Jonathan Monk
Continuous Project Altered Daily
14 October - 4 December 2005
ICA London
Continuous Project Altered Daily marks the first comprehensive survey of British artist Jonathan Monk and offers an extensive overview of his exceptionally prolific artistic practice. Over 60 artworks made between 1993 and 2005 will be on display including painting, sculpture, installation, photography, film and video work.
Monks diverse practice brings together two seemingly disparate histories: that of his own, and that of conceptual art of the 1960s and 70s. Autobiographical details, personal anecdotes drawn from his UK upbringing, tender and idiosyncratic portraits of his family, his mother Rita, his father Owen, and older sister Vanessa, the pet dog even the Leicester City Football Club are referenced apparently incongruously alongside the strategies and language of conceptualism and the work of artists such as Sol LeWitt, John Baldessari, Ed Ruscha and Robert Barry. The key principles of conceptualism (the favouring of ideas over object-making, the dematerialisation of the art object, the production of work in series, in collaboration and often without a studio) are leveled and humanised by the quirky humour and down-to-earth sensibility of Monks working class family life. Beneath this playful, ironic take on art making, however, is a serious scrutiny of the very idea of art, its status, appearance and market value, as well as the myth of the artistic genius
The title of this exhibition is taken from an exhibition by US artist Robert Morris made in 1969 and describes the concept behind the display of works and to the way the presentation is constantly recycled and refreshed. Over a period of two months, the vast body of Monks work will be presented in sequence rather than in an edited selection within a single space and as a static display. A different show will, effectively, be curated every day and thus each visit will reveal a changed exhibition. The Lower Gallery of the ICA will act as an art warehouse and contain all of the works involved in the exhibition, whilst the Upper Gallery will display individual pieces drawn from the storage, and will change on a daily basis within a classic white cube space. Consequently Continuous Project Altered Daily will not only trace the development of Monks practice through carefully constructed sequences of his work, but also, because of its perpetually transforming nature, function as a challenge to the usually static dynamic of traditional art presentation.
Continuous Project Altered Daily is part of a series of projects curated by ICA Exhibitions which attempt to radically revise the conventional format of the solo exhibition. Previous shows in this series have included John Bocks Klutterkammer and Tino Sehgal’s trilogy of works over three years (2005-07) at the ICA.
Born in Leicester, England in 1969, Jonathan Monk began his career in Glasgow, before moving to Los Angeles and Berlin, where he currently lives. His recent solo exhibitions include the Arnolfini, Bristol, England (2003), the Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Canada (2002) and the Contemporary Arts Centre, Vilnius, Lithuania (2001), among many others.
Catalogue & Editions:
A full color catalogue co-published by the ICA and Revolver, Frankfurt, to accompany this exhibition will be available and will include an essay by Jens Hoffmann, ICA Director of Exhibitions, a conversation between the artist, Robert Morris and Jens Hoffmann, a text by Canadian artist Tim Lee, as well as full descriptions of all the works on display by Claire Fitzsimmons, Curator ICA Exhibitions. As this catalogue will record every day of the exhibition, the publication will be produced once the exhibition has closed in December. Advanced orders can be placed with the ICA Bookshop on 44 20 7766 1452.
On the occasion of his exhibition, Jonathan Monk has also produced two new editions, which are available to buy exclusively at the ICA.
One In Fifty In One (Office Building), 2005
30.5 x 40.6 cm (unframed)
Black and white photographic print
Each signed and numbered
This special Limited Edition Print takes the renowned Ilford photographic paper as its inspiration. The artist has appropriated the image from the lid of a box of Ilford paper and reproduced this on 50 sheets of the paper that would typically be within the box. This unique edition can be traced back to other Ilford photographic pieces by the artist, including two which feature in the ICAs exhibition.
One in Ten in One (Tree), 2005 and One in Ten in One (St Pauls), 2004.
Picture Post Card Posted
From Post Box Pictured
The artist has produced a new postcard in a series which already includes those created in New York, San Francisco, Edinburgh, Frankfurt, Hong Kong and Paris. The postcard for the ICA exhibition features an image of the postbox in Waterloo Place, the closest to the building. On buying a postcard, the address and message that the visitor would like will be sent to the artist who will write this on the postcard. The postcard will then be posted from the postbox pictured on the postcard.
Both editions can be viewed on the ICA website. To purchase either work please contact the ICA Bookshop on
44 20 7766 1452.
For further information, interviews or images, please contact:
Natasha Plowright
Exhibitions Press & Publicity Manager
ICA Press Office
Tel: 0207 766 1404
E-Mail: natashap@ica.org.uk; www.ica.org.uk
Kindly supported by:
THE HENRY MOORE FOUNDATION
Image: Jonathan Monk: Twelve measurements in pink piece 2005; Enamel coated aluminium; Dimensions variable; Collection Beat Raeber, Basel, Switzerland ©Jonathan Monk, 2005
