Jamian Juliano-Villani & Mike Kelley

To make an appointment, please visit: bit.ly/3v5i15d The Ranch is pleased to present Jamian Juliano-Villani | Mike Kelley. The two-person exhibition maps the uncanny resonances between the artists’ practices—as well as Juliano-Villani’s explicit references to and citations of her predecessor. Both artists have received international recognition for their unabashed confrontation of what Kelley called “unsavory issues.” Images and objects typically avoided as gauche or overly sentimental, embarrassing or vulgar, are the routine subjects of their visual worlds. Hoarding and excessive accumulation become artistic devices; self-mythology and memory are made public. Works made by Juliano-Villani for this exhibition reflect directly on the selections from Kelley’s oeuvre. An outdoor presentation of a windmill sculpture by Juliano-Villani accompanies the gallery presentation. The idea for this two-person exhibition arose from Juliano-Villani’s longstanding reverence for Kelley and a desire to confront the curatorial challenge of conjuring a parafictional dialogue between the living artist and the deceased. In most of these manmade pairings, the dead artist is rendered a silent, if not passive, collaborator. Chaffing at this paradigm, Juliano-Villani has worked to summon Kelley’s voice—allowing it to become what she calls “kinetic” once more. Memory—hers of Kelley, hers of her childhood, Kelley’s of his, theirs of popular culture and familial vocations—is therefore one of the activating forces of this presentation and a point of rumination that propels each artist in turn. The opening reception held on Saturday, September 10, 2022, features an Easter Egg Hunt designed by Juliano-Villani as memorial homage and complement to the “Leftovers” component of the exhibition—“throwaways that are memorable” and valid forms of art per Juliano-Villani (like bumper stickers, signs, branded cups, silkscreened shirts, and golf balls). The ground’s activation includes a grave made for Kelley to be placed by Patrick Painter, the artist’s longtime friend, supporter, and dealer. The winners of the Easter Egg Hunt will be rewarded with merchandise and memorabilia.

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8 Old Montauk Hwy, Montauk

Hamptons, NY