BRAND NEW Art and Commodity in the 1980s

The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden has announced “Brand New: Art and Commodity in the 1980s” (Feb. 14, 2018–May 13, 2018), the first museum exhibition to examine the artistic appropriation of commercial products in the late 20th century, a pivotal moment when artwork became a commodity and the artist became a brand. Organized by Gianni Jetzer, the Hirshhorn’s curator-at-large, “Brand New” examines the origins and rise of the key group of artists in New York City’s East Village who first used the language and objects of commerce as a radical new approach to art making.

The exhibition includes paintings, sculptures and multimedia works by nearly 50 historically acknowledged and lesser-known artists, including Ashley Bickerton, Barbara Bloom, Jessica Diamond, General Idea, Peter Halley, Jeff Koons, Peter Nagy, Joel Otterson, Richard Prince, Cindy Sherman, Meyer Vaisman and Julia Wachtel among others.

“The Hirshhorn is proud to present this groundbreaking exhibition, examining the rise of Neo-Conceptualism and the corresponding clash of art and commerce,” said Hirshhorn Director Melissa Chiu. “By presenting the works of artists such as Koons and Prince alongside several of their less-exhibited contemporaries, ‘Brand New’ provides insight into this pivotal decade and the corresponding rise of some of the biggest names today.” [...]

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website