Art Hag

BRUCENNIAL 2010: Miseducation "brings together 420 artists from 911 countries working in 666 discrete disciplines to reclaim education as part of an artist’s ongoing practice beyond the principals of any one institution or experience." WHA?! My math skills may be crap, but even I know that does not compute! Well, that's what the press release says - brought to you by the folks from The Bruce High Quality Foundation and Vito Schnabel (Julian's son). The sensationalist press release sets the cheeky, fun-spirited tone for the group exhibition - an anti-establishment, alternative to the Whitney Biennial (in which the BHQF have a work included).

The Bruce High Quality Foundation, according to a February 25th New York Times article, is "a five-artist collective focused on reshaping the art world as we know it by placing some of its more conspicuous functions, like education and the organizing of exhibitions, into artists’ hands." This is the third installment of Brucennial which started with BRUCENNIAL 2008: Doing it Again in Bushwick and BRUCENNIAL 2009: Smithumenta in Carol Gardens. Though the BHQF and Schnabel invited their favorite artists and friends to participate in the exhibit, artists who just showed up to the 5,000-square-foot Soho space were able to add their work to the presentation. The space is filled and pieces are labeled simply by penciling in the artist's name beside his/her work. The show is so packed that it continues at RECESS at 41 Grand Street.

Paintings, drawings, photos, sculptures, installations, videos are all represented, and range from beautiful, cool, creepy, funny, to just plain WTF?. By exhibiting new artists alongside established ones and allowing anyone who walked in to show his/her art, The Brucennial exudes an open and very democratic vibe - a complete contrast to the elitist and snooty rep typically associated with the art world. Learn more at Bruce High Quality Foundation's website here and read the full NYTs article here. Through April 12th.

Installation view