Alison Burstein

On view @thekitchen_nyc (163B Bank Street) through January 25, "Lines of Distribution" features rarely seen materials from The Kitchen Archives alongside new work by four artists: Viktor Bomstad @viktorbom1 , Elise Macmillan @_____eeeeemacs , Kameelah Janan Rasheed @kameelahr , and Wong Kit Yi @wong_kit_yi . “Lines of Distribution” takes as its starting point a subset of The Kitchen’s programs developed between the 1970s and 1990s that ventured beyond the institution’s New York space to distribute and circulate art throughout the United States and abroad. Reflecting on The Kitchen’s past engagements with distribution as intentional experiments in creating alternative models for disseminating art, the exhibition asks questions about how these historical strategies might serve as springboards for new methods of working within today’s changed landscape. To put these inquiries into practice, the exhibition reanimates aspects of The Kitchen’s programming through a cross-institutional dialogue with Lofoten International Art Festival – LIAF @lofotenliaf and its organizer North Norwegian Art Centre @nordnorskkunstnersenter , creating a temporary distribution channel between LIAF 2024 & The Kitchen. “Lines of Distribution” emerged through conversations that I have had with Kjersti Solbakken @feilkjersti over the past several years about affinities between our research and interests in The Kitchen’s historical activities and the local histories that inspired the curatorial framework for LIAF 2024. Enormous gratitude to Kjersti, the artists, and everyone on the teams at The Kitchen & LIAF/NNKS for their collaboration in drawing out and creating new connecting lines between our histories and contexts. “Lines of Distribution” is open Wed–Sat, 12-6pm. Come visit anytime during open hours, and let me know when you plan to be there — I’d love to say hello! Images: 1-6: Installation views. Photos by Kris Graves. 7: Kameelah Janan Rasheed, Feral Seeds (01), 2024. Installation view. Photo by Joe Wakeman. 8: Elise Macmillan, Surprised Everytime Live at The Kitchen, 2024. Photo by Cherylynn Tsushima. 9: Viktor Bomstad, Untitled, 2024. Photo by Cherylynn Tsushima.

Lines of Distribution, opens tomorrow and runs through January 25, 2025 at The Kitchen at Westbeth. The exhibition takes up the question: in what ways can experimental practices from previous eras springboard new strategies for the distribution and circulation of art across today’s global circuits? Drawing on The Kitchen’s history of presenting and disseminating avant-garde art for over fifty years, the exhibition Lines of Distribution takes up this question by reanimating aspects of its past programming through a cross-institutional dialogue with Lofoten International Art Festival – LIAF (Lofoten, Norway) and its organizer North Norwegian Art Centre. Two special public programs this week mark the exhibition’s opening— ⭐Lines of Distribution Performances, featuring Elise Macmillan, and additional artists to be announced Gallery hours: 12-5pm ET (exhibition closed from 5–7pm for event preparations) Performances: Friday, November 22, 2024, 7pm ET In a program celebrating the opening of the exhibition, Elise Macmillan performs a new iteration of Surprised Everytime (2024), a sonic work developed and presented in stages through the artist’s collaboration with LIAF 2024 and The Kitchen. ⭐Opening Reception and Artist Roundtable Saturday, November 23, 2024. Opening Reception and Exhibition Viewing: 12–4pm ET Artist Roundtable: 4–6pm ET Continuing the opening weekend celebration for Lines of Distribution, The Kitchen hosts an Opening Reception and Artist Roundtable on November 23. Following the reception, the roundtable conversation begins at 4pm with select artists featured in Lines of Distribution engaging in dialogue about their contributions with the exhibition’s organizers. 🔗Free, RSVP via link in bio to attend in person and will also be livestreamed via thekitchen.org _________ 1. Photo by Christopher Brautaset 2. Photo by Kjell Ove Storvik. Both courtesy of North Norwegian Art Centre.

