Elizabeth Catlett

Blondell Cummings

Sophia Giovannitti

Goldin+Senneby

Irena Haiduk

Sidsel Meineche Hansen

Chauncey Hare

Gabrielle L’Hirondelle Hill

Yazan Khalili

Autumn Knight

Carolyn Lazard

Ghislaine Leung

Reba Maybury

Senga Nengudi

Adrian Piper

Joshua Schwebel

Dread Scott

Xaviera Simmons

Cally Spooner

Ced'art Tamsala

Cassie Thornton

Constantina Zavitsanos

Artur Zmijewski

MIT List Visual Arts Center, Cambridge

MIT List Visual Arts Center

A man sits on a sturdy chest or box and looks down at the packet of paper in his hands. The white walls behind him are marked with dense lines of colored tape and splotches and smears of red paint. The space is viewed through four glass doors; the far left one reads, “MIT List Visual Arts Center.”

A view of a passageway into a gallery. On the left, six framed photographs showing figures in period dress hang on the wall; on the right is a vinyl introductory exhibition text.

Artworks fill a gallery space, including photographs in freestanding wooden vitrines, a small glass sculpture on a metal wall shelf, video monitors with headphones, framed grayscale photographs of performances, and a yellow rectangular foam sculpture leaning against a wall.

A vaguely boat- or wonton-shaped transparent glass sculpture sits on a metal wall shelf. The sculpture contains an inner space or shape that resembles an abstracted figure, with a rounded head and ovular body.

In a corner on the left, a droopy sculpture consists of paired ovular black and brown masses hanging from stick wedged horizontally between the walls. On the right, on a wall further back, framed photographs depict a procession of people carrying flags and weapons. In the center, a sheet of paper with text hangs on the wall.

In the foreground, grayscale photographs and an open book occupy a wooden vitrine. The photographs show people in interior spaces, like a man sitting in a kitchen near a stovepipe and a child in a bath near his mother. Other artworks fill the background, including a droopy sculpture, a video monitor depicting a lecture, and a photograph of a procession.

In the foreground on the right, a freestanding wooden vitrine is filled with grayscale photographs: these include a figure sprawled on a chair and a man sitting limply on a porch. Other artworks fill the background, including a boxy monitor depicting a seated woman and a framed photograph of printed pages of text hanging on a wall.

A photograph framed in light wood hangs on the wall. The photograph shows three printed pages hanging, in turn, on a white wall above a couch, only a fragment of which is visible. An unsigned contract is printed on the pages. At the top of the left page, a title is printed in cursive: “Deed of Ownership and Conditions of Existence.”

A document titled 'Contract Choreography 1,’ printed on white paper with black text, is pinned to a wall. The text is formatted with numbered bullet points, appearing as a set of instructions and questions for discussion.

A boxy video monitor with built-in speakers sits on a streamlined metal stand with two stools in front of it. Onscreen, the grayscale image shows a woman wearing white raising her arm straight above her head in a kitchen.

A multimedia installation consists of two parts. On the left, a boxy monitor shows the blurry heads and torsos of dancing figures. On the right, two framed photographs show a woman, her face painted white, wearing sunglasses; little other than her face and right hand are visible. A pair of headphones hangs under the photographs.

A large window frames a view of a lawn, a building, and a low curving wall. Inside, a sculpture stretches across the upper third of the window: thick, slightly lumpy letters reading “IM SORRY MOM” hang from a taut cable. The center of the second “O” is filled in with tangled red fabric, like viscera. The wall on the left is scuffed; on the right, a small painting showing two women, one topless, hangs.

Three stuffed fabric letters spell 'MOM' and hang on a cable in front of a large window. The plush letters are brown or burgundy, and the middle of the ‘O’ is filled with a tangled mass of reddish-pink fabric that hangs down to reach the bottom of the frame.

Three nearly identical paintings hang across two gallery walls, which are perpendicular but separated by a passageway traversed by a blurry figure. The golden-green paintings show two women reclining: The one in the foreground is topless, and seems almost cradled by her clothed companion, who leans over her. The trio of paintings is interrupted by an open rectilinear wood frame encasing soft yellow foam and leaning against the right wall, which is freestanding and doesn’t meet the ceiling.

An open rectilinear wood frame encasing soft yellow foam stands vertically and leans against a wall. It is shown from the side at an angle, emphasizing the gap created by its lean.

A golden-green painting in a 19th-century European style shows two women half-reclining: The one in the foreground is topless, and seems almost cradled by her clothed companion, who leans over her. The painting is crude and seems separated into layers of uniformly applied color.  The white wall around the painting is marked by golden hanging hardware and irregular square of tape-like material.

A dark floor, marked with scratches and drips of white paint, displays the white text 'PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH' next to a white circular symbol of a hand with a diagonal line through it.

A dark, textured floor with white and gray residue, streaks, and numerous fine scratches. The surface has an uneven, mottled appearance.

An irregular, textured mass of white and light brown material appears congealed on a dark, scratched floor. The dark background has numerous small white specks and thin linear marks.

A dark, reflective floor is covered with numerous scuff marks and scattered white, drippy residue. Reflections of a window and the spindly legs of stools are visible towards the top of the frame.

A close-up of a dark floor with various light marks and striations. A large dust bunny sits atop a footprint.

A dark wooden beam, the bottom of a freestanding vitrine, extends diagonally across a floor. Light striations, specks of dirt, and numerous dust bunnies sit on the floor underneath the vitrine.

