Suzy Lake

On Stage (1972) video projection

November 17th - December 2nd

From John Massier, curator of Hallwalls, Buffalo:

"In January 2006, on the occasion of its 30th anniversary and the opening of its new venue in The Church at Delaware/Tupper in downtown Buffalo, Hallwalls Contemporary Art Center presented a solo exhibition of work by Suzy Lake curated by John Massier.

"Lake, a contemporary of Hallwalls' co-founder Cindy Sherman, had last exhibited at Hallwalls in October 1975 (Hallwalls' first year of operation) in a group exhibition, Contemporary Camera Art, curated by Richard Link and Cindy Sherman. Also in that exhibition were artists Jann Groover, Ken Josephson, Les Levine, Joan Lyon, Nathan Lyon, and Duane Michals.

"The 2006 Suzy Lake exhibition was Hallwalls de-facto 30th anniversary exhibition, whose opening night drew more than 1,000 visitors. Included in the exhibition were works representing the long trajectory of Lake's seminal career as a photo-based, feminist, conceptual artist, from mid-70s explorations that echo (and occasionally predate) similar investigations by similar investigations by Cindy Sherman to Lake's more recent works such as the Forever Young and Canadian Idol series. The latter series was augmented with new components shot in Buffalo, hence its renaming as the Canadian/Border Idol series.

"Also included in Hallwalls' 06 presentation of Lake was On Stage, a work from the 1972 originally devised as a slide projected piece, produced for this occasion as a dvd and offered up as a limited edition of 25 signed and numbered dvd-r works.

"The edition of Co-Ed Magazine #1-5 presented at Hallwalls in January was subsequently purchased from the exhibition by the Albright-Knox Art Gallery
for its permanent collection, signifying Lake's first inclusion in the collection
of a major American museum."

-- John Massier, October 2006


On Stage is also scheduled for exhibition as part of Identity Theft: Eleanor Antin, Lynn Hershman and Suzy Lake at the Santa Monica Museum of Contemporary Art, opening May 18th, 2007.Lake’s works of the early 70's will also be included in WHACK! Art and the Feminist Revolution, opening on March 1st, 2007 at the Geffen Contemporary Gallery, Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art, curated by Connie Butler (MOMA, NY).