Today is the last day of @lofotenliaf 2024: "SPARKS," curated by @feilkjersti —a generous & generative edition of a unique biennial in the north of Norway that goes beyond the traditional forms of exhibition making to enact a vibrant set of relationships between contributing artists & partners both in Lofoten and abroad. I am thrilled to have had the opportunity to work with @thekitchen_nyc to take part in this initiative as one of the institutional partners, & to invite @wong_kit_yi to create a new, research-based work that engages with aspects of institutional and local histories related to The Kitchen and LIAF 2024. The resulting video, “Made for Telefishion,” premiered as part of "SPARKS," and will soon travel to NY to appear at The Kitchen as part of the exhibition “Lines of Distribution” (opening November 21). Taking the form of an experimental television episode, the video charts a network of speculative associations linking The Kitchen to Lofoten by way of Wong’s family home of Hong Kong. Thank you to Kjersti for initiating the process; to Kit Yi for joining in this journey and creating such a "fishionary" work; to the cast and crew of "Made for Telefishion" for bringing it to life; & to the LIAF 2024, @nordnorskkunstnersenter , and Kitchen teams for working with us to make it all happen. Stay tuned for updates on the work's NY premiere! "Made for Telefishion"is co-commissioned by The Kitchen and North Norwegian Art Centre for the Lofoten International Art Festival – LIAF 2024 and Lines of Distribution. Writer and Director: Wong Kit Yi Performers: Jacqueline Calle, Holly Caracappa, Ditte Krøyer, Gjermund Gjesme, Emily Su Director of Photography: Joe Wakeman Additional Camera: David Riley Director of Audio Production: Isaac Silber Editor: Wong Kit Yi Editing Assistants: Joe Wakeman, Sixing Xu Producers: Alison Burstein, David Riley, Tassja Walker Production Assistant: Andrea K. Castillo Typography and Poster Design: Studio Pianpian He &Max Harvey Subtitle Insertion: MetaObjects @infoandupdates @metaobjects @ditte_kroyer @_emilysu_ @jacki.calle.hernandez @humanmerelybeing @gjermspiration @josefwakemanmgf @thedavidriley @tasssboogie @xu6in @isilberis

Over the past months, I’ve been immersed in the mysterious world of “Two Moon July” (1986) — a made-for-television “arts and entertainment special” directed by Tom Bowes and produced for @thekitchen_nyc by Carlota Schoolman that premiered on PBS in 1987. I’ve found myself circling around this work for years, pulled in by its highly stylized rendering of a day-in-the-life of The Kitchen and intrigued by the implications of what it means for an alternative art institution to have produced such a rendering of itself—a double image that hovers in a state between reality and fiction—and distributed it via mainstream media platforms. I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to delve deeply into these lines of thinking in this essay and to share it as part of Vol. 3 of Metode journal (@rom_for_kunst_og_arkitektur ), published in collaboration with LIAF 2024 @lofotenliaf , alongside fantastic texts by You Nakai and Sigbjørn Skåden. Thank you to editors Ingrid Halland @tio2_project and Kjersti Solbakkan @feilkjersti for the invitation to contribute! 🔗 in bio to full article—and scroll to the bottom for a viewing link for “Two Moon July,” available through October 20, 2024. Images 2-7, Stills from “Two Moon July,” directed by Tom Bowes. Produced for The Kitchen by Carlota Schoolman. Courtesy of The Kitchen.

J Jan Groeneboer: Selected Views is on view @thekitchen_nyc through January 20. It has been a privilege to bring this exhibition to life with @jjan_groeneboer —an artist whose work has been a constant source of inspiration and reference for me over the past 9 years, since meeting @recessart in 2015. One of the things that has always enthralled me about Jonah’s work is its attunement to the nuances of space—the way his sculptures and installations make the spaces they are in vibrate with potential through subtle shifts. His new, three-channel, site-specific installation Selected Views (2024) takes this practice to a new level, turning the entirety of the loft into an x-ray mirror, revealing the material conditions of the city that many of us don’t often take the time to attend to. Filmed entirely through a single window in Jonah’s studio over the course of two and a half years, the views in Selected Views feature the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, The Metropolitan Detention Center Brooklyn, industrial plants, the Port of New York and New Jersey, and the Statue of Liberty, exposing unexpected proximities and interconnections between elements of the cityscape that are rarely considered alongside one another. The installation invites us all as viewers to take up our own practices of sustained looking, both while in the exhibition space, which has its own dramatic vistas over the Hudson River, and outside in our daily patterns of traversing the city. I’m grateful to Jonah for sharing this powerful piece, and thrilled to have the opportunity to invite others to experience the work at The Kitchen at Westbeth. Many thanks as well to @malik_julian_g , @zoe_leonard_studio , @ethanphilbrick for contributing to an incredibly rich afternoon of responses to and reflections on Selected Views—stay tuned for a recording of the program via The Kitchen shortly. Enormous gratitude as well to colleagues @thedavidriley @tassboogie for work on the production of the exhibition, and to all crew members who helped install and run the show. Installation photos by @kyle_knodell .

