The Storyteller: Olivia Beens Through the Decades

The Storyteller: Olivia Beens Through the Decades was a retrospective survey which ran from January 10 through February 4, 2020 at El Barrio's Artspace PS109 in East Harlem, New York. Spanning multiple levels of a former Neo-Gothic schoolhouse, the exhibition brought together for the first time nearly four decades of the artist's oeuvre, from recent ceramics and sculptural assemblages to documentation of performances and installations from the 1980s and 1990s.

The exhibition was divided into three sections: the Main Gallery, which displayed Beens' sculptural works; the Stairwell Gallery, which featured assemblages from the Object Spirit series; and the Lower Gallery, which combined artifacts and photographs from installations and performances.

Pam Wong's review for Art Hag can be found by clicking here.

Main Gallery

Installation view of exhibit. In the background of the image there is a wall display of ceramic pieces, as well as plinths.

A collection of multiple black ceramic busts. They are of various sizes.

Two pieces hang on a wall next to each other. Part of "Column of Tears", they have different colored ceramic tears hanging.

A ceramic sculpture of a Bodhisattva sitting crisscrossed on a flower.

Wall ceramic piece depicting a small beige figure placed in a bronze sheet. Above it what looks like a small bone.

A dark brown ceramic female torso. Bellow it, creating the shape of a skirt, are two shelves filled with small ceramic heads.

A bright blue ceramic piece. It looks like a clump of multiple faces. In the pic you can tell apart at least 7 faces.

Ceramic bust of figure with a head piece. The head piece is made out of other small heads. It is black and gold.

A wall display of small ceramic heads placed in a grid.

A golden ceramic piece of a head. What would be the hair of the head is made up of smaller faces.

Wall piece showcasing a small ceramic figure nested in a clump of sticks, feathers and snakes. It is black and brown.

Detail image of wall display of small ceramic heads placed in a grid.

Stairwell Gallery

Wall piece made of wood branches, colorful string and small Buddhist figurines.

Wall piece made of wood branches and small bones.

Wall piece made of wood branches and small ceramic pieces.

Wall piece that looks like a ladder made of wood branches and small bones.

Lower Gallery

Installation shot showing eight wall pieces on plinths with a brick background.

Wall piece made up of branches, paint and feathers. It's displayed on a brick wall.

Wall piece made of bronze wood branches, fur and painting.

Round wall-piece made up of small twigs and feathers. Installed on a rick wall.

A wall piece installed on a brick wall. In the center there is a black and white photo of a well-dressed young boy.

Installation shot showing three pieces on plinths with a brick background.

Installation shots of eight matted photographs installed on a white wall above a bench.

Will%20You%20Have%20an%20Apple_4_edited.

Icarus%2520for%2520the%2520Millennium_3_

Installation shot of the "Subway Stories" piece. Closest to the camera there is a framed text next to a framed sketch.

Archival Reel

The Storyteller: Olivia Beens Through the Decades also featured archival footage of past performances with the artist. Included in this reel are clips from Fit & Flab Diaries (1985), The Satyr Silenus Meets King Midas (1982), Beware of the Moving Platform: Straphanger's Report (1988), as well as an interview with Beens about The Life of an Apartment (1983) and footage of her fashion show walk with Diane Spodarek at the famed Limbo Lounge.