‘In terms of conceptual art, any conceptual artist would laugh. They would say that conceptualism lasted a very short time and that was in the 1960s,' says artist Liz Deschenes, ‘I was born in 1966, so I totally missed it!’ Photography has always been a pluralistic discipline, but it hasn’t been historicised in this way. Deschenes’ photographs follow more in line with process and presentation than genre or subject – or rather, typical delineations of the medium. ‘It’s often thought to be this or that, i.e. analog or digital, colour or black-and-white,’ she explains, ‘I don’t find those binaries to be as compelling as the medium is.’
Now 50, the beloved new wave photographer, who has received comparisons to Moholy-Nagy and James Welling, is finally receiving her first mid-career survey at the Diller, Scofidio + Renfro-designed Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, the city which she was born.
‘The site is tremendous, right on the water,’ she exclaims, ‘As important as a site is, sites are flexible. I’m interested in the conditions of display. Often times people think the way things get displayed are static. It’s not.’
Seeing as presentation concerns inform much of these meditative and physical works, the show isn’t merely a bunch of pretty photographs hung on the wall. The ICA exhibition traces Deschenes’ work from 1997 and eschews any chronological narrative, a conscientious decision arrived at from dialogues between her and curator Eva Respini. Deschenes has taken advantage of what she calls ‘the flexibility and dynamism’ of the institution to offer a ‘highly selected groupings of work’, even finishing the show with a site-specific series for the museum’s Founders Gallery.
Her works stand out, quite literally – many of her photogram works, such as Tilt / Swing, Gallery 7 and Gallery 4.1.1., rise from the ground as freestanding objects while unravelling the layers of what have been imposed as the defining components of photography (e.g. light, frame, subject, contrast, etc). Deschenes also often forgoes the usage of a camera, just relying on natural sun or moonlight instead.
Deschenes offers luminous and reflective works – literally – wherein they mirror both what’s in front and behind them. For the show’s finale, the series Timelines, 11-part silver-toned photograms act as two-way seeing devices and are hung directly onto the gallery’s glass walls, overlooking Boston’s busy port, ascending or descending depending on the vantage point. ‘The work obstructs the view but it also reveals a different view at the same time,’ she says. ‘Like many of my works, it [has] double functions. Every time I do a show I like to reveal something in the process.’
The exhibition traces Deschenes’ work from 1997 and eschews any chronological narrative – a conscientious decision arrived at from dialogues between her and curator Eva Respini
Her works standout, quite literally – many of her photogram pieces rise from the ground as freestanding objects
She explains, ’I’m interested in the conditions of display. Often times people think the way things get displayed are static. It’s not’
INFORMATION
’Liz Deschenes’ is on view until 16 October. For more details, please visit the ICA’s website
Photography courtesy of the artist and ICA Boston
ADDRESS
Institute of Contemporary Art
25 Harbor Shore Drive
Boston, MA 02210
-
The cosiest alpine retreats to book in EuropeBrowse the Wallpaper* edit of European alpine retreats where to fully embrace the ski season
-
The innovations and eccentricities coming soon from the Chinese auto industryChina accounts for 75 per cent of new EVs, and new models arrive on a weekly basis. Here are some of the key brands looking to reshape the automotive landscape in the years to come
-
Gather round! The best coffee tables for design lovers, from the colourful to the sculpturalExplore the best coffee tables: discover our handpicked selection of enduring favourites alongside new, notable pieces
-
‘Gas Tank City’, a new monograph by Andrew Holmes, is a photorealist eye on the American West‘Gas Tank City’ chronicles the artist’s journey across truck-stop America, creating meticulous drawings of fleeting moments
-
Intimacy, violence and the uncanny: Joanna Piotrowska in PhiladelphiaArtist and photographer Joanna Piotrowska stages surreal scenes at the Institute of Contemporary Art at the University of Pennsylvania
-
First look: Sphere’s new exterior artwork draws on a need for human connectionWallpaper* talks to Tom Hingston about his latest large-scale project – designing for the Exosphere
-
Marc Hom reframes traditional portraiture in Cooperstown, NY‘Marc Hom: Re-Framed’ has taken over the grounds of the Fenimore Art Museum, Cooperstown, planting Samuel L Jackson, Gwyneth Paltrow and more ‘personalities of the world’ into the landscape
-
Alexander May, founder of LA studio Sized, on the joys of creative polymathyCreative director Alexander May tells us of the multidisciplinary approach that drives his LA studio Sized and its offspring, a 5,000 sq ft event space and an exhibition series
-
50 of America’s top creatives, photographed by Inez & VinoodhPhotographed exclusively for Wallpaper* by Inez & Vinoodh, we present a portfolio of 50 creatives driving the current discourse on American culture and its dynamic evolution
-
Nona Faustine confronts the past in New YorkArtist Nona Faustine reframes New York's colonial past in an exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum
-
How the west won: Ivan McClellan is amplifying the intrepid beauty of Black cowboy cultureIn his new book, 'Eight Seconds: Black Cowboy Culture', Ivan McClellan draws us into the world of Black rodeo. Wallpaper* meets the photographer ahead of his Juneteenth Rodeo
