If you didn’t get a chance to paint a dot for Jonathan Horowitz at Gavin Brown’s booth this year at Frieze, you’re in luck. The project is back, this time at the Swiss Institute on September 2, and if you act quickly, you could be one of 160 participants to paint your very own black dot based on the artist’s specifications.
You’ll even be compensated for it! (Kind of.) As a press release for the show reads: “Through a discussion on the sale of the resultant work, participants and Horowitz will decide together upon the disbursement of the its proceeds.” Does this mean you’ll get rich quick if the work sells for millions? Probably not, but at least you can say you’ve made your very own, dot-shaped mark on art history.
The Frieze iteration of the project, which included 700 participants, famously rewarded each of them with a handwritten check from the artist for $20. While we imagine a great many of those checks went uncashed—and were instead framed or otherwise saved for posterity—that would add up to $14,000!
Photo: Facebook/Swiss Institute.
The 700-piece work was sold to an unknown buyer, and was one of the week’s most talked-about (and photographed) works. Participants lauded the fact that the simple, soothing act of creating a circle was able to lull them into a zen-like state of chill, even during the art fair pandemonium. We can’t think of a better way to mellow out before the inevitable madness of next week.
“160 Dots” with Jonathan Horowitz will take place at the Swiss Institute on September 2, 2015. Attendees must RSVP at rsvp@swissinstitute.net.
Related stories:
Child’s Play: How Exhibitions Have Increasingly Become Playgrounds For Adults
Leonardo DiCaprio, Mike Myers, Grace Celebrity VIP Frieze New York Preview