Friedman Benda, in conjunction with Josh Baer and Demisch Danant, present In Their Own Words, an exhibition of photography, sculpture, furniture and architecture created within the context of evolving and tumultuous socio-political environments, and captioned here, by the artist’s own words. Each work has been selected for the way it questions accepted notions of politics, mass culture, or production. Some works respond to a changing social order, others challenge the notion of artistic expression. All are juxtaposed with direct and contemporaneous quotes by the artists.
In Their Own Words elicits recognition of the artist’s initial concept and therefore examines the current understanding of those same ideas. By exhibiting these works alongside the artist’s own words, the impetus of creation is revealed and original intentions confront the realized works, often showing the irony of hindsight. Furthermore, by exhibiting art and what is traditionally thought of as “design” together, the exhibition dissolves the long held division between the fields and provokes the debate on the cultural significance and authority currently assigned to each.
In Their Own Words includes quotations and works from some of the most creative and influential voices of the past century, including: Ron Arad, Hans Bellmer, Jurgen Bey, Alighiero E Boetti, Lee Bontecou, Marcel Breuer, Charles Eames, Pentagon Group, Jeff Koons, Jackson Pollock, Jean Prouvé, Gerrit Rietveld, Richard Serra, Ettore Sottsass, Tato, Rosemarie Trockel, Lawrence Weiner, and Kehinde Wiley.
