From Gallery 98’s collection of art gallery posters, 1970s-90s.
While the bread and butter for galleries has traditionally been the sale of high priced art to a few wealthy collectors, this market is most successful when the art is also appreciated by a larger, less-privileged audience of art enthusiasts. From the 1960s on galleries sought to attract both of these audiences by distributing inexpensive offset posters promoting their exhibitions. These posters were usually printed in relatively small quantities (often as few as 500) and today are collector’s items in themselves.
Below you can browse through some rare examples currently available from Gallery 98.
Joseph Beuys, Free International University, 1978
Fondazione per la Rinaschita Dell’Agricoltura, Discussion with Joseph Beuys, Pescara, Italy, February 12, 1978. Poster, 25 x 36 inches. Originally folded and has some creasing.
“The Free International University for Creativity and Interdisciplinary Research” began in Joseph Beuys’ Düsseldorf studio in 1973. It was an outgrowth of his concept of “Social Sculpture,” a new form of art that included human activity to generate social change. Over the next decade Beuys replicated the FIU idea in other places, effectively transforming the teaching process into a work of art.
Leo Castelli Gallery, “Slice” by Richard Serra, 1981
Richard Serra, “Slice,” Leo Castelli Gallery in collaboration with BlumHelman Gallery, February 28 – April 4, 1981. Poster, 21 x 30 inches. Originally folded and has some creasing.
The Leo Castelli Gallery was a particularly active publisher of exhibition posters. This work by Serra relates to a series of sculptures that aimed to reconfigure the spaces in which they are placed. “Slice” was designed specifically for Castelli’s new gallery on Greene Street. To optimally illustrate the work, the poster shows its placement in the gallery by reproducing a floor plan of the installation.
George Eastman House, Robert Doisneau, Jean Tinguely, 1972
George Eastman House (Rochester NY,) Robert Doisneau, 1972. Poster, 14 x 20 inches. Originally folded and has some creasing.
Robert Doisneau (1912-94) was a pioneering street photographer and photojournalist. This poster for Doisneau’s retrospective at the George Eastman House features his 1959 portrait of Jean Tinguely, an artist renowned for his kinetic sculpture.
Nan Goldin, The Ballad of Sexual Dependency, 1986
Aperture Books, The Ballad of Sexual Dependency, Nan Goldin, 1986. Poster, 10 x 16 inches. Originally folded and has some creasing.
Nan Goldin’s The Ballad of Sexual Dependency began as a personal photo diary that she exhibited as a slide show in downtown nightclubs. This poster for the book version of the slide show features Goldin’s friend Greer Lankton. Reviews and additional images are shown on the back of the poster.
John Baldessari, Learn to Read, 2003
“Learn to Read” by John Baldessari, 2003. Poster, 22 x 17 inches.
The poster was part of “17 Reasons,” a street art exhibition organized by the Jack Hanley Gallery that consisted of “interventions” created by artists that were placed around the Mission District in San Francisco. This relatively large poster was never folded and is printed on heavy paper.
Barbara Kruger, Franklin Furnace Fights for First Amendment Rights, 1990
Franklin Furnace Fights for First Amendment Rights, Barbara Kruger, Wednesday, July 11, 1990. Poster, 22 x 28 inches. Originally folded and has some creasing.
This rally against censorship was sparked by the temporary closure of the art space Franklin Furnace by the New York Fire Department. This action was thought to be connected to the broader censorship of queer, erotic and feminist art then being led by Senator Jesse Helms. The poster designed by artist Barbara Kruger features a strange image along with an intriguing list of event participants.
PACE Gallery, Robert Ryman, New Paintings, 1990
An exhibition of new paintings by Robert Ryman at PACE Gallery, April 6 – May 10, 1990. Poster, 12 x 16 inches. Originally folded and has some creasing.
An unusual poster for an artist who is best known for his minimalist white-on-white paintings.
Hal Bromm Gallery, David Wojnarowicz, 1983
David Wojnarowicz exhibition at Hal Bromm Gallery, November 19 – December 23, 1983. Poster, 12 x 16 inches. Originally folded and has some creasing.
This poster shows a sailor and a riverboat with text beginning with the words “What it is is the appearance of a portrait, not the immediate vision I love so much: that of the dragqueen in the dive waterfront coffeeshop turning towards a stranger and giving a coy seductive smile which reveals a mouth of rotted teeth…” For this exhibition Wojnarowicz carted in piles of sand to suggest a beach or waterfront scene as a setting for several of his painted driftwood totems.
To see more art gallery posters from the 1970s and ’90s visit Gallery 98’s Art Gallery Posters page.
