FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

HIGH LINE ART PRESENTS

ELAD LASSRY WOMEN (065, 055)

FIFTH INSTALLMENT ON HIGH LINE BILLBOARD PRESENTED IN ADVANCE OF EXHIBITION AND PERFORMANCE AT THE KITCHEN

ON VIEW WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1 – FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2012

Elad Lassry, Women (065, 055), 2012. Courtesy the artist

New York, NY (July 18, 2012) –High Line Art, presented by Friends of the High Line, is pleased to announce that -based artist Elad Lassry will present a new commission for the 25-by-75 foot billboard next to the High Line at West 18th Street and 10th Avenue. This is the fifth work to be presented as part of HIGH LINE BILLBOARD, a series of art installations made possible by the generous support of Edison Properties, the owner of the property on which the billboard stands. The series was inaugurated in December 2011 with John Baldessari’s The First $100,000 I Ever Made, and has featured works by Anne Collier, David Shrigley, and Maurizio Cattelan and Pierpaolo Ferrari for Toilet Paper. Lassry’s work will be on view from Wednesday, August 1 through Friday, September 7, 2012.

Over the course of his career, Elad Lassry has investigated the history and power of images through different mediums, such as photography, film, sculpture, and performance. His small-scale photographs, usually presented in frames that take their color from the main hue of the photograph, are still lifes of mundane objects or portraits depicting individuals and animals from vintage magazines, film archives, or

1 original images shot at Lassry’s studio. Lassry’s photographs are highly staged, intense in their vivid colors, and, at times, puzzling in their visual openness. Removed from their visual context, they question the tradition of photography while investigating – at times ironically – the power of the image and our contemporary engagement with them.

Invited by High Line Art to present on HIGH LINE BILLBOARD, Lassry has created an alluring new image of two young women, both dressed alike, gazing out of two small portholes into a sea of green. Detached from any visual history or context, the image is both mesmerizing and elusive, familiar and remote. It allows the viewers to create their own conceptual space and visual context for the image.

“I am thrilled that Elad Lassry is the next artist to create a new work for HIGH LINE BILLBOARD,” says Cecilia Alemani, the Donald R. Mullen, Jr. Curator & Director of High Line Art at Friends of the High Line. “Elad approaches photography with a sculptural sensibility, creating images that highlight the very act of looking while reflecting on the many possible sources of the contemporary picture.”

Lassry’s work for High Line Art will be presented in advance of his exhibition and performance, Untitled (Presence), at The Kitchen, where the artist will present a new 30-minute performance and an exhibition in the institution’s upstairs space. New photographs and a film by Lassry will appear amid a display scheme of apertures related to his performance. Lassry’s exhibition at The Kitchen will be on view Friday, September 7 through Saturday, October 20, 2012; and his performances will take place Thursday, September 13 through Sunday, September 16, 2012.

About Elad Lassry Elad Lassry (b.1977, , ) lives and works in Los Angeles. He has exhibited extensively in major international institutions and solo exhibitions including PAC – Padiglione d’Arte Contemporanea in Milan (2012); Kunsthalle Zurich (2010); Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (2009); and The (2008). His first major monographic exhibition in the , Elad Lassry: Sum of Limited Views, was on view at the Contemporary Art Museum of Saint Louis (2010). Lassry’s work was also featured in the group exhibitions ILLUMInations, International Pavilion, 54th (2011); New Photography 2010, , New York (2010); and At Home/Not at Home: Works from the Collection of Martin and Rebecca Eisenberg, the Center for Curatorial Studies, Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York (2010).

About The Kitchen Located at 512 West 19th Street, The Kitchen is one of New York City's most forward-looking nonprofit spaces, showing innovative work by emerging and established artists across disciplines. Programs range from dance, music, performance, and theater to video, film, and art, in addition to literary events, artists' talks, and lecture series. Since its inception in 1971, The Kitchen has been a powerful force in shaping the cultural landscape of this country, and has helped launch the careers of many artists who have gone on to worldwide prominence.

About High Line Art Presented by Friends of the High Line, High Line Art commissions and produces public art projects that take place on and around the High Line. Founded in 2009, High Line Art has been showcasing a wide array of artworks including site-specific commissions, exhibitions, performances, video programs and a series of billboard interventions. High Line Art invites artists to think of creative ways to engage with the uniqueness of the architecture and design of the High Line and to foster a productive dialogue with the surrounding neighborhood and urban landscape.

High Line Art is presented by Friends of the High Line and the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation. High Line Art is made possible by Donald R. Mullen, Jr, with additional support from Vital Projects Fund, Inc. High Line Art is supported, in part, with public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and from the New York State Council

2 on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. In-kind sponsorship for HIGH LINE BILLBOARD is provided by Edison Properties.

About the High Line and Friends of the High Line The High Line is an elevated freight rail line transformed into a public park on Manhattan’s West Side. It is owned by the City of New York, and maintained and operated by Friends of the High Line. Founded in 1999 by community residents, Friends of the High Line fought for the High Line’s preservation and transformation at a time when the historic structure was under the threat of demolition. It is now the non-profit conservancy working with the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation to make sure the High Line is maintained as an extraordinary public space for all visitors to enjoy. In addition to overseeing maintenance, operations, and public programming for the park, Friends of the High Line works to raise the essential private funds to support more than 90 percent of the park’s annual operating budget, and to advocate for the transformation of the High Line at the rail yards, the third and final section of the historic structure, which runs between West 30th and West 34th Streets.

For further information on High Line Art, please visit www.thehighline.org/art.

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Media Contact Ashley Tickle High Line Art Communications Manager Friends of the High Line (212) 206-9922 [email protected]

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