minneapolis (1994); and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington D.C. (1990).
His work has been included in dOCUMENTA 5, 6, 7, and 13 (1972, 1977, 1982, 2012); the 36th, 41st, 50th and 55th iterations of La Biennale di Venezia (1972, 1984, 2003, 2013); and the 27th Biennale de São Paulo (2006).
He is the recipient of numerous awards, they include the Roswitha Haftmann Prize (2014); Doctor of Humane Letters from the City University of New York (2013); the Skowhegan Medal for Painting/Conceptual Art (1999); a Guggenheim Fellowship (1994); and two National Endowment of the Arts Fellowships (1976, 1983).
