One is the loneliest number

April 21 – August 7, 2011
Opening reception: Thursday, April 21, 6-8PM
Exhibition walkthrough with the artists and ICA assistant curator Kate Kraczon: Thursday, April 21, 5PM, ICA Members only

One is the loneliest number presents emerging artist duos based in Philadelphia and elsewhere that work in a variety of media—from graphic design to video to sculpture—highlighting a collective mode that has historical precedents but is also increasingly present in contemporary practice. This spectrum of approaches to art making extends beyond materials and into the collaborative methods artists have developed in their ongoing partnerships. This exhibition features the five collaboratives Lucas Ajemian and Julien Bismuth; Davis, Cherubini; Nadia Hironaka and Matthew Suib; Nick Mauss and Ken Okiishi; and Megawords. One is the loneliest number is on view in ICA's second floor-gallery, mezzanine, and adjacent staff kitchen.

As friends (Ajemian and Bismuth; Davis, Cherubini; Megawords) or couples (Hironaka and Suib; Mauss and Okiishi), each artist pair has learned to work together over the years in an ever-evolving practice. Sometimes this process has been an organic extension of a relationship already established, a conversation that began to manifest itself in objects or speculative projects. Other pairs found the process of working together to be a negotiation, one that came to require less effort or compromise over time, but that continues to develop with each new project or piece.

Ken Okiishi (and Google) translate poet Arthur Rimbaud and Nick Mauss illustrates directly onto the pages of the new manuscript. Lucas Ajemian and Julien Bismuth engage Lettrism, a French avant-garde movement from the 1940s, through a range of mediums. Nicole Cherubini and Taylor Davis push a playful obsession with materials through their collaboration as Davis, Cherubini. Working seamlessly, Nadia Hironaka and Matthew Suib create gallery-scale video projections. Philadelphia-based Megawords (Anthony Smyrski and Dan Murphy) occupy the ICA mezzanine and the adjacent staff kitchen during the run of One is the loneliest number and have programmed a series of collaboration-themed events.

Regardless of the origins of the collaborations featured in the exhibition, or the media they employ, each artist in One is the loneliest number has sought partnership to expand outside their solo practices, to pursue mediums or ideas that they wouldn't otherwise, and to utilize skills or knowledge they may not individually possess. As Taylor Davis says of her work with Nicole Cherubini, "You don't need to collaborate unless you need to get something or can give something." One is the loneliest number surveys the two-person collaboration as it is today, in an environment where artists increasingly set their own parameters for what practice can mean. As the art market continues to prioritize solo makers of singular objects, collaboration—whether as pairs, trios, or larger groups—continues to offer an alternative to how art making and authorship is defined.

Related Programs

EXHIBITION WALKTHROUGH (ICA MEMBERS ONLY)
Thursday, April 21, 5pm
With the artists and exhibition curator Kate Kraczon

MEGAWORDS EVENTS
TAKE TWO: A COLLECTION OF COLLABORATIVELY MADE FILMS
Whenever Wednesday, May 18, 8pm
Take in a screening of films by Megawords' international network of filmmakers, featuring work by the Maysles Brothers, Adams & Itso, Matthias Wermke and Mischa Leinkauf, Elissa Bogos, and others, on ICA's terrace.

AYURVEDA WORKSHOP WITH BALARAMA CHANDRA DAS
Whenever Wednesday, June 22, 6:30pm
Receive instruction in the holistic practice of body, mind, and spirit known as "Ayurveda" —Sanskrit for "the science of life"— from frequent Megawords collaborator Balarama Chandra Das.

PECHAKUCHA(ISH) NIGHT: DUOS
Whenever Wednesday, July 20, 6:30pm
Absorb the work of artists from One is the loneliest number and other creative duos in a lecture format loosely based on PechaKucha, the Japanese-originated "20 slides in 20 seconds" method of quickly sharing visual information. Followed by live music and drinks on the ICA terrace.

ICA acknowledges generous sponsorship from Barbara B. & Theodore R. Aronson for the exhibition publication. ICA is grateful to the following members of our Leadership Circle for helping fund this exhibition: Alec Rubin & Phillip Chambers; Kirk Kirkpatrick & John Wind; Jim Fulton & Eric Rymshaw; Noreen & Ahmar Ahmad; Artvest Partners LLC; Ellen & Stephen B. Burbank; Thomas Callan & Martin McNamara; Emily Chen & Christopher Carrera; Anthony B. Creamer III; Cecile & Christopher D'Amelio; Nancy A. Derene-Seltzer; Fleisher/Ollman Gallery; Jennifer Rice & Michael Forman; Chinita & Michael Hard, Jr.; Jennifer & John Klein; Mary D. & Stephen L. Kurtz; Eve M. Lateiner; Gabriele W. Lee; Alexandra Heyman & Grayson Nash; Maja Paumgarten Parker & John Forbes Parker; Marguerite Rodgers Ltd.; Allison & Neil L. Rubler; Cindy Shaffran & Gary Schwartz; Annette Seidenglanz & Charles Bowes; Amor H. Towles; Van Beuren Charitable Foundation; Jane S. Wagman; Karen & Howard J. Weiner; Myles Kelly and Richard Wilson; Vardina and Yoram Wind; Jesse T. Amoroso; Gabrielle & Matthew Canno; Trina E. Gordon; Guy French LLC; William R. Peelle III; Stephanie Roach; Worth Art Advisory.

The ICA is also grateful for the support of the Arthur M. Cohen & Daryl R. Otte Fund and the Babette & Harvey Snyder Fund. Additional funding has been provided by The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation; the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency; The Dietrich Foundation, Inc.; the Overseers Board for the Institute of Contemporary Art; friends and members of ICA; and the University of Pennsylvania. ICA acknowledges Le Meridien Philadelphia as our official Unlock Art™ partner hotel.