Artists Space

Los Angeles/New York Exchange

May 21 – July 2, 1983

An image with a white background of a large printing machine with black text that reads "ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL..." in the upper left corner and on the bottom right reads "...but only machines have guarantees."
Mitchell Syrop. Work Environment Safety Poster, 1982. Photo collage. 30 x 42 inches. [An image with a white background of a large printing machine with black text that reads "ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL..." in the upper left corner and on the bottom right reads "...but only machines have guarantees."]

Since the 1960s, the Los Angeles art world had begun to establish itself as a rival force to New York. Marc Pally, of Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions (LACE) and Linda Shearer devised this “exchange” exhibition, in which five artists who had previously exhibited in either gallery were chosen to participate in a group show in the opposite city. The artists included Charles Clough, Rebecca Howland, Jeff Koons, Nachume Miller, Christy Rupp, and Reese Williams from Artists Space; and Jill Giegerich, Victor Henderson, Kim Hubbard, Lari Pittman, Mitchell Syrop, and Megan Williams from LACE.

The show not only sought to grant national exposure to local artists, but also examined the antagonism between the two cities, which Pally and Shearer were moved to sum up in this way at the time: “New York is seen by Los Angeles as overly intellectual, highly conscious of its historical context and perhaps arrogantly self-contained; Los Angeles is seen by New York as surface-oriented, conceptually weak and self-indulgent.” A single publication was produced for both exhibitions. The Los Angeles curator Susan Larsen wrote the essay on the Los Angeles art scene, while the critic Roberta Smith wrote the parallel essay for New York.

In her text, Smith draws both cities together in sharing the “Post-Conceptual” condition, responding to the legacy of Conceptualism and Process “which dominated both the New York, Californian, and European avant-gardes during the late ‘60s and early ‘70s.”

A black and white Duratrans on a lightbox of a portrait of a child holding a crayon with a box of crayons and a small book lie on a desk in front of them under their crossed arms. This is on a wall with the plug for the box coming from under the left side.
Jeff Koon. Installation view, Artists Space, 1983. [A black and white Duratrans on a lightbox of a portrait of a child holding a crayon with a box of crayons and a small book lie on a desk in front of them under their crossed arms. This is on a wall with the plug for the box coming from under the left side.]
In the foreground a vacuum can be seen on a plexiglass shelf case with a fluorescent light underneath and above it. Behind it is an image on a white wall of an automobile with text visible that reads, "ROOOMY!" on the top left and "TOYOTA" on the bottom left and "NEW FAMILY CAMRY" on the bottom right.
Jeff Koons. Installation View, Artists Space, 1983. [In the foreground a vacuum can be seen on a plexiglass shelf case with a fluorescent light underneath and above it. Behind it is an image on a white wall of an automobile with text visible that reads, "ROOOMY!" on the top left and "TOYOTA" on the bottom left and "NEW FAMILY CAMRY" on the bottom right.]
In the foreground vacuums on plexiglass shelves with fluorescent lights underneath are visible and in the background on a white gallery wall is a number of different photographs lined next to each other in successio.
Jeff Koons. Installation View, Artists Space, 1983. [In the foreground vacuums on plexiglass shelves with fluorescent lights underneath are visible and in the background on a white gallery wall is a number of different photographs lined next to each other in successio.]
In the foreground is a set of vacuum cleaners on display vertically above each other on a plexiglass shelf rack with fluourescent lights underneath each one. Behind it on a wall is a Duratrans on a lightbox with text that reads: "New 100% Meri Ultra-lights" and a picture of a pack of ciagrettes appears next to the text. These works appear in a white-walled gallery space with a window in the far left back and a fluorescent light visible above.
Installation view. Artists Space, 1983. Foreground: Jeff Koons. New Wet/Dry Triple Decker, 1982. Plexiglass, fluorescent light, new vacuum cleaners. 124 1/2 x 28 x 28 inches. [In the foreground is a set of vacuum cleaners on display vertically above each other on a plexiglass shelf rack with fluourescent lights underneath each one. Behind it on a wall is a Duratrans on a lightbox with text that reads: "New 100% Meri Ultra-lights" and a picture of a pack of ciagrettes appears next to the text. These works appear in a white-walled gallery space with a window in the far left back and a fluorescent light visible above.]
Large structures of power lines are visible with white human figures moving around in the bottom section of the image.
Reese Williams. A Pair of Eyes (detail), 1983. Photomural with gouache. 7 x 40 x 60 inches (panels). [Large structures of power lines are visible with white human figures moving around in the bottom section of the image.]

Los Angeles/New York Exchange Press Release

Los Angeles/New York Exchange Postcard

Los Angeles/New York Exchange Catalogue

Picot, Pierre. "Righteous Intentions." Art Week. July 2, 1983. Number 24. Print.

Knight, Christopher. "'Los Angeles-New York Exchange' leaves us with trade deficit." Los Angeles Herald Examiner. June 26, 1983. Print, E5.

Muchnic, Suzanne. "Artists: 6 New Yorkers on Exhibit." Los Angeles Times. June 27, 1983. Part 1V. Print.

Drohojowskala, Hunter. "L.A's Changing Contemporary Art Scene." L.A Weekly. March 11-17, 1983. Vol. 5, No. 15. Print.

Drohojowskala, Hunter. "The LA/NY Cultural Exchange." L.A Weekly. July 1-7, 1983. Print.

Russel, John. "Summer Art Discoveries." The New York Times. June 24, 1983. Print.

Artists Space regular exhibitions program is sponsored by the New York State Council on the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Institute for Museum Services, the Jerome Foundation, Robert Sterling Clark Foundation, Samuel Rubin Foundation, Lauder Foundation, Monterey Fund and the Silvermountain Foundation for the Arts, Corporate sponsors are AT&T Long Lines, Chase Manhattan Bank, Citibank, Exxon, Morgan Guaranty Trust Company, Con Edison, Philip Norris, Lehman Brothers, Kuhn Loeb, and Warner Communications.

    An image of a red automobile outside with the text
    Jeff Koons. Installation View. Artists Space, 1983. [An image of a red automobile outside with the text "ROOOMY!" in the left corner and "TOYOTA" on the bottom left and "NEW FAMILY CAMRY" on the bottom right. This is hung on a white-gallery wall.]