THE BARN, TIVOLI, NEW YORK, MAY 12-24, 2017
K8 HARDY: UNDERGIRDING HEROINE ENSEMBLE
Curated by Lola Kramer and Julie Niemi
K8 HARDY: UNDERGIRDING HEROINE ENSEMBLE is an exhibition of recent work by the New York-based artist K8 Hardy. This show marks the first exhibition of curatorial collective Anne-Marie (Lola Kramer, Julie Niemi, Pat Elifritz and Lisa Long, and Anna Gallagher-Ross), and follows a series of programming at The Barn, a discursive space based in Tivoli, New York, and that has included readings and screenings by Chris Kraus, Julie Becker, and Lynne Tillman. For this iteration, we invite Hardy to present work to peers at the Center for Curatorial Studies (CCS Bard) and Bard College, where Hardy received her MFA. Hardy’s work is included in the Marieluise Hessel Collection along with zines and multiples produced by queer feminist collective LTTR, which are held in Special Collections at CCS Bard. K8 HARDY: UNDERGIRDING HEROINE ENSEMBLE draws upon semiotics of style, mall culture, consumerism, and the influence of art-historical narratives in contemporary art. Central to this exhibition is Look 11, a multi-colored mannequin wearing an outfit from Hardy’s Untitled Runway Show, a performance originally presented at the Met Breuer during the 2012 Whitney Biennial. Presented in situ at the barn, Hardy’s work transforms the space into a contemporary tableau of the symbolic art-historical à Judith Slaying Holofernes, or Salome – where Marvel-superhuman-meets-cowgirl and dinner’s nearly ready. There’s a little blood on her shoulder, but that’s no big deal, because if looks could kill, this one’s in the bag.
––Lola Kramer & Julie Niemi, 2017