Maybe you made a night of it. You showed up to the warehouse gallery in Northeast. You had a glass of wine. You saw some art. A few pieces looked a little unfinished. Maybe you bought something anyway. But you hobnobbed, danced to the deejayy, noshed on hors d’ouvres, and left, content to have another art opening under your belt.
Well, not so fast. Last Saturday’s party at CO Exhibitions, on Stinson Boulevard, was only the chrysalis stage in a four-part art evolution. The work on the wall is actually still maturing—as I type even. Here’s the deal: It’s a collaborative show. CO’s parent companies—Permanent Art & Design Group and the hip-hop print shop Burlesque of North America—hand-selected a dozen artists, instructed them to team up in provocative ways, and then had them pass their personal projects back and forth amongst themselves, in an on-going process of embellishment.
The pieces—and the entire exhibition—will evolve blindly and serendipitously over four consecutive opening parties. Unsold work from Opening #1 gets taken down and altered, changing not only in style, concept, and number of contributors, but also in scale, media, and even price. Sold work hangs as is. Think “Exquisite Corpse,” only without all the pretentious French Surrealism.
“It’s a really fun yet nerve wracking concept,” Kate Iverson, of Permanent Art & Design Group, told me. “Some of the works are extremely questionable right now, and some of them don’t need a thing changed. So some beautiful pieces may get destroyed. But also, things you wouldn’t look twice at the first time might end up becoming the favorites in the end.”
At any rate, round one is over. So if you bought something last weekend, you can sleep tight knowing no one will screw it up. But if you’re still art-hunting—or just in need of another glass of wine and another dance party—you’ve got three more openings to attend, starting this Friday. Might want to evolve your outfit along with the show, though.
WORKING TITLE: An Evolving Art Exhibit
Featuring:
Burlesque of North America
Permanent Art & Design Group
Michael Cina
Rudy Fig
Josh Journey-Heinz
Aaron Bickner
Jennifer Davis
Carly Shoen
Playatta
Sara Syverhus
Land Land
Opening #2: Friday, January 27
Opening #3: Friday, February 3
Opening #4: Friday, February 10
