Richard Aldrich, Nathan Hylden, Alice Könitz, Michael Wilkinson Organized by Michael Ned Holte

1. The phrase “Laying Bricks” refers to

A. masonry. B. classic Minimalism. C. basketball, poorly played. D. sexual intercourse. E. taking a shit. F. a misguided translation of “bricoleur.” G. none of the above.

2. “Laying Bricks” is a group exhibition that attempts to reconcile

A. construction and ruin. B. Levi-Strauss’s notion of bricolage and Benjamin’s notion of allegory. C. Pistoletto and Piero; World of Warcraft and Krebber; Pink Floyd and banana peels. D. vulgarity and formal elegance. E. “creative differences.”

3. “Oops! I Did It Again” was originally recorded by Louis Armstrong in April 1932 in a Chicago studio. Cut for the Decca label, “Oops!” failed to make the chart impact of “All of Me,” another side recorded in the same session, and soon fell out of print. True or False?

4. Which of the following phrases best describes contemporary art discourse?

A. “Allegory is consistently attracted to the fragmentary, the imperfect, the incomplete—an affinity which finds its most comprehensive expression in the ruin…identified as the allegorical emblem par excellence.” B. “If one calls bricolage the necessity of borrowing one’s concept from the text of a heritage which is more or less coherent or ruined, it must be said that every discourse is bricoleur.” C. “Bless this mess.”

Richard Aldrich is an artist and musician living in New York. His solo exhibitions include Marc Foxx, Los Angeles and Corvi-Mora, London; he recently presented a two-person exhibition with Meredith Sparks at Elizabeth Dee, New York. His group exhibitions include “Bastard Creature” at Palais De Tokyo, Paris; “Music is a Better Noise,” and “Greater New York 2005,” both at P.S.1. Contemporary Art Center, New York; “Bunch Alliance and Dissolve” at the Cincinnati Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, Ohio; and “An Ongoing Low-Grade Mystery,” Paula Cooper Gallery, New York.

Nathan Hylden is based in Los Angeles. He presented a solo exhibition at Richard Telles Fine Art, Los Angeles, in 2007, and will exhibit at Misako & Rosen, Tokyo, and Art:Concept, Paris, later this year. He has participated in numerous group exhibitions including “Material Photographs” at Shane Campbell, Chicago; “Pacing” at Marc Foxx, Los Angeles; “Pose & Sculpture” at Casey Kaplan, New York; and “Autonomy” at Foxy Production, New York. He received his MFA from Art Center, Pasadena, in 2006.

Alice Könitz is based in Los Angeles. She has had solo exhibitions at Susanne Vielmetter, Los Angeles; Hudson Franklin, New York; boom, Oak Park, Illinois; Cal State University Long Beach; and Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions (LACE). Her group exhibitions include “Half Square Half Crazy,” at Villa Arson, Nice; “Aspects, Forms, and Figures,” at Bellwether, New York; “Bring the War Home” at Elizabeth Dee, New York and Q.E.D., Los Angeles; “Celine and Julie Go Boating” at Anna Helwing, Los Angeles; and “International Paper” at UCLA Hammer Museum. She received her MFA from the California Institute of the Arts in 1999.

Michael Wilkinson is based in Glasgow. He recently completed a residency at FRAC des Pays de la Loire in Carquefou, France, and has had solo exhibitions at Daniel Hug, Los Angeles; The Modern Institute, Glasgow; Sutton Lane, London; The Wrong Gallery, New York; Yvon Lambert, Paris; and Artissima, Turin.

Michael Ned Holte is a writer and critic based in Los Angeles. He is a regular contributor to Artforum International, and his writing has also appeared in Afterall, Art Review, frieze, Interview, and numerous exhibition catalogues. He previously organized the exhibition “Celine and Julie Go Boating” at Anna Helwing Gallery, Los Angeles.