EDITION #19

a long line

FULL DISCLOSURE: I would have written about it anyway but I am honored happen to be in the exhibition.

It was a sad day in Chicago when she woke up to the news that Edmund Chia was gone and not coming back. In his absence Chia left a long line “of text, broken up into 43 parts and distributed to artists for their interpretation, none of whom are privy to the complete document.” The result, a long line, came together in a seamless transition to new Peregrine directors, Claire Valdez and Jon Waites.

Valdez and Waites’ pairing of the mostly modest sized works have some fantastic isolated moments while maintaining a flow throughout the space as a whole. For those curious, the gallery sheet revealed the lines assigned to each artist. It’s an interesting mix to say the least. Pieces in direct response to their line, such as Ang Bidak’s butter application and Philip von Zweck’s chilling response to his line really engaged the poem and forces one to consider the individual line. Connor Creagan’s response to the line “art brings people apart, right” was a sweet twist on an FGT-like pile with neon green wristbands. Each wristband had a matching code buried in the pile.

Of course there were a few works that felt dropped in to the show, unrelated to the text, though surprisingly few considering the scope. All in all, an exhibition befitting the Peregrine founder and a good sign for what is to come.

a long line is on view at Peregrine Programs (3311 W Carroll Avenue, #119) through November 24, 2013.