The inaugural exhibition at Museum 52, New York will feature work by two artists from Museum 52, London: John Isaacs (London, UK) and Philip Hausmeier (Berlin, Germany). It will also include work by George Henry Longly (London, UK), Sara Greenberger Rafferty (New York, US) and Sean Raspet (New York, US). Work made for the exhibition will explore ideas of display. The artists will approach the theme of display using various strategies to examine notions of hierarchy, presentation, the role of the viewer, performance and space.

Museum 52 is delighted to announce the opening of Museum 52, New York, located in a two-level space on Rivington Street at Ludlow in the Lower East Side.

Museum 52 began in London in 2003 as a one-year curatorial project. It has since developed into a gallery with a long-term commitment to exhibiting an international roster of emerging and mid-career artists in addition to unique curator-driven shows. The New York location willmaintain the gallery’s international scope while also focusing on American artists. The European context of Museum 52 will provide a dynamic ground for an international exchange of ideas. Matthew Dipple of Museum 52, London, and new director Rachel Uffner will curate the program and oversee the gallery. Founding-partner Christopher Taylor will also collaborate while remaining in London.

The first exhibition will feature work by two artists from Museum 52, London: John Isaacs (London, UK) and Philip Hausmeier (Berlin, Germany). It will also include work by George Henry Longly (London, UK), Sara Greenberger Rafferty (New York, US) and Sean Raspet (New York, US). Work made for the exhibition will explore ideas of display. The artists will approach the theme of display using various strategies to examine notions of hierarchy, presentation, the role of the viewer, performance and space.

Sara Greenberger Rafferty had a solo exhibit at P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center in 2006. Other exhibitions in include VIEW 12: Heartbreaker, Mary Boone Gallery, New York, The Mind/Body Problem, Artists Space, New York and Talk to the Land, Andrew Kreps Gallery, New York. Greenberger Rafferty is also the co-editor of North Drive Press.

George Henry Longly was recently awarded the S1 Residency in Sheffield, supported as a new commission by the prestigious Henry Moore Foundation the residency culminated in a major solo exhibition. He has exhibited widely in Europe including Dicksmith Gallery, London and Chez Valentin, Paris and will be showing in the regional arts festival Art Sheffield 08 curated by Berlin-based critic and art historian Jan Verwoert.

Philip Hausmeier has shown in Twenty to One, Canary Wharf; The Red Line at Whitfield Space, London, Inside Out, Artists Studios, Tel Aviv. His debut with Museum 52 was Assemblage III, May 2006. Hausmeier was recently awarded the Boise Travel Scholarship and will follow a planned trip to critically examine the work of Richard Serra. Work resulting from this trip was seen at Museum 52 in July 2007.

John Isaacs has exhibited extensively on an international level. Exhibitions include: Spectacular Bodies, The Hayward Gallery, London, 2000; Disasters of War, KW, Berlin, 2000; Minimal Maximal, Museum of Modern Art Kyoto, 2001; Century City, Tate Modern, 2001, Mike Kelley’s The Uncanny, Tate Liverpool, 2004; Les Grande Spectacle, Museum der Moderne, Salzburg, 2004; In the Darkest Hour There May Be Light, The Serpentine Gallery, London, 2007 and Rockers Island The Olbricht Collection, Museum Folkwang Essen, 2007. He has been a guest lecturer at the Getty Foundation.

Sean Raspet graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2003. He is currently in the Whitney Independent Study Program, Whitney Museum of American Art. He has exhibited at Daniel Reich Gallery, New York and Cohan and Leslie, New York.