Dan Graham

Marian Goodman Gallery New York is pleased to present an exhibition dedicated to Dan Graham (1942–2022). Curated by his longtime friend and admirer Peter Fischli, Is There Life After Breakfast? showcases a variety of works from over three decades, highlighting Graham’s groundbreaking endeavors in sculpture and video installation, connecting his friendships with his contemporaries, and focusing on his passion for music and film.

Throughout the exhibition, Peter Fischli appropriates the language and rhetoric of Dan Graham, in a tribute to his architectural work and his all-consuming interest in music and its subcultures. In the North Gallery, a serial arrangement of music ephemera, comprising CDs of Greatest Hits sent by Graham to Fischli, mimics highbrow and conceptual art practices. Adjacent is Hedges and Two Way Mirror Glass Labyrinth (1991), an architectural pavilion shown in dialogue with a series of architectural models spanning the years 1978 to 2003. In the South Gallery, prints, objects, and collectibles—assembled as a private cosmology invoking the work of Fischli/Weiss—range from informal bricolages to a few rare novelties from the artist’s personal collection. An immersive sound component with a playlist, curated by Graham, reveals the artist’s eclectic music tastes, creating a mise-en-scene that is part suburban arcade, part manga video lounge. The show culminates with video works, including Graham’s seminal Rock My Religion (1983-84), juxtaposed with late ‘70s footage of punk concerts from Fischli’s hometown, in Punk Cocktail: Zurich Scene, 1976-89, 2006, as well as a diaristic series of photos taken by Graham’s friend Isa Genzken at rock concerts they attended together in the early ‘80s.

A statement from curator Peter Fischli reflects on his and Graham’s shared passion for music and the moment that inspired the exhibition’s title. To view the statement, please visit: bit.ly/3kVC0BK

Memorial Service:

Just over one year ago, we lost a wonderful artist and friend in Dan Graham. The artist will be honored in a Memorial to be held at the Metropolitan Museum of New York at the end of March. Marian Goodman Gallery, Lisson Gallery, 303 Gallery, 3A Gallery, and Printed Matter are honored to present works by Graham across their NYC spaces to coincide with the memorial, paying tribute to a figure whose legacy extends beyond his art making and will continue to be felt by the many who encountered Graham while he was alive.

Dan Graham’s work developed within the legacy of Pop, Minimalism, and Conceptual art. His early conceptual works from the late 1960s onwards include works for print media, essays, performance, and video works. From 1969-1973, his film works explored the relationship between the viewer and viewed, ultimately influencing his approach to the architectural pavilions. Hybrids between sculpture and architecture, the pavilions and architectural models are rooted in everyday urban life and utopian ideals, by applying materials for the modern city to architectural designs.

From the late 1970s onward, Dan Graham focused on these architectural models and pavilions for gardens or urban contexts. The adoption of an architectural vocabulary, a staple element in Graham’s work, was his way of emphasizing how our environment fundamentally structures our gaze. The two-way mirror is an integral part of the pavilions, which allows light to enter the structure while protecting the privacy of those inside. In addition to the multifold play of reflection and reflexivity, this type of glass also makes us aware of the immediate past—a key notion in Graham’s work borrowed from Walter Benjamin— which he began exploring in the early 1970s through a variety of video-performances. In addition to his artistic practice, Graham was also an accomplished writer and art critic.

Recently Graham's work was included in exhibitions at the Red Brick Art Museum, Beijing, China (2017); the Cleveland Museum of Art, Ohio (2016); MaMo, Marseille, France (2015); the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (2014); the De Pont Foundation, Tillburg, Netherlands (2014); a traveling retrospective which began at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles in 2009 and traveled to the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York and the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Graham participated in the Venice Biennale in 2005, 2003, 1976 and multiple Documentas (1997, 1992, 1982, 1977, 1972). He was awarded an honorary doctorate degree from the Emily Carr University of Art and Design in 2011; the American Academy of Arts and Letters award, New York in 2010; the French Vermeil Medal by the city of Paris in 2001 and the Skowhegan Medal for Mixed Media, New York, 1992.

From 1979 onwards, Peter Fischli worked in conjunction with his partner David Weiss, who died in 2012, creating works together that are regarded as masterpieces of 20th century art.

Together, the artists Fischli/Weiss represented Switzerland at the Biennale di Venezia 1995 and participated in documenta 8 (1987) and documenta X (1997). In 2016 the Guggenheim Museum, New York, presented the retrospective Peter Fischli David Weiss: How to Work Better.

Peter Fischli was born in 1952 in Zurich, where he currently lives and works. His most recent projects include exhibitions at Reena Spaulings Fine Art, Los Angeles, Galerie Buchholz, Cologne, Fondazione Prada, Venice, Kunsthaus Bregenz, Aspen, Colorado, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, as well as the House of Gaga, Mexico City.