THE NEW YORK OBSERVER
July 27-August 3, 1992
pg. 23
Paint Wars! It's a Long, Hot Summer of '92 in SoHo
By Deborah Gimelson
..."Some say the antics at the Lipton gallery could have been fueled
by the influence of 303 Gallery's, Lisa Spellman's boyfriend, performance
artist Erik Oppenheim. Mr. Oppenheim was involved in a bit of controversy
last month at Postmasters Gallery. The gallery was hosting a group show,
curated by Kenny Schachter, including a sculpture by John
Lekay that was supposed to feature a small participatory role by Mr.
Oppenheim. While the exhibit was still being installed, Mr. Lekay came in
with Mr. Oppenheim and a couch, and informed the owner, Magda Sawon, that
his piece was now going to consist of Erik Oppenheim sitting on the couch
trying to sell the artist's sculpture. Ms. Sawon balked, as the show had
been curated from the outside, and said Mr. Lekay's entry in the show would
remain as they had originally agreed. The irate Mr. Lekay and Mr. Oppenheim
began calling Ms. Sawon names.
Ms. Sawon called the police and then barred both artists from the gallery
when the show opened on June 6. On the night of the opening, though, the
two artists arrived at the gallery and sat outside, pass-ing out literature
that described the confrontation and accused Ms. Sawon, among other things,
of being an art censor."
| installation | slide
sheet | press release | checklist
| reviews | mail
us | home |