Moments from an immensely inspiring trip to Svolvær and Harstad in the north of Norway last month. So grateful for the opportunity to be immersed in a picture-perfect landscape; in dialogue with incredible artists and curators; and witness to so many fantastic performances, presentations, and projects. Enormous thanks to @feilkjersti for the invitation to join as part of a research trip and workshop toward @lofotenliaf 2024 and to @nordnorsk_kunstnersenter_nnks , @oca_norway , @norwaynewyork , @festspillnn , @musicnorway , @koro.no for supporting the trip. 1) Historic fisherman's hut on Svinøya 2) Stockfish drying on racks in Svolvær 3) Skrova lighthouse 4–5) Dan Graham's untitled Pavilion (1996), installed in Lofoten as part of Artscape Nordland 6) The North Norwegian Art Centre (NNKS) in Svolvær, home to a rotating exhibition program and producer of the Lofoten International Art Festival (LIAF) every other year 7) Premiere of Festspillene i Nord-Norge festival profile artist Trygve Luktvasslimo's feature film "Bitcoinbilen," featuring the film's signature gold car out front of Harstad Kino's gorgeous mid-century building 8) Culminating moment of scenography by Joar Nango for “BIRGET; Ways to deal, ways to heal” by Nango and Elle Sofe Sara, presented as part of Festspillene i Nord-Norge in Harstad 9) Sankthans festival marking midsummer at Trondenes Historic Center in Harstad 10) Pilgrimage to view the midnight sun in Lofoten – circa 11:30pm

In June, I had the privilege of spending time in Oslo as part of the @oca_norway International Visitor Program — and I left energized by the many visits, conversations, meals, and exchanges that I participated in while there. A few scenes here: 1-2) In Conversation with Kjersti Solbakken, LIAF 2024, at Office for Contemporary Art Norway (OCA) 3) A view of the astounding collection of objects at Guttormsgaards Arkiv, assembled by Guttorm Guttormsgaard (1938-2019) in the interest of telling “a more generous and spacious history of art” 4) One of the rooms of “Virksomheten,” curated by PYTON at Kunstnerforbundet—an exhibition that playfully reimagined the galleries as rooms dedicated to business functions, such as the curators’ “office” seen here. 5) One of Kunstnerforbundet’s archive shelves, housing the remarkable history of Oslo’s oldest privately owned gallery, founded by artists in 1910. 6) Outside view of Momentum 12: “Together as to gather” curated by Tenthaus—an ambitious, polyvocal exhibition that takes the emanates outward from the collective’s collaborative working process. 7) Thora Dolven Balke, “When a Meteorite Hits the Kitchen Table” on view in the evocative exhibition “Moon in Your Mouth” curated by Max Hanus in UKS’s fantastic new space 8) A metalsmithing workshop in th Art and Craft Department at KHiO (Oslo National Academy of the Arts), as seen on a visit with @martejohnslien Thank you to @oca_norway , @lofotenliaf , @norwaynewyork for supporting my visit!

