Guest of a Guest

Adèle Aproh, Carly Owen Weiss, Colin Radcliffe, Etty Anderson, Jonni Cheatwood, Mark Frygell, Michael McGregor, Noa Ironic, Scout Zabinsky The Hole is pleased to present Guest of a Guest, our summer exhibition at the Tribeca location. In past summers we’ve presented single-vision guest curated shows: Sasha Bogojev’s Universes 5, Tania and Thomas Asbaek’s Monomythology, Andrew Woolbright’s Density Betrays Us to name a few. But this time instead of inviting a single guest curator, we invited a bevy of them: artist friends, collector friends, gallerist friends, foundation friends and curator compadres, each tasked with bringing a +1 to the group. The result is a kind of curatorial potluck dinner that is both an experiment and a commitment to conviviality. We gave our curators a loose theme: dinner parties, afterparties or just people coming together. New faces we should know from our curators in-the-know, our guests include Noa Ironic painting a raucous poker night, Jonni Cheatwood with a birthday party scene of ambiguous origin; Scout Zabinsky stages a detailed luncheon tête-à-tête, and Carly Owen Weiss paints a giant, ghostly chicken—the unnerving centerpiece of a surreal dinner. Colin Radcliffe’s figures lay around nude, taking pictures, playing music and looking at their phones, while Adèle Aproh draws an army of self-portrait doppelgangers, a party of one turned into a buzzing crowd. Some selections hit the mark with precision: steak frites at a bistro in Le Marais is an experience we have definitely shared with artist Michael McGregor, and with the curator Julianna Vezzeti who selects him. Mark Frygell’s painting, selected by curator Natasha Schlesinger, shows a cast of enigmatic figures gathered around a black void (image above). With the title Hole Gathering it might just be the most mathematically perfect curation I’ve ever seen. I suppose I curated the curators? I have a hard time letting go, but it is important to foster the foregrounding of others’ voices and choices. Besides, artists often discover new talent before galleries do from their propensity to gather in like-minded groups; enthusiastic collectors frequently beat me to the studio visit (grrr!); and independent curators, yes, still exist and need activation. We plan to host a conversation during the show about the important role of a curator but also what that word still can mean, as it has been flattened to include "curated" skincare or smoothies. For now, join us next Wednesday to celebrate this group experiment-slash-party at the opening night.