Photos and words by Angelique Weger
July 9 – September 4 at Current Gallery, 421 N Howard St
Sushi sculptures by Dain Suh and crochet foods by Emily Comeau.
Canned art. Shrink-wrapped art. Bagged and tagged art.
CART at Current Gallery takes art out of its familiar context of white-walled galleries and into one far more common to a greater number of people – the grocery store. Inside, you find day-glo meat products, crochet fruit, stationery with doodles already included and a creative selection of zines and artist’s books in place of the usual rows of People, Vogue and news magazines. At the opening, gallery directors Michael Benevento, Monique Crabb, and Andrew Liang and gallery interns sported grocer-style aprons and purchases were placed in hand-stamped paper bags.
Liang had the inspiration for CART while shopping at Trader Joe’s in Towson, where he enjoyed the surprises he found throughout the store. The minimart format of the exhibit was a response to both the idea that artists can’t make their living from their labor and creations (and, in fact, have some awkwardness about pricing and selling their works) and the perception of art as expensive. “It can seem unreachable,” said Liang, “like it’s only accessible within a certain social strata.”
Rachael London, Katey Truhn and Florian Mosleh.
Tastykake sculptures by Gary Kacha Dourian.
CART offers a more approachable, relatable format and also benefits from the humor evident in many of the works on display. Instead of standing back in typical gallery poses, opening night visitors passed works around, laughed and told stories about Tastykakes and filled shopping baskets with their purchases from the more than 80 artists represented.
Maude Kasperzak and Chloé Maratta.
“A surprising number of people entered who were already making work that fit with this theme,” said Crabb. For others, it was an opportunity to try out a new idea or explore working with multiples, an option usually limited to those working in printmaking or photography.
Notions display by Manian Chettle
Canvases by Nick Peelor.
Pricing was left up to the individual artists, though the call for entries emphasized affordability. In the gallery, artists were overheard congratulating one individual for fully embracing the theme of the show by ending all his prices in the supermarket’s ubiquitous 99 cents.
Sofia Silva.
While the opening had all the cramped hustle and bustle of a weekend grocery trip, it would be interesting to return later in the exhibition and experience CART after it’s been picked over, when it’s lost some of its big chain store shine and has more of a bargain bin feel―or to find the space entirely cleared out. That would certainly be a positive sign that the gallery’s creative display had properly triggered our consumerist tendencies in a way to benefit the arts.
Photos and words by Angelique Weger
