On Saturday, September 15th, Grayson Cox’s new exhibition, “LYBL: Spectator in the Commons,” opened at Pressure Club.
The exhibition included a print that Pressure Club published with Grayson Cox entitled, “The Freedom to Represent Cognitive Dissonance.” The print, editioned to ten, was created by intaglio and screen print techniques. The print consists of two shaped copper plates, etched with an aquatint silkscreen resist. The iced coffee is printed in 4 layers of screen printing.
In the process of developing this print project with Cox the silkscreen resist technique was employed for its similarities to the artist’s studio practice of screen printing with bleach on dark fabric. There is a level of removal in the final print, in which we are seeing the inverse of the screen print that was made on the copper plate.
Attached is a summary and description of the exhibition written by the artist.
Statement about “LYBL: A Spectator in the Commons,” by Grayson Cox
The concept “live your best life” or “LYBL” can spur us to live out our best behavior or cause us to squander it into the winds. The cognitive dissonance we experience with what we want for the world and what we want for ourselves is at the heart of LYBL. We want the earth to be clean and healthy, but we also want our packages cheap, convenient, and delivered within 24 hours from Amazon prime.
LYBL aims to challenge Garrett Hardin’s notions of “the tragedy of the commons.” Garrett claims: “Freedom in a commons brings ruin to all.” This as a concept seems to present the need for reinforcing hierarchies within groups. Why does it have to be that way? How can we think about thresholds of accountability and entitlements when it comes to what is good for us all? How does private ownership affect social gift economies and personal cultural capital within communities?
LYBL features an immersive installation in which cushion paintings are displayed on the walls of the gallery and fastened into sculptural furniture skeletons. Each image depicts our beloved iced coffee protagonist as a spectator taking in awe-inspiring or difficult artworks. The cushions will be for sale and when purchased, can easily be removed with a screwdriver.
For more information of Grayson’s work, visit: graysoncox.com
Pressure Club 