Fall 2022 recap: I had the pleasure of organizing four projects this fall for @thekitchen_nyc as we enter into a new chapter of programming at offsite partner venues and in our temporary space at Westbeth while our 19th Street building undergoes renovations. Photos here show the many environments we traversed and transformed, thanks to the incredible artists and the indefatigable team of @ellerustle @ang.pdf @tassboogie @kerryscheidt #zacktinkelman @waterman64 and everyone else at The Kitchen. 1. Live! From the Kitchen Archives. Organized by Legacy Russell, Alison Burstein, Angelique Rosales Salgado, and Alex Waterman. Installation view, The Armory Show, New York, September 9-11, 2022. Photo by Arthur Hunking. Wallpaper design by @applystickers , digital jukebox by @rgolightly . 2. Cara McManus, Beau Bree Rhee, and Caitlin Scranton in Beau Bree Rhee, Shadow of the Sea, 2022. Performance view, W 20th Street between 10th and 11th Avenues, September 21, 2022. Presented by The Kitchen in partnership with Madison Square Park Conservancy (@madsqparknyc ). Photo by Walter Wlodarczyk. 3. Bria Bacon, Cara McManus, Chaery Moon, Beau Bree Rhee, and Caitlin Scranton in Beau Bree Rhee, Shadow of the Sea, 2022. Performance view, Madison Square Park, September 21, 2022. Artwork pictured: Cristina Iglesias, Landscape and Memory, 2022. Installation view, Madison Square Park. Collection the artist, courtesy Marian Goodman Gallery. © Cristina Iglesias 2022. Photo by Walter Wlodarczyk. 4. Jesús Hilario-Reyes with Bronze Age, Akin to the Hurricane, 2022. Performance view. Presented as part of Sharmi Basu, #HOWDOIFINDYOU?, October 27, 2022, The Kitchen at Westbeth, New York. Photo by Whitney Browne. 5. Sharmi Basu, #HOWDOIFINDYOU?, 2022. Performance view, October 27, 2022, The Kitchen at Westbeth, New York. Photo by Whitney Browne. 6. Will Lee, All it does is turn, 2022. Preview image for videogame. Visit onscreen.thekitchen.org to download and play the game.

Today marks the final day of "In Support," the group show I organized @thekitchen_nyc . I approached four artists whose work I admire deeply-- @fiafiabackstromcom #franciscabenitez @papo.colo @clyntonlowry @arthandlermag -- over the summer to join me in thinking about the endlessly slippery concept of "support" as it relates to nonprofit art institutions. The process that unfolded from there exceeded my imagination in every possible way: the experience of working with, learning from, and problem solving alongside these four incredible artists, as well as the inimitable team at The Kitchen, has expanded my understanding and opened onto a set of questions that I will carry with me into all of my future pursuits. The conversations I had with friends and visitors as they explored (and got lost!) in the building helped me to challenge and rework my assumptions about viewership in art spaces. And the time I spent looking into every nook and cranny of the space, caring for the artworks as they were embedded within the materials and structures, allowed me to delve into the layers of history and community that are housed within the walls of The Kitchen's building. Thank you to everyone who made this show possible, including project manager #zacktinkelman, and enormous gratitude to the artists for bringing so much to this journey at every step of the way! 1) Installation view of Francisca Benítez, "Riego," 2021 2-3) Installation views of Fia Backström, "The Last of US — that safe spot in the dot above the I in the word life," 2021-22 4) Installation view of Clynton Lowry, "Room," 2021 5) Installation view of Francisca Benítez, "Riego," 2021 6-7) Installation views of Papo Colo, "Ceremonies," 2021 8) Fia Backström and Andrea Sisson in Fia Backström, "The Last of US — that safe spot in the dot above the I in the word life," 2021-22. Performance view. 9) Screenshot of Clynton Lowry, "Invisible Art Handler Website," 2021 Photos 1-5 by Kyle Knodell Photo 6, still from video documentation by @iki_nakagawa Photo 8 by Paula Court Thank you to @ellerustle @kerryscheidt @raynastorm @cronkcronkcronk @joewakeman and everyone else at The Kitchen!

