Rhoades Minus Jason: A Talk By Linda Norden

Join us for an in-depth talk on the work of Jason Rhoades led by curator, teacher, and writer Linda Norden. On the occasion of the artist’s first major survey in Los Angeles, Norden will extrapolate on the structural underpinnings of Rhoades’ complex installations. What are we talking about when we talk about Jason Rhoades? And what are we looking at? Rhoades often described his art as one, ongoing project, never fully finished, not unlike life as most of us experience it. He was both sculptor and storyteller; scenographer, systems analyst and M.C., and his live presence in any given project animated many of its moving parts. More than that, as with any good impresario, Rhoades set all sorts of others to talking, and the stories generated by his projects both enliven and threaten to overwhelm the already overwhelming art there for the viewing. Linda Norden will attempt an old-style art historical inquiry, using the art on view as point of entry, and pondering questions posed by the way parts in Rhoades’ work do and do not synch up with the complex systems he conceived and contrived. Hopefully, this leads not only to new assessments, but also to a retrieval of some of the wonderfully confounding questions Rhoades so determinedly staged. Linda Norden is a curator and writer, based in New York. She is currently teaching for Cornell University and the Malmo Arts Academy in Sweden. The event is free, however, reservations recommended. © The Estate of Jason Rhoades Courtesy Friedrich Christian Flick Collection im Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin Photo: Fredrik Nilsen