Martin Creed: The Back Door
“Mr. Creed has created a kind of anti-spectacle, a strange, discombobulated whole greater than the sum of its parts, in which the building is a co-star.”
— The New York Times
Winner of the 2001 Turner Prize, British artist Martin Creed has pursued an extraordinary path by confounding the traditional categories of art and employing a minimalistic approach that strips away the unnecessary while preserving an abundance of wit, humor, and surprise. Crossing all media including painting, drawing, music, dance, theater, film, sculpture, fashion, and more, Creed’s practice meditates on our everyday existence and the visible and invisible structures that shape our lives.
Creed continues his ongoing exploration into rhythm, scale, and order in his largest installation in the U.S. to date, a survey of his work from its most minimal moments to extravagant, larger-than-life installations. Utilizing both the Wade Thompson Drill Hall and the historic interiors of the building, Creed will reimagine the space with opening and closing doors, curtains, a slamming piano, and balloons, amongst other new works made for this exhibition. These materials and situations, when grouped together, create a playful spectacle within a framework that provides the viewer with a fascinating way to counter our visually overloaded, choice-saturated culture.
ARMORY AFTER HOURS
Join us on Thursday and Friday evenings, when the installation stays open until 10:00pm, for libations at a special bar in one of our historic period rooms.
CURATORIAL TALKS
Join the Armory’s curatorial assistant for insightful, hour-long conversations with artists, scholars, and cultural leaders, who offer new points of view on this inventive artist and his largest survey to date.
June 18 - July 30; Saturdays at 3:00pm. Learn more
“Understanding” from Martin Creed’s new album Thoughts Lined Up
Martin Creed’s Anti-Spectacle at the Park Avenue Armory - The New York Times
Obsessions and Compulsions at the Park Avenue Armory - The New York Times
A One Man British Invasion - WNYC
Life Lessons with the Inimitable Martin Creed - An Other
Martin Creed’s Odd Genius Comes To Park Avenue Armory - ARTINFO
Commissioned by Park Avenue Armory. Curated by Tom Eccles and Hans-Ulrich Obrist.
Image: Martin Creed Work No. 2947: “Half the air in a given space,” photo by James Ewing.