Michael Asher
26 Jan - 12 Apr 2008
Michael Asher
January 26 - April 19, 2008
Opening Reception: Friday, January 25, 7 - 9 p.m.
Michael Asher’s status in the international art world is legendary. Although based in Los Angeles, his work is not often shown in the United States—and seen even more infrequently in Southern California. Asher’s first major commissioned sculptural installation in decades will constitute rebuilding, from plans and diagrams, every temporary wall constructed since the museum’s 1998 move to its current Bergamot Station location. Each wall will be constructed with metal and wooden studs to match the original construction methods and forms. The audience will be able to view an enthralling skeleton map of exhibition design from the front of the museum, and through a specially opened entrance at the back. Asher will also create a documentation room in an adjacent gallery so that visitors can see a concise historical map of exhibition construction, including floor plans for each of the forty exhibitions. Organized over the past ten years, SMMoA’s multiple exhibition floor plans serve as dynamic evidence of its frequent reinvention and experimentation as a non-collecting museum. Through Asher’s installation, visitors will experience first-hand how the museum space moves and changes with each exhibition. SMMoA will publish a catalog to accompany the exhibition with a critical essay by Miwon Kwon, Associate Professor of Art History at UCLA.
January 26 - April 19, 2008
Opening Reception: Friday, January 25, 7 - 9 p.m.
Michael Asher’s status in the international art world is legendary. Although based in Los Angeles, his work is not often shown in the United States—and seen even more infrequently in Southern California. Asher’s first major commissioned sculptural installation in decades will constitute rebuilding, from plans and diagrams, every temporary wall constructed since the museum’s 1998 move to its current Bergamot Station location. Each wall will be constructed with metal and wooden studs to match the original construction methods and forms. The audience will be able to view an enthralling skeleton map of exhibition design from the front of the museum, and through a specially opened entrance at the back. Asher will also create a documentation room in an adjacent gallery so that visitors can see a concise historical map of exhibition construction, including floor plans for each of the forty exhibitions. Organized over the past ten years, SMMoA’s multiple exhibition floor plans serve as dynamic evidence of its frequent reinvention and experimentation as a non-collecting museum. Through Asher’s installation, visitors will experience first-hand how the museum space moves and changes with each exhibition. SMMoA will publish a catalog to accompany the exhibition with a critical essay by Miwon Kwon, Associate Professor of Art History at UCLA.