*Interesting provocation.
http://galleristny.com/2012/06/jonathan-safran-foer-curates-exhibition/
By Rozalia Jovanovic 6/13 9:45amTweet
"Author Jonathan Safran Foer is teaming up with Samuel Messer, a painter and associate dean of Yale School of Art, on a retrospective exhibition at Fredericks & Freiser gallery in Chelsea. The only thing is, the retrospective, which opens June 21, is for a fictional character named “S—.”
“Retrospective of S” is really a summer group show—with a twist. The paintings in this female artist’s show are actually done by 10 different artists selected by Mr. Messer: Natalie Frank, Rochelle Feinstein, Francesca Lo Russo, Josephine Messer, Judith Linhares, Njideka Akunyili, Caitlin Cherry, Chie Fueki, Jackie Gendel and Jennifer Packer.
"Mr. Foer wrote all 10 of the wall texts, which don’t so much describe the work as delineate the narrative of the biography of this fictional character.
"The artwork in turn corresponds to the various stages of S’s life, beginning in 1964, when she was 14 years old (“With no artistic training whatsoever, and only the public library as an art education, her youthful work flowed directly, and without mediation, from her imagination”), through her penniless beginnings as an artist living in a five-story walk-up (“At the age of 21, and with no money, belongings or plan, S — moved to New York”), her development (“S —’s fascination with the representation of sex acts took full flight on the cusp of the 80s”) and her critical acclaim (“S —’s 1993 show at H — Gallery propelled her into the art stratosphere”). It concludes in 2010 when S is 60.
"Though he’s curating the show, Mr. Messer told Gallerist that he doesn’t yet know what all of the artists are creating...."
