On The Record

October 9 - November 13, 2020

Arts + Public Life presents On the Record, an exhibition featuring works by Greg Bae, Savannah Jubic, and Brittney Leeanne Williams. This exhibition is a presentation of works by artists who currently, or in the past, worked as artist assistants to notable Chicago artists. This common and accepted practice of making work for an artist, without being named, raises questions about labor, visibility, and ethics in the art world. In a field that places great emphasis and value on authorship and signature, the working artist-to-artist relationship remains relatively unexamined.

These labor and craft dynamics are not new and can be found throughout art history. And while it is not a secret practice for renowned artists to employ unnamed studio teams, the reality of this phenomenon is routinely obscured by the preference to celebrate the individual genius. Presented together, these artists and the variety of mediums exhibited, including textiles, painting and sculpture, form a starting point to contemplate issues at the heart of visibility, time, identity, and change.