V1 Gallery is pleased to present
New “Bad” Painting
Curated by Rasmus Thor Christensen
Alex Chaves, Antonia Showering, Audar Kantun, Charlie Roberts, Coline Marotta, Danielle
Orchard, Frederik Næblerød, George Rouy, Grace Metzler, Heidi Hahn, Mike Redmond & Faye
Coral Johnson, Todd Bienvenu.
OPENING RECEPTION: THURSDAY MAY 24. 2017. TIME: 17.00 - 21.00
EXHIBITION PERIOD MAY 25 – JULY 7. 2017.
In honor of the 40 year anniversary of the “Bad” Painting show at New Museum in 1978, V1 Gallery
proudly presents New “Bad” Painting, an exploration of the concept of “bad” painting in
contemporary art.
Marcia Tucker, the curator of the initial show, defined “bad” painting as:
“It [“bad” painting] is figurative work that defies, either deliberately or by virtue of
disinterest, the classic canons of good taste, draftsmanship, acceptable source material,
rendering, or illusionistic representation. In other words, this is work that avoids the
conventions of high art, either in terms of traditional art history or very recent taste or
fashion.”
The show, a presentation of mostly unknown artists at the time, was not a showing of amateurish
or poor artistic judgement, but was for Tucker a rebellion against the emotionless and
conceptualized art that reigned in the 1970’s. Tucker’s use of the word “bad” was never used to
denote the artists or their work, but was rather used ironically to elevate it from, or ignore, the
common structures and ideas of what “good” art of time was, ie. conceptualism and minimalism.
New “Bad” Painting tries to revive the ideas of Tucker, and explore their relevance and legacy
today.
Much like the first show, the diversity of personalities, background and work of the artists make the
grouping somewhat arbitrary. In no way can the exhibition be said to constitute a school or
movement. What does link the artists is firstly their age, all of which are born after 1978, which
ensures that none of them have a specific reference point in the first show, and secondly, their
continuous eager in the investigation of the painting medium, through iconoclasm and idiosyncratic
expressions. Obviously, the circumstances surrounding the initial show has changed, and it could
be argued that painting has regained its legitimacy as a medium since 1978. In that way New “Bad”
Painting does not possess the same subversive agenda as Tuckers show. That being said the
purpose has never been to expand on the notion of art, but more to challenge the existing
structures and elaborate on what is possible within these boundaries.
