Broodthaers Society of America
Sinéad Spelman
Sinéad Spelman
Paula Stuttman
Paula Stuttman
Anne-Lise Coste
Anne-Lise Coste
Mamiko Otsubo
Mamiko Otsubo
Imani Ford
Imani Ford
Sydney King
Sydney King
Lara Konrad
Lara Konrad
Atlas: serial works on paper about the body
Anne-Lise Coste
Imani Noelle Ford
Sydney King
Lara Konrad
Mamiko Otsubo
Sinéad Spelman
Paula Stuttman

January 19 – March 7, 2020
Opening Reception Sunday, January 19th, 3-6:00pm

Fridays and Saturdays 1-6pm
and by appointment

MBnb
520 West 143rd Street
New York, New York 10031
take the A,B,C,D or 1 train to 145th Street

MBnb is located on the parlor floor of a Harlem brownstone and is only accessible by stairs. If you have an access request, please contact us via email or call +1 718 916 7938 to make arrangements


THE BROODTHAERS SOCIETY is pleased to present Atlas, a group exhibition of serial works on paper about the body.
 
When Marcel Broodthaers died at the relatively young age of 52, he left many unfinished artworks, texts, and ideas. Thus, in the spirit of learning by making things, the Broodthaers Society will mount a series of periodic exhibitions that pick up on such threads as ‘the amateur’, ‘the transformation of art into merchandise’, and ‘laziness’.
 
Atlas: serial works on paper about the body is the first of these exhibitions. Inspired by Broodthaers’ The Conquest of Space: Atlas for use by artists and the military (1975), the show will reconsider the character, theme, and gender of Atlas, the mythic titan tasked with supporting heaven and earth for eternity by the Greek gods.
 
Participating artists are: Anne-Lise Coste (Orthoux, France), Imani Ford (New York), Sydney King (Brooklyn), Lara Konrad (New York), Mamiko Otsubo (Los Angeles), Sinéad Spelman (Barcelona), and Paula Stuttman (New York). Their works on paper—by degrees cool, expressive, meticulous, sardonic, and wild—have all been encountered serendipitously over the past year. As a group, they share an approach to art-making that is rooted in self-inquiry and its relationship to cosmopolitanism. Although modest in format, the artworks in toto speak to the wisdom that can accrue from a dedicated serial practice.
 
In relation to Atlas, the artworks are more concerned with the perseverance of the body than with symbolic conquests carried out in one’s name. As such they can be seen as being focused more on the prosaic pressure that Atlas endures than on its transliteration into heroic deeds. They suggest both the timeframe of Atlas’ task and the productive potential of making one thing after another.

Anne-Lise Coste was born in Marseilles. She is represented by Ellen de Bruijne Projects, Amsterdam, and Lullin + Ferrari, Zürich.

Imani Noelle Ford was born in Chicago. They are a visual artist and writer who are currently a PhD candidate in English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University, New York.

Sydney King was born in San Francisco. She has recently exhibited photographs at the International Center for Photography Museum and the NARS Foundation, New York.

Lara Konrad was born in Munich. She is a writer whose most recent book is Mother, We Have All Been Lonely and Lovely Places, published by Gato Negro Ediciones, Mexico City.

Mamiko Otsubo was born in Tokyo. She works in a variety of media and is currently working on a public art commission for the Seattle Department of Transportation. She is represented by Lullin + Ferrari, Zürich.

Sinéad Spelman was born in Dublin. Her exhibition Descanso en la Huida is currently on view at Fondació Suñol, Barcelona. She is represented by etHALL/Jorge Bravo, Barcelona.

Paula Stuttman was born in Chicago. She teaches at The New School and designs educational programming for the Museum of Modern Art, New York, and other institutions.

MBnb is a project space that operates under the aegis of the Broodthaers Society of America. You can contact us via email, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Instagram and Twitter.