Accompanying the exhibition Fast and Present: New Work by Johnny Swing currently on view at R & Company, the R & Company Archives has organized a retrospective view of Swing’s career through archival materials from the artist’s personal collection. Over the past twenty years, Johnny Swing has become one of the world’s most recognizable furniture designers, celebrated for his iconic series of seating made out of welded American coins. Although less known, his career started as a sculptor in the 1980s, working with found materials in New York City’s East Village. In this program, we will present some of the documents on view and share our process of using archival materials from a living artist. In addition to showcasing a short film in conversation with Johnny Swing, we hope to open a dialog with all attendees about incorporating archival materials in contemporary exhibitions and treating and preserving contemporary archives. RSVP to archives@r-and-company.com or by registering via Zoom.
Image caption and credit: Johnny Swing at Space 2B, c. 1989 (detail). Photograph by L. Soto, Courtesy of R & Company.
DONATE
