Chelsea Galleries and Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop
It is fitting to end the semester near where we began: the Chelsea Galleries. Emblematic of change in the contemporary art world, the Chelsea Galleries strive to present a variety of new art in as many ways as possible. Often transformative, these spaces suit the art displayed inside and fit the theme of the exhibition while waiting to transform again for the next show. We visited many of the same galleries today, but were able to see the change these galleries represent as all had completely transformed into another show one way or another.
At the Lisson Gallery, a space we have never visited before, Chinese artist Ai Weiwei has taken over the gallery. His series of cast iron tree trunks and roots populate the empty gallery space, and are accompanied by a wallpaper of his design. Presenting themes of displacement, the pieces work together in transforming the space into their own home. Ai Weiwei continues this interaction between space and art to another gallery in Chelsea, the Mary Boone Gallery, which was populated by a large tree by Ai Weiwei, and another set of his wallpaper.
One space completely overhauled was the Hauser&Wirth gallery, now holding Paul McCarthy’s Raw Spinoffs Continuations. The interior walls of the gallery have been entirely torn down to emulate a warehouse or another large space for McCarthy’s works. All tongue in cheek, deconstructed versions of the seven dwarves populate the front gallery area with a backdrop of pirates and dildos. The artwork commands the space, and the transformative quality of the galleries allows this hostile takeover.