sacred + profane
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
Stairwell Gallery
Lower Gallery
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.