DYNASTY

DYNASTY

An exhibition modeled on the dynamic of multigenerational families
March 9, 2006 – April 5, 2006

Opening on Saturday, March 11, 6 – 9 pm

New York, New York (February 23, 2006) – Gallery MC is pleased to announce the opening of DYNASTY: an exhibition modeled on the dynamic of multigenerational families, from March 9 – April 5, 2006.  Dynasty’s curatorial team operated as a fictional family: Sara Reisman “married” Christopher K. Ho, and Reisman’s “sister”, Amy Goldrich, “married” Omar Lopez-Chahoud.  Each couple then unconditionally bequeathed their sole assets and fortune – the gallery space itself – to their adopted artist children.  Subverting the traditional control of curators, these bequests were made without restriction. The artists had autonomy in using, or consuming, the limited resource of exhibition space.

Lopez-Chahoud and Goldrich’s heirs – Ellen Altfest, Rachel Mason and Josiah McElheny –approached their respective 200+ square feet of gallery space differently.  McElheny passed his inheritance on to next-generation sculptor Martha Friedman, while Altfest curated her own thematic show-within-a-show. Mason shared her space with several other artists for exhibitions and performances, and her band . The result includes painting, sculpture, video and live music.

The four Ho-Reisman siblings, Soledad Arias, Nina Katchadourian, Michael Rakowitz, and Andrea Ray, also explored various media and worked within multiple artistic genres.  Their clan honors both the past, present and future by including a fourth generation artist, Zach Poff.

Not coincidentally, the exhibition shares its name with the 1980’s TV family melodrama, Dynasty. Both the structure and content of the exhibition question and explore power, property, and the dynamics of familial ties, societal traditions, and laws about how property can be inherited and consumed within families.
In the accompanying exhibition catalog, Ho and Reisman ask, “After a period of pluralism and in the age of wealth transfer—baby boomers will bequeath some $10 trillion in the next 20 years—might the family business rather than the family romance be the apposite model for artmaking?”  Goldrich, who is also a lawyer, further explores the notion of family as not just filial status, but also property and tool of the state.  Given that as much as 75% of the US population dies without a will, the legal system’s interpretation of family and the rules governing the distribution of inheritance is far more significant than most people imagine.

Participating artists include: Ellen Altfest, Soledad Arias, Inc., Michael Bauer, Mai Braun, Xavier Cha, Peter Coffin, Brian Cooper, Dana Frankfort, Martha Friedman, Mark Golamco, Nina Katchadourian, Chris Kubick & Anne Walsh, Elke Lehmann, Ryan Lucero, Joshua Marsh, Rachel Mason, Josiah McElheny, Charles Miller, Matthew Moorman, Valerie Piraino, Zach Poff, Michael Rakowitz, Andrea Ray, Cate Snook, Alan Weiner, and John Williams.

For additional information please contact: Curator Omar Lopez-Chahoud, 212-228-8789 or lopezchahoud@yahoo.com.