How three Academy Artists put together a pop-up art show --
and why they think you should do it too.
and why they think you should do it too.
The same weekend, in a corner of the building's fifth floor, three Academy artists--Sarah Beatty (MFA 2012), Jonathan Beer (MFA 2012, Fellow 2013) and Lily Koto Olive (MFA 2013)--hosted a pop-up art exhibit, featuring their own pieces along with work by six other artists: 2013 Academy graduates Meg Franklin, Elizabeth Glaessner and Nadene Grey, as well as DC-based artist Lee Gainer, Boston-based Christopher Mir and Christine Gray, who is represented by New York's RARE Gallery.
Beatty hosted the exhibition in the studio space that she has rented at the center since January. Because she was in the midst of curating another show Finding Space: Artwork Inspired by Urban New York, she asked Beer and Olive—who together run the art criticism website Art-rated—to curate the show, called 501-9 after Beatty's studio number. Though it was not associated with cutLog, it benefited from the hundreds of art lovers the fair brought to the Clemente building that weekend. “The decision to have it was about – ‘Hey, why don’t we just jump on this opportunity,’” Olive said. “It seemed perfect for a pop-up art show."
Though the show was not defined by a particular theme, Beatty, Beer and Olive saw connections between the pieces. “Almost all the artists in the show are interested in communicating something about what it is to be contemporary and the conditions of contemporary life,” Beer said. “That’s a big part of who we chose and why.”
Beer said the biggest challenge came with arranging the show in the space, because up until that point, no one had seen all the art together in one room. On the whole, all three were pleased with the way the pieces fit together—and with the number of visitors who followed their signs and ventured up to the fifth floor. "No matter what, people do come to see art--even up on the fifth floor in the darkest corner," Beatty said. "People still made their way up there--it surprised me."
Beatty, Beer and Olive see the experience of curation as an empowering one for artists. “We all show our work, we show in galleries—we have that experience,” Olive said. “But it feels good to go, ‘You know what?’ I feel like doing this.’ We can curate the show, we don’t have to sit around and wait. If something sells, we can control it all. It’s more of a powerful position for the artist to be in, honestly.”
Asked what advice she'd give to artists interested in trying their hand at curating, Beatty said, “Just try it. Look for opportunities and seize on them yourself. No one’s going to make an opportunity for you, so why not see what you can do?”
