Hans Haacke & Louise Lawler

Maxwell Graham in New York exhibits the work of Hans Haacke and Louise Lawler. Hans Haacke and Louise Lawler are artists of our times. The starting point of the exhibition is a work by Louise Lawler, Alizarin (Terrorists are made, not born), 2023, consisting of a red arrow printed on a small white panel, and “Installed in any direction” as directed in the caption. The work was first exhibited in the artist’s exhibition “Going Through The Motions” at Sprüth Magers in Los Angeles which opened on November 9, 2023. In addition to hanging inside the gallery, Alizarin (Terrorists are made, not born) also existed as a banner outside the gallery and appears in a video trailer on the gallery website. It has also been exhibited as a postcard and in publication. In March 2024 the work was exhibited as a full page advertisement in Artforum International magazine, paid for by the artist as “something that needed to be said.” Alongside Alizarin (Terrorists are made, not born), Lawler is exhibiting for the first time a new photograph Before/During/After (Green), 2024/2025. The work exhibits political martyrdom as portrayed in an artwork. Hans Haacke exhibits Untitled #1, 2005. The work exhibits upheaval. The work has only been exhibited once, in “State of the Union”, the artist’s exhibition at Paula Cooper in New York in 2005. The works in that exhibition reflected “on the aftermath of Sept. 11: this country’s wounds, the U.S. government’s actions, and a conflicted and divided nation.” Alongside Untitled #1, Haacke is exhibiting We (all) are the people, 2017/2026. The work was first exhibited in documenta in Kassel and Athens in 2017 in the form of banners, billboards, posters and a postcard. It has also been exhibited as bus stop signage and in publication. For each exhibition the work alphabetically displays the national languages along with translations representative of recent immigrant populations in the country of the exhibition. It has been translated into 37 languages. “We (all) are the people” is an amendment of the phrase “We are the people”, which throughout history has been used by different groups for very different purposes. The times when an artwork is made and the times when it is exhibited is important. Hans Haacke (b. 1936, Cologne, Germany) lives and works in New York since 1965. He has had one-person exhibitions at Belvedere 21, Vienna (2025); Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt, (2024); the New Museum, New York (2019, 1986); Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid (2012); MIT List Visual Arts Center, Cambridge, MA (2011, 1967); Akademie der Künste, Berlin, and Deichtorhallen Hamburg (2006); Generali Foundation, Vienna (2001); Serpentine Gallery, London (2001); Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam (1996); Fundació Antoni Tàpies, Barcelona (1995); Centre Pompidou, Paris (1989); Tate, UK (1984); Renaissance Society, Chicago (1979); Stedelijk Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven (1979); Modern Art Oxford, UK (1978); and Frankfurter Kunstverein, Frankfurt (1976), Museum Haus Lange, Krefeld (1972) among others. Select group exhibitions include documenta, Kassel (2017, 1997, 1987, 1982, 1972); Lyon Biennial (2017); Venice Biennale (2015, 2009, 1993, 1976); Liverpool Biennial (2014); Mercosul Biennial (2013); Sharjah Biennial (2011); Gwangju Biennale (2008); Whitney Biennial, New York (2000); Skulptur Projekte Münster (1997, 1987); Johannesburg Biennial (1997); Sydney Biennial (1990, 1984); São Paulo Biennial (1985); and Tokyo Biennial (1970). He won the Golden Lion (shared with Nam June Paik) for the German Pavilion of the Venice Biennale in 1993. Louise Lawler (b. 1947, New York) lives and works in New York. Solo exhibitions include Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago (2019), Sammlung Verbund, Vienna (2018), MoMA, NewYork (2017), Museum Ludwig, Cologne (2013), Albertinum, Dresden (2012), Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus, Ohio (2006), Dia:Beacon, New York (2005), and Museum for Gegenwartskunst, Basel (2004). Selected group exhibitions include Fondazione Prada, Venice, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Museum Brandhorst, Munich, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, MoMA, New York, MoMA PS1, New York, MUMOK, Vienna, Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, and the Whitney Museum, New York, which additionally featured the artist in its 1991, 2000, and 2008 biennials. Her work was also included in the 59th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia (2022).

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