Lawrence Weiner

About

his will be Lawrence Weiner’s first solo show at Kerlin Gallery and his first solo show in Ireland in 28 years. The exhibition is comprised of three sculptures and three works on paper. The sculptures in text, ‘HELD JUST ABOVE THE CURRENT’, ‘IN LINE WITH SOMETHING ELSE’ and ‘PUT WITH THE OTHER THINGS’ are presented in Irish and English and are scaled to fill the length of the walls, creating a new, immersive experience in the gallery space.

In 1968, a historic year of political and cultural change Lawrence Weiner published his brilliantly concise ‘declaration of intent’ and in so doing laid out a framework for a new and radical approach to art production:

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

Weiner clearly articulated a pivotal moment, at once accepting the history of art production and proposing a new approach to art without a physical form. He established himself as a central figure in the formation of Conceptual Art and kickstarted a life-long commitment to language as sculpture defining his medium simply as ‘language + the materials referred to'. In the 53 years since, Weiner has become a towering figure in international contemporary art with a singular and seminal body of work, democratically available to all not only on the walls of museums or galleries but throughout our shared space as public art or spoken word recordings, song lyrics, printed books, posters, concert tickets, manhole covers, websites or tattoos to name but only some examples.