Museum 52
4 East 2nd Street, at Bowery, 347-789-7072
East Village / Lower East Side
May 1 - May 31, 2008
Web Site
Marcel Duchamp characterized the space fated to exist as a seam between two parts as the infra-slim (infra-mince). This space is that created by two elements, almost but not completely conjoined, symbiotic yet individual. It is in this space, where two parts are defined by both themselves and their parameters, which ‘W’ explores. Through both the dialogue they create and the formal qualities of the individual pieces, Kate Atkin and Becky Beasley’s works are seen in active symmetry. It is however in the flaws, the fissures, the infra-slim that they focus. They explore the particular nature of the copy, the act of doubling and the interpretive space between.
The use of lateral orientation in their works and self-referentiality also point to each other in language. The meanings of terms such as ‘right’ and ‘left’, like ‘I’ and ‘you’ are only comprehensible from the point of view of the speaker. This resonates through the reading of their works and both artists equally retain and encourage elements which undermine or destabilize a direct reading. Their relationship goes beyond the directly comparative, questioning duplication and the nature of the double.