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Art and Commerce

Jul 27 2024–Jan 12 2025

Seattle Art Museum

Weyerhauser Sorting Yard Along the Chehalis River, Cosmopolis, Washington, from the series SawDust Mountain, 2007, Eirik Johnson, American, b. 1974, Archival pigment print, 24 x 30 in. (61 x 76.2 cm), Seattle Art Museum, Gift of Clinton T. Willour in honor of Marisa C. Sånchez and gift of G. Gibson Gallery, 2009.7.1, © Eirik Johnson, photo: Courtesy of the artist.

Andy Warhol’s sly comment, “Making money is art and working is art and good business is the best art,” called out the far greater reverence of money compared to that of art or ideas, especially in the US. Starting in the 1960s, he upended perceptions of value by painting humble commodities and turning them into cultural icons. In subsequent decades, the artwork as a particular, precious commodity within capitalist markets garnered attention. Meanwhile, growing concern with the social, economic, and ecological cost of interconnected global markets motivates many younger artists. Artists in this exhibition include Mary Bauermeister, LaToya Ruby Frazier, Meschac Gaba, Eirik Johnson, Brian Jungen, Moris, Albert Oehlen, Rena Small, Fred Tomaselli, Clarissa Tossin, among others.

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