7.3.18

DENNIS OPPENHEIM at Marlborough

Dennis Oppenheim, Violations, 1971-1972, installation with b&w videotape w/sound, monitor, hubcaps 

There's a reprise of a wonderful iconic installation by Dennis Oppenheim in his heyday, at Marlborough Contemporary through March 17, 2018. 

The piece, titled Violations, is a collection of stolen hubcaps, and a videotape of Oppenheim stealing each one using a large screwdriver. The loud screeching of the hubcaps being pried from their housing, over and over again, reverberates through the gallery at about 10 second intervals.

In the press release, Oppenheim describes the piece as "evidence of 103 misdemeanors"....but it is also about a primal process of making art by stealing, and the ritual of creating collections of shiny objects.


Dennis Oppenheim, Violations, 1971-1972, detail 


Dennis Oppenheim, Violations, 1971-1972, detail