Welcome to the world of Brad Downey – the most known unknown, who will present the newly published book Slapstick Formalism: Process, Project, Object and his artistic practice at Kino Šiška.
Brad Downey is a Berlin-based, Kentucky-born artist who has made radical and inspiring artworks all across the globe. The Slapstick Formalism: Process, Project, Object catalogue presents the first full assessment of these works: sculptures, architecture, performances, installations, films, drawings, collages, and activism, each having found its inspiration in the objects and activities of daily life. With humour, sensitivity, and insight, Downey examines the fabric of our cities, our countryside, our holy sites, and our forgotten margins and disputed borders. In doing so, he weaves new narratives into their chaotic patterns and makes vague the divisions between art and the everyday.
The book at hand traces the vast and expansive labyrinth of Downey’s work. In finding its way through this maze, the book picks up different threads, takes wrong turns, hits walls, and gets lost. In doing so it illustrates not only the artist’s creative journey but also provides insights into the broad spectrum of his versatile artistic engagement.
Here, through an abundance of texts, photos, film-stills, drawings, sketches, collages, portraits and self-portraits, Downey becomes comprehensible as both a conceptual and a performative artist who is not the least bit concerned about the distinction between high- and lowbrow culture. In addition, the wealth of collaborative productions that is shown in this book and that distinguishes and informs Downey’s own artistic practice, opens up a view of the broad and international network in which the artist operates across the globe.
Slapstick Formalism: Process, Project, Object was conceived in close collaboration with the artist, edited by Lukas Feireiss and contains texts by Jimmie Durham, Hrag Vartanian, Alain Bieber, Rafael Schacter, Matthew Murphy, Angelique Spaninks, Jennifer Thatcher, Marc Wellmann, and Ed Zipco. The book was published by Possible Books, Berlin (September 2018).
Free entry.
Organisation: Brad Downey and Kino Šiška.
