SHERRIE LEVINE: MAYHEM

Nov 10, 2011–Jan 29, 2012

Sherrie Levine (b. 1947) has transformed and re-contextualized images and objects in her work since the late 1970s, often presenting them as installations that provide a compelling sense of context. This exhibition, developed as a project by the artist, includes works ranging from well-known photographs, such as After Walker Evans: 1-22, 1981, to recent sculptures, such as Crystal Skull: 1-12, 2010. The exhibition, conceived by the artist as offering constellations of older and newer works, will provide juxtapositions that provoke new associations and responses. The installation will also emphasize the powerfully seductive, tactile nature of Levine’s art, and the complex layers of reference and meaning that unfold between the ostensible sources and Levine’s own work.

An illustrated monograph designed by McCall Associates in collaboration with the artist will be published by the Whitney Museum and distributed by Yale University Press. The catalogue will include a foreword by the Whitney’s Alice Pratt Brown Director, Adam D. Weinberg, and essays by the exhibition curators, as well as contributions by distinguished art historians Thomas Crow, David Joselit, Maria Loh, and Howard Singerman. A selection of Levine’s writings and statements will also be included.

SHERRIE LEVINE: MAYHEM is curated by Johanna Burton, guest curator, critic, and art historian, and Elisabeth Sussman, curator and Sondra Gilman Curator of Photography, with Carrie Springer, Senior Curatorial Assistant.

Please note: strollers are not permitted in the SHERRIE LEVINE: MAYHEM exhibition.

Major support for SHERRIE LEVINE: MAYHEM is provided by the National Committee of the Whitney Museum of American Art and The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. Additional support is provided by Glenstone, Aaron I. Fleischman and Lin Lougheed, The Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation, Inc., Miyoung Lee and Neil Simpkins, and Judith Neisser.

Yamaha Pianos provided courtesy of Yamaha Artist Services, New York.

Artworks

Sherrie Levine, Fountain (Madonna), 1991. Cast bronze, 15 × 15 1/2 x 25 in. (38.1 × 39.4 × 63.5 cm). Private collection. © Sherrie Levine; image courtesy Simon Lee Gallery, London, and Paula Cooper Gallery, New York
Sherrie Levine (b. 1947), Gottscho-Schleisner Orchids: 2, 1964–97. Chromogenic print, 20 × 16 in. (50.8 × 40.6 cm). Edition no. 2/10. Published by Winter Works on Paper, New York. Paula Cooper Gallery, New York. © Sherrie Levine. Image courtesy Paula Cooper Gallery, New York
Sherrie Levine (b. 1947), Gottscho-Schleisner Orchids: 9, 1964–1997. Chromogenic print, 20 × 16 in. (50.8 × 40.6 cm). Edition no. 2/10. Published by Winter Works on Paper, New York. Paula Cooper Gallery, New York. © Sherrie Levine; image courtesy Paula Cooper Gallery, New York
Sherrie Levine, After Courbet: 1–18, 2009 (detail). Postcard on mat board, 20 × 16 in. (50.8 × 40.6 cm). Paula Cooper Gallery, New York. © Sherrie Levine. Photograph by Seth Erickson; image courtesy Paula Cooper Gallery, New York
Sherrie Levine, After Karl Blossfeldt: 3, 1990. Gelatin silver print, 10 × 8 in. (25.4 × 20.3 cm). Private collection. © Sherrie Levine. Image courtesy Paula Cooper Gallery, New York
Sherrie Levine (b. 1947), After Karl Blossfeldt: 1, 1990. Gelatin silver print, 10 × 8 in. (25.4 × 20.3 cm). Private collection. © Sherrie Levine. Image courtesy Paula Cooper Gallery, New York
Sherrie Levine, Broad Stripe: 6, 1985. Casein paint and wax on mahogany, 24 × 20 in. (61 × 50.8 cm). Collection of Nina and Frank Moore. © Sherrie Levine. Photograph by Sarah Wells; image courtesy Paula Cooper Gallery, New York
Sherrie Levine, Lead Knot: 7, 1988. Metallic paint on plywood, 50 × 40 in. (127 × 101.6 cm). Paula Cooper Gallery, New York and Simon Lee Gallery, London. © Sherrie Levine; image courtesy Paula Cooper Gallery, New York
Sherrie Levine, Large Gold Knot: 1, 1987. Metallic paint on plywood, 60 x 48 in. (152.4 x 121.9 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase with funds from the Painting and Sculpture Committee 88.48a–b. © Sherrie Levine. Photograph by Sheldan C. Collins
Sherrie Levine (b. 1947), False God, 2008. Cast bronze, 25 × 8 × 24 in. (63.5 × 20.3 × 61 cm). Edition no. 9/12. Collection of John L. Thomson. © Sherrie Levine. Photograph by Volker Döhne; image courtesy Jablonka Galerie, Cologne, and Kunstmuseen Krefeld
Sherrie Levine, Crystal Newborn, 1993, Cast crystal, 5 × 8 × 5 1/2 in. (12.7 × 20.3 × 14 cm). Private Collection and Black Newborn, 1994. Cast glass, 5 × 8 × 5 1/2 in. (12.7 × 20.3 × 14 cm). The Kwon Family. © Sherrie Levine. Photograph by Douglas M. Parker Studio; image courtesy Paula Cooper Gallery, New York

Sherrie Levine
26 works in the collection
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Audio guides

This audio guide highlights selected works from the exhibition SHERRIE LEVINE: MAYHEM and features commentary by Johanna Burton, guest curator, critic, and art historian; Thomas Crow, art historian; Richard Flood, chief curator at the New Museum; Howard Singerman, critic and art historian; Carrie Springer, senior curatorial assistant; and Elisabeth Sussman, curator and Sondra Gilman Curator of Photography.

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Installation photography

Installation view of Sherrie Levine: Mayhem (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, November 10, 2011–January 29, 2012). Photograph by Sheldan C. Collins
Installation view of Sherrie Levine: Mayhem (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, November 10, 2011–January 29, 2012). Photograph by Sheldan C. Collins
Installation view of Sherrie Levine: Mayhem (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, November 10, 2011–January 29, 2012). Photograph by Sheldan C. Collins
Installation view of Sherrie Levine: Mayhem (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, November 10, 2011–January 29, 2012). Photograph by Sheldan C. Collins
Installation view of Sherrie Levine: Mayhem (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, November 10, 2011–January 29, 2012). Photograph by Sheldan C. Collins
Installation view of Sherrie Levine: Mayhem (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, November 10, 2011–January 29, 2012). Photograph by Sheldan C. Collins.
Installation view of Sherrie Levine: Mayhem (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, November 10, 2011–January 29, 2012). Photograph by Sheldan C. Collins