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Storylines at the Guggenheim

By Peggy Roalf   Friday June 26, 2015

Storylines: Contemporary Art at the Guggenheim, is, like many summer group shows around town, a hodgepodge of “gallery artists”. In this case, the sprawling exhibition showcases works by artists collected, and in a number of instances, commissioned through the museum’s international programs.

The best way to see this show is to take the elevator to the top ramp and work your way down. Viewing in reverse order was, for me, a way to take in what is interesting [and there is plenty of that] and to glide past lesser pieces, and the somewhat pontifical introduction, which attempts to frame the question, “what is contemporary art,” through earlier works from the museum's collection. 

The storytelling impulse takes shape through works in mediums that range from street trash to elaborate metal and plastic castings; from stitching and welding to filming and dancing. There is much time-based art here, with a few mini-theaters along the way. In one of these, Sharif Waked’s jarring 41.5-minute video takes an excerpt from One Thousand and One Nights to prolong the life of a suicide bomber by yet another day. [More on exhibition videos here]. While screenings of Mark Leckey’s landmark video, Fiorucci Made Me Hardcore have concluded, it can be seen on YouTube.

Sharif Waked, One Thousand and One Nights


Fantasy and invention prevail, from Nate Lownan’s paintings that recreate images from airline safety manuals to comic and ambiguous result, to Agathe Snow’s riotous visions of apocalypse and social breakdown envisioned through the kitschy assemblage of junk, velvet, fake fur, and other found materials.

In addition to its in-museum app, the Guggenheim has created an immersive website that presents in depth explorations of the works and their makers.


Installation by Agathe Snow

Tonight, June 26th, Kevin Beasley’s commission that incorporates the sounds of the museum into sculptures made from sneakers, foam, resin, and other materials, at 8 pm. For this performance, he uses the sounds recorded by these objects to build environmental and experimental compositions

In conjunction with Storylines, the museum will stage a 24-hour party featuring live music, on Thursday, August 20, beginning at 6 pm. The event will also serve as the premiere of Agathe Snow’s new film Stamina (2015). Visit guggenheim.org/storylines-events for tickets and more information. For information about all related public programs, go here.


Natascha Sadr Haghighian, I Can't Work Like This

Storylines: Contemporary Art at the Guggenheim continues through September 9th. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, 1071 5th Avenue, at 89th Street, NY, NY. Information.


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