"Notationsw | Franz West: 2Topia"
2001-07-20 until 2002-04-30
Wexner Center for the Arts
Columbus, OH, USA

This summer, the Wexner Center for the Arts institutes the first of a series of Notations--artists' interventions organized by and created for the Wexner Center that are notable for their innovative and challenging use of nontraditional exhibition spaces. Freely adapted from ideas articulated in John Cage's influential book of the same name, these Notations further connect the Wexner Center with the Ohio State campus and the city of Columbus by utilizing public spaces, sometimes outside of the Wexner Center itself.

Austrian artist Franz West has been invited to develop the first project of the series. Slated to participate in future projects are American artist Lawrence Weiner, Spanish artist Alicia Framis, and Jeanne van Heeswijk from the Netherlands. West and Weiner’s projects will take place on campus; Framis and van Heeswijk will work elsewhere in the community.

As his project, West gives the Wexner Center Café a new look this summer by redesigning its tables and chairs, as well as the adjacent Videotheque area. Organized by Carlos Basualdo, the Wexner Center's Chief Curator of Exhibitions, West's intervention into this busy area of the center introduces two new types of tables--long, rectangular tables that seat eight to ten people, and circular tables that seat four to five. For the café chairs, West uses a fabric decorated with patterns based on West African prints. The Videotheque area features bookcases, divans, and a small table outfitted with Internet access for public use. The café installation remains on view through spring 2002. West's furniture and an additional project called Internet Bed will also be on view in Hélio Oiticica: Quasi-cinemas, a multimedia exhibition on the Brazilian artist Hélio Oiticica that opens this fall.

Related Links:

Indepth Arts Resources for the State of Ohio

Other Important Exhibitions in Columbus