LOS ANGELES, CA.- Regen Projects is presenting by appointment only ON VIEW, an exhibition by New York-based artist Lawrence Weiner. This marks his tenth solo presentation at the gallery; his first, ASSUMING THE POSITION, was Regen Projects' inaugural show in 1989.
Lawrence Weiner describes his exhibition as follows:
ITS ALL ABOUT THE THING ITSELF & HOW IT IS FIRST PERCEIVED & HOW IT IS USED
A leading figure in the development of the Conceptual art movement in the 1960s, Lawrence Weiners seminal and singular practice uses language as the core material in his work a distinct challenge that redefined expectations of what an artwork is and can be. Questioning the fundamentals of sculpture and art-making itself, Weiner shifted his practice from object-making to producing text-based work with his 1968 precept:
1. THE ARTIST MAY CONSTRUCT THE WORK
2. THE WORK MAY BE FABRICATED
3. THE WORK NEED NOT BE BUILT
EACH BEING EQUAL AND CONSISTENT WITH THE INTENT OF THE ARTIST
THE DECISION AS TO CONDITION RESTS WITH THE RECEIVER UPON THE
OCCASION OF RECEIVERSHIP
In his 2007 retrospective catalog AS FAR AS THE EYE CAN SEE, curator Ann Goldstein writes:
Weiners employment of language allows the work to be used by its receiver. It is purposely left open for translation, transference, and transformation; each time the work is made, it is made anew. Not fixed in time and place, every manifestation and point of reception is different each person will use the work differently and find a different relationship to its content.
"Language is less imposing there is always an incomplete relationship to objects, rather than a complete, say, expressionist sort. As culture develops, the works change, or the culture begins to decay," Weiner said in regards to his new presentation.
Lawrence Weiner (b. 1942 New York, NY) lives and works in New York.
Significant solo exhibitions of the artists work have been held at numerous museums and institutions worldwide including KODE, Bergen (2019); Museo Nivola, Orani (2019); Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (2017); Milwaukee Art Museum (2017); Kunsthaus Bregenz (2016); Blenheim Palace, Woodstock, England (2015); Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam (2013); Museu dArt Contemporani de Barcelona (2013); Tate Modern, London (2012, 2006); Centro de Arte Contemporáneo de Málaga (2008); Haus der Kunst, Munich (2007); Museo Tamayo Arte Contemporáneo, Mexico City (2004); Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg (2000); Walker Art Center, Minneapolis (1994); and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C. (1990).
In 2007, the Whitney Museum of America Art, New York and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles organized the first major retrospective of his work in the United States.
His work has been included in dOCUMENTA 5, 6, 7, and 13 (1972, 1977, 1982, 2012); the 36th, 41st, 50th, and 55th iterations of La Biennale di Venezia (1972, 1984, 2003, 2013); and the 27th Biennale de São Paulo (2006).
Weiner has received numerous awards and honors including the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden New York Gala Honoree (2019); the Savannah College of Art and Design deFINE ART Honoree (2019); The Kitchen Spring Gala Honoree (2017); the Aspen Art Museum Aspen Award For Art (2017); the Wolf Foundation Wolf Prize (2017); the Art Resources Transfer D.U.C. Honoree (2017); the Roswitha Haftmann Prize (2014); the Skowhegan Medal for Painting/Conceptual Art (1999); a Guggenheim Fellowship (1994); and two National Endowment of the Arts Visual Artist Fellowships (1976, 1983), among others.