#Repost from @thekitchen_nyc : ••• How can we as viewers engage with artworks that melt into their environments? 💭👁 ⁠ This is one of the many questions at the heart of our current group show "In Support." On view through March 12, @fiafiabackstromcom and @clyntonlowry of @arthandlermag 's commissioned works contribute to the show's wide-ranging exploration of the term "support" by calling into question how we see (or don't see) the traces of labor, history, and communities within institutional settings. ⁠ ⁠ We are used to space framing an artwork—a white-walled room, track lighting, a perfectly centered artwork placement help to maintain the focus on the artwork. "In Support" flips this presumption, featuring works in the in-between spaces of the building, in various nooks and corners and on the floor and hallway walls. Backström and Lowry's artworks take up the position on the edges of our spaces, thereby re-framing the context in relation to their pieces. To *find* these works, visitors might need to retrain their eyes — instead of starting from looking directly at the piece, the engagement could begin with taking in the surroundings. These works ask questions about how shifting focus creates different opportunities to recognize and celebrate the processes that go into realizing and presenting work within a space like The Kitchen. ⁠ ⁠ Backström's works in the show have evolved as of this week—come by to explore these changes, and see if you can spot the differences between what you see in these photos (taken in November) and what is currently on view! 🌱 ⁠ "In Support": featuring Fia Backström, Francisca Bénitez, Papo Colo, and Clynton Lowry⁠ On view through March 12⁠ Thursdays–Saturdays*, 2-6pm, free⁠ 512 West 19th Street⁠ ⁠ --⁠ *Please note: "In Support" is closed on select Saturdays: February 19 and March 5 ⁠

Thrilled to share selected works from “In Support,” the exhibition I've had the honor of organizing at The Kitchen in collaboration with a phenomenal group of artists: Fia Backström (@fiafiabackstromcom ), #FranciscaBenítez, Papo Colo (@papo.colo ), and Clynton Lowry (@clyntonlowry of @arthandlermag ). Project management by #ZackTinkelman. Reopening after the holidays on January 8, the exhibition will remain on view at 512 West 19th Street through March 12, 2022. "In Support" takes on the project of parsing various dimensions of support as related to institutional activities. This exhibition calls for an examination of how support operates in distinct—and often unseen— ways as an offering, practice, and position within and beyond institutional settings. Featuring all new commissions, the show unfolds across The Kitchen’s 3 floors and mezzanine levels, including in many areas that have never before been open to the public. The physical placement of the artists’ works furthers the exhibition’s investigations: these pieces respond to interstitial architectural sites that both hold up the building and hold artists, staff, and audience members as they enact, exchange, or negotiate support in its manifold forms. Endless thanks to this dream group of artists—Fia, Francisca, Papo, and Clynton—who have brought so much to this process of experimentation & exploration and whose works continue to expand my thinking around this slippery term/concept in so many ways. Huge gratitude to everyone at The Kitchen who worked with me to bring this exhibition to life: Zack Tinkelman, Legacy Russell (@ellerustle ), Kerry Scheidt (@kerryscheidt ), Rayna Holmes (@raynastorm ), Lauren Cronk (@cronkcronkcronk ), and many many more (full credits and acknowledgements included in exhibition booklet, link in bio). Image credits: 1) Exhibition graphic designed by Rayna Holmes 2) Fia Backström, "The Last of US — that safe spot in the dot above the I in the word life," 2021. Detail. 3) Video still from Francisca Benítez, "Riego," 2021. 4) Papo Colo, "Ceremonies," 2021. Installation view. Photo by Papo Colo. 5) Video still from Clynton Lowry, "Invisible Art Handler (Chop Saw)," 2021.

Install shots from the exhibition “Institution as Form,” curated by me at Tenthaus in Oslo. The show features commissioned installations that capture the ethos and activities of six artist-run institutions. Installations seen in images: 1) @tenthausoslo (founded by @hedberg_moi , @helen_eriksen , and @stefanschroederl , based in Oslo); @coopfund (founded by multiple artists and organizers, based in NY); @khartoum_contemporary (founded by @karin.erixon and @fadlabihimself , based in Oslo). 2) Khartoum and @studycenterforgroupwork (founded by @carolinewoolardstudio , based in NY). 3) Coop Fund; @container_artist_residency (founded by @missstrauss , nomadic project); Khartoum. 4-5) Container Artist Residency. 6) Khartoum and Container Artist Residency. 7) #vandalerforening (founded by multiple artists, based in Oslo). 8) Study Center for Group Work. Photos by Øystein Thorvaldsen.