A sneak peek inside the exhibition YOKO ONO: THE RIVERBED
A leading figure in the development of Conceptual art, Yoko Ono has smashed the boundaries between artist and audience, redefining what it means to make art. Her exhibition YOKO ONO: THE RIVERBED, first mounted at Gallerie Lelong & Co. and Andrea Rosen Gallery in 2015, exemplifies the artist’s revolutionary approach to incorporating collaboration, audience participation, and social activism in her work. A three-part installation, YOKO ONO: THE RIVERBED invites visitors to take a hands-on approach to the artwork, working together with the artist, the museum, and each other to create an ever-evolving exhibition.
Here’s a sneak preview of what the exhibition has in store:
Stone Piece is the first installation that visitors will encounter in the exhibition. It features a collection of river stones honed and shaped by water over time, some inscribed by Ono with words such as dream, wish, and remember. You’ll be invited to pick up a stone and use it as a vessel for meditation—sitting on a nearby floor cushion with it if you wish—then place it back on the pile of stones. In Ono’s words: “Give all the anger, the sorrow, the fear—all of those things—to the stone. You can get rid of it that way.”1
With Line Piece, an installation of tables, notebooks, and writing utensils, Ono instructs visitors to “draw a line to take me to the farthest place in our planet.” You’re also encouraged to extend a string across the gallery space, using a hammer and nails to secure it from one point to another. Over time, the collection of lines will form a web that grows and evolves throughout the course of the exhibition.
First staged in 1966, Mend Piece invites visitors to piece together broken fragments of ceramic cups and saucers using glue, string, and tape. Drawing from the Japanese philosophy of wabi-sabi, which embraces finding beauty in imperfection, mended works will be displayed on shelves in the exhibition space. Ono has said of this work: “You might think you’re just mending a cup, but you’re actually mending something within you. The process of mending is the experience.”2
YOKO ONO: THE RIVERBED opens on February 22 and runs until June 3. Learn more.
1] Yoko Ono, January 13, 2015
2] Yoko Ono, December 15, 2015
Images: [1] Yoko Ono, Mend Piece (Galerie Lelong, New York 2015/2016), 1966 / 2015, Ceramic, glue, tape, scissors, and twine, Dimensions variable; Installation view: THE RIVERBED, Galerie Lelong, New York, December 11, 2015 – January 30, 2016 © Yoko Ono, Courtesy Galerie Lelong & Co., New York [2] Yoko Ono, Stone Piece (Galerie Lelong, New York 2015/2016), 2015, River rocks, Dimensions variable; Installation view: THE RIVERBED, Galerie Lelong, New York, December 11, 2015 – January 30, 2016 © Yoko Ono, Courtesy Galerie Lelong & Co., New York [3] Yoko Ono, Line Piece (Galerie Lelong, New York 2015/2016), 2015, Materials variable, Dimensions variable; Installation view: THE RIVERBED, Galerie Lelong, New York, December 11, 2015 – January 30, 2016 © Yoko Ono, Courtesy Galerie Lelong & Co., New York [4] Yoko Ono, Line Piece (Galerie Lelong, New York 2015/2016), 2015, Materials variable, Dimensions variable; Installation view: THE RIVERBED, Galerie Lelong, New York, December 11, 2015 – January 30, 2016 © Yoko Ono, Courtesy Galerie Lelong & Co., New York [5] Yoko Ono, Mend Piece (Galerie Lelong, New York 2015/2016), 1966 / 2015, Ceramic, glue, tape, scissors, and twine, Dimensions variable; Installation view: THE RIVERBED, Galerie Lelong, New York, December 11, 2015 -January 30, 2016 © Yoko Ono, Courtesy Galerie Lelong & Co., New York