October 29, 2006 through January 8, 2007
P.S.1 Opening Day Celebration: October 29, 2006 from noon to 6
(Long Island City, NY – September 14, 2006) P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center is pleased to present The Gold Standard, on view in the Kunsthalle from October 29, 2006 through January 8, 2007. All of the works in the exhibition are gold in color, and deal with the iconographic complexity of gold. The exhibition examines the idea that otherwise uninflected objects, through material and surface transformation, become objects of desire, expanding upon and negotiating the chimerical presence—both materially and symbolically—of gold. Themes such as alchemy and religion, symbols of power and wealth, the ostentatious and the sublime, are also of chief concern. The exhibition includes historical figures alongside younger artists, and numerous works commissioned especially for The Gold Standard.
The formal groundwork or strategies that seem most urgent for these artists raise questions of substitution, doubling, copying, decoys, and spectacle in relation to a material that has, as its base, a sense of unrelenting authenticity and power, a fantastical foundation for exchange—both literally in an economic sphere, and in a more general social sense.
The artists in the exhibition include: John Armleder, Andisheh Avini, Barry X Ball, Marcel Broodthaers, Tim Davis, Thomas Demand, Jessica Diamond, Sylvie Fleury, Felisa Funes, Piero Golia, Wayne Gonzales, Kent Henricksen, Thomas Hirschhorn, Fred Holland, Alfredo Jaar, Annette Kelm, Terence Koh, Yayoi Kusama, Louise Lawler, Daniel Lefcourt, Sherrie Levine, John Miller, Geof Oppenheimer, Mai-Thu Perret, Paul Pfeiffer, Seth Price, Rob Pruitt, David Ratcliff, Tim Rollins and K.O.S., Haim Steinbach, Vincent Szarek, Wolfgang Tillmans, Kelley Walker, James Welling, and Eric Wesley.
The Gold Standard is organized by Walead Beshty and P.S.1 Curatorial Advisor Bob Nickas.
Exhibitions at P.S.1 are made possible by the Annual Exhibition Fund with support from Peter Norton and the Peter Norton Family Foundation, Patricia Phelps de Cisneros, The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, Lawton W. Fitt and James I. McLaren Foundation, Marie-Josèe and Henry Kravis, Jerry I. Speyer and Katherine G. Farley, Philip Aarons and Shelley Fox Aarons, Kathy and Richard S. Fuld, Jr., Lily Auchincloss Foundation, J. Christopher Daly and Sheldrake Organization Inc., Rosa and Gilberto Sandretto, David Teiger, Michel Zaleski, Enzo Viscusi, Sue & Edgar Wachenheim Foundation, The Broad Art Foundation, Mimi and Peter Haas Fund, Dennis W. LaBarre, Julia Stoschek, Pamela and Richard Kramlich, Richard Anderman, Paul Beirne, Douglas S. Cramer, L. Matthew and Elizabeth Quigley, Mathis-Pfohl Foundation, SilverCup Studios, Yellow Book U.S.A., The Friends of Education in honor of Peter Norton and Gwen Adams, and The Contemporary Arts Council and The Junior Associates of The Museum of Modern Art.
Time Out New York is the official print partner of exhibitions and public programs at P.S.1.
P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center
Background:
P.S.1 was founded in 1971 by Alanna Heiss as The Institute of Art and Urban Resources Inc., a non-profit organization dedicated to the organization of contemporary art exhibitions in abandoned or underutilized buildings. P.S.1 became an affiliate of The Museum of Modern Art in 2000 and now operates two internationally acclaimed spaces for contemporary art: P.S.1 in Long Island City, featuring museum-quality galleries, and The Clocktower Gallery, which now contains the radio studio for P.S.1’s online radio station WPS1.
P.S.1 is one of the largest and oldest arts organizations in the United States solely devoted to contemporary art. Recognized as a defining force of the alternative space movement, P.S.1 stands out from major arts institutions in its cutting edge approach to exhibitions and direct involvement of artists within a scholarly framework. P.S.1 acts as an intermediary between the artist and its audience. Functioning as a living and active meeting place for the general public, P.S.1 is a catalyst for ideas, discourses and new trends in contemporary art. With its educational programs, P.S.1 assists the public in understanding art and provides the tools to appreciate contemporary art and its practices.
Support:
Operations and programs of P.S.1 are supported by the P.S.1 Board of Directors, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, The Office of the President of the Borough of Queens, The Council of the City of New York, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency. Additional funding is provided by individuals, foundations and corporate contributions.
Directions:
P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center is located at 22-25 Jackson Avenue at 46th Street in Long Island City, Queens, across the Queensboro Bridge from midtown Manhattan. It is easily accessible by bus and subway. Traveling by subway, visitors should take either the E or V to 23 Street-Ely Avenue (note that the V does not run on weekends); the 7 to 45 Road-Courthouse Square; or the G to Court Square or 21 Street-Van Alst. Visitors may also take the Q67 bus to Jackson and 46th Avenues or the B61 to Jackson Avenue.
Hours:
P.S.1 is open from 12:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., Thursday through Monday. It is closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years Day.
• artbook@PS1 is open from 1:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., Thursday through Sunday.
• LeRosier Café is open from 12:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., Thursday through Monday.
Admission:
Admission is a $5.00 suggested donation; $2.00 for students and senior citizens; free for MoMA members and MoMA admission ticket holders. The MoMA ticket must be presented at P.S.1 within thirty days of date on ticket and is not valid during Warm Up or other P.S.1 events or benefits.
Web Sites:
www.ps1.org • www.wps1.org • www.moma.org
Contact: Yng-Ru Chen, Director of Press and Communications, press@ps1.org or 718.786.3139