In his current series, Ben Blanc pursues the relationship between art, design, retail and commerce through an ambitious installation of 200 handmade objects. The exhibition represents the contentious nature of artist, viewer and object vs. designer, consumer, and product. Blanc's work explores how artists and designers imbue their work with value and how that value is marketed to and perceived by the viewer and consumer. This impressive installation becomes a laboratory in which the line between artistic exhibition and retail store are blurred when the worth of each object is challenged as the artist unveils a forced value upon one of the 200 objects on opening night. Over the course of the show, the exhibition will become less of a static installation, and transform into an evolving record of sale and commerce.
Artist Talk at the AS220 Project Space at 93 Mathewson St. on January 19th at 5:30 p.m. Free and open to the public.
