left gallery produced and sold downloadable editioned art objects, beginning in 2015.
In 2019, I designed the physical exhibition called "Rite of Access" at stroom den haag in the Netherlands. This was left gallery's 'first in-person exhibition. I created the graphics, layout, and furniture — inspired by an apple store. "An Apple Store for Files."
left gallery: rite of access
september 7 - october 20, 2019
stroom den haag, hogewal 1 - 9
rite of access is a project by left gallery on access to public art in the digital age. from 7 september - 20 october, left gallery takes residence at stroom den haag.
left gallery is an online platform that produces and sells works of art as downloadable objects. these objects exist in limited editions, available for purchase. in rite of access, engagement of visitors, such as purchases and social media activity operate as a stream of credit, which allow the works to remain on view. access can to the works can be granted in four ways: by buying works of art through left gallery, following the left gallery pages on twitter, registering for the left gallery mailing list, or showing one of the rite of access cards to the stroom receptionist. so long as sufficient credit remains, visitors can access all works within rite of access.
left gallery investigates access to public art by transforming notions of ownership. by guaranteeing the artificial scarcity of objects in their portfolio, left gallery seeks to uncover the invisible degrees of access that are encoded in consuming art in a public institution. the stroom gallery space operates as a 'serving suggestion', showing how the works could be installed at home once purchased. the objects in rite of access represent part of left gallery's portfolio, as well as new works.
rite of access is curated by harm van den dorpel, emer m. grant, and lua vollaard, with exhibition design by laurel schwulst. the programme is made possible through the generous support of the mondriaan fonds and the city of the hague - municipality.
