TIMES SQUARE SHOW REVISTED Exhibition Opens at Hunter College, 9/14

The Hunter College Art Galleries present Times Square Show Revisited, an in-depth look at the original Times Square Show, on view from September 14-December 8, 2012. Times Square Show Revisited is the first focused assessment of the landmark 1980 exhibition organized by the artist group Collaborative Projects, Inc.

The Times Square Show, hailed by the Village Voice as “The First Radical Art Show of the ‘80s,” included some one hundred artists and sprawled across four floors and the basement of a disused massage parlor on the corner of 41st Street and 7th Avenue in New York City. In addition to experimental painting and sculpture, the exhibition incorporated music, fashion, and an ambitious program of performance and video. For many artists, such as Kiki Smith, Jenny Holzer and Tom Otterness, the exhibition served as a forum for the exchange of ideas, a testing-ground for work in progress, and a catalyst for exploring new artistic directions.

With contributions from over 40 artists of the more than 100 originally participating, Times Square Show Revisited reflects the spirit of the original with a mix of extant sculpture, painting, and video—most of which has not been on public view since 1980. The show features rarely-seen photography, archival material, and ephemera documenting the crucial role of performance, fashion, and music at the Times Square Show.

Times Square Show Revisited is curated by Shawna Cooper, post-war art historian and graduate of the Hunter College Master’s Program in Art History, in association with Karli Wurzelbacher, also a Hunter alumnae and a PhD candidate in twentieth-century American art at the University of Delaware. The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue and comprehensive website, which include extensive interviews with the participants in the original exhibition. In addition, a lively schedule of public programming will accompany the chronicle of this groundbreaking exhibition.

A partial list of artists represented in Times Square Show Revisited includes Charlie Ahearn / John Ahearn /Jules Allen / Beth B / Scott B / Jean-Michel Basquiat / Marc Blane / Caterina Borelli / Andrea Callard / Eva DeCarlo / Jane Dickson / Coleen Fitzgibbon / Bobby G / Matthew Geller / Mike Glier / Ilona Granet / Mimi Gross / Keith Haring / Julie Harrison / Jenny Holzer / Becky Howland / Francene Keery / Justen Ladda / Aline Mare / Alan Moore / Tom Otterness / Cara Perlman / Judy Rifka / Walter Robinson / Christy Rupp / Kenny Scharf / Terise Slotkin / Jane Sherry / Jack Smith / Kiki Smith / Wolfgang Staehle / Kathleen Thomas / Diane Torr / Rigoberto Torres / Robin Winters.

Times Square Show Revisited will be on view from September 14-December 8, 2012 at the Bertha and Karl Leubsdorf Art Gallery, 68th street and Lexington Avenue, SW corner. A special opening reception will be held on September 13 from 6-8pm. More information about the exhibition can be found at www.timessquareshowrevisited.com.