A close-up of a corner where a window frame meets a white wall and a gray floor. The corner is speckled with various light marks and dust.

A single brass picture hook is mounted on a white wall.

A white wall features a small, horizontal gray residue mark with a magenta paint splash on its right end. A white baseboard runs along the bottom, above a dark, mottled floor.

Scuffs and small holes outline an oblong, vertical, rectangular shape on an otherwise bare white wall. Near the floor, a smaller rectangle is cut from the wall entirely, exposing the wooden planks inside. Sawdust and scraps of wood spew from the hole onto the floor nearby.

Scuffs and small holes outline an oblong, vertical, rectangular shape on an otherwise bare white wall. Near the floor, a smaller rectangle is cut from the wall entirely, spewing saw dust and scraps of wood onto the floor nearby. A second wall is visible behind the freestanding one.

A white wall is punctured by a dark circular hole. Above the hole, four much smaller holes form a diamond shape.

A close-up view of delicate black and white shavings sitting on the floor, where a white wall meets the ground. They recall lichen or ash.

A close-up view of a glass surface covered in numerous fine, white scratches or marks. The blurry background shows an interior space with a concrete ceiling and dark architectural frames.

A close-up of a glass door covered in many white smudges and fingerprints. A silver handle with the word 'PUSH' is visible in the lower right, and a blurry interior is seen through the glass.

In the foreground, two bunny sculptures—one red, one beige—sit on pedestals, facing away from each other. In the background, on the wall, a stripe of black paint outlines documents tacked in a row (some of their contents redacted in black rectangles) and a video monitor showing a woman’s head. On the far right, a different wall is marked by flowing horizontal lines and a drippy substance.

Artworks occupy a gallery, including three large video monitors (each with two pairs of headphones), a table encasing documents, a boxy wooden sculpture, and two soft rabbit sculptures.

In the foreground, a rectangular table encases documents and drawings—an orange envelope, printed letters, small photographs—under a sheet of clear glass. Handheld magnifiers and a bound volume sit on top of the glass. Other artworks occupy the background, including a boxy monitor showing a dance rehearsal and printed emails hanging in a row on a wall.

In the foreground on the right, a boxy CRT monitor shows a nondescript rehearsal space with a line of figures toward the back. On the left, other artworks recede into the background, including a small framed print, a wooden sculpture with a head poking above a boxy form, and a large video monitor showing a man in sunglasses.

In the foreground, a rectangular table encases documents and drawings—an orange envelope, printed letters, small photographs—under a sheet of clear glass. Handheld magnifiers and a bound volume sit on top of the glass. Two large flatscreen monitors hang on a wall in the background: one shows figures in a snowy landscape; the other shows a factory worker fabricating a red puzzle-like sculpture.

In the center, a boxy wooden sculpture sits on a low pedestal: its front face is carved with palm trees and grasping hands, while a head emerges from the sculpture’s top, looking toward the viewer. Framed works occupy the wall on either side: a black-and-white drawing of an abstract map, and a blue print showing a woman playing guitar.

A group of artworks—including a flatscreen monitor, a wooden sculpture on a white pedestal, and grayscale drawing—occupy a corner of a gallery. The screen displays a video of a person speaking, with subtitles reading 'The offences only add up. The sculpture is sacred. It must be returned to us.'

A group of artworks—including a flatscreen monitor, a wooden sculpture, a grayscale drawing, and a blue booklet encased on top of a wooden pedestal—occupy a corner of a gallery. One of the walls is marked by faint, gently sloping horizontal lines.

On a white wall, a stripe of black paint outlines printed documents tacked in a row (some of their contents redacted in black rectangles) and a video monitor showing a webcam feed of a woman’s head. A small wall shelf holding two stacks of paper hangs below the stripe, towards the installation’s left side.

Two printed documents, appearing to be contracts, are displayed side-by-side on a white shelf against a white wall. The left is labeled “Contract for Services” and the right “FOREST CITY GALLERY Exhibition Contract.” The visible text includes dates, the names of parties to the contracts, and other legal text.

Three printed emails are displayed side-by-side on a white wall, showing correspondence related to a money transfer to someone named Camille; a confused inquiry from a granting agency about an employee’s email signature; and the gallery director’s burnout. Theemails are dated April and May 2021.

A printout of an email on white paper, secured to a dark surface with two pushpins. The email, dated July 23, 2022, is from Josh Schwebel to Mitchel Cumming discussing a project archive, burnout in the art sector, and a request to reproduce their email correspondence for the archive.

Two lumpy rabbit-shaped sculptures—one brown, one red—are perched on white pedestals, facing away from each other. The soft forms of their bodies—abdomen, head, ears, legs—are made from translucent, delicately sewn pantyhose stuffed with dried tobacco leaves. The red one, on the right, has an eye made from a small white flower.

A framed print hanging on a wall shows a Black woman—rendered mostly in black ink—seated in a chair playing guitar. To her right, two images emerge from a swirling blue background: a hooded figure leans forward to assail another figure, and flames shoot upwards from a cross.

A close-up image of a white wall with lines traveling from left to right, like a comparison line graph. One line fluctuates around a consistent position, while another travels downward, intersecting the other near the image’s right edge. A more diffuse horizontal band of brown-gray color marks the wall horizontally; in one place, its lower edge bleeds down in a few darker drips.

A white wall features three faint, thin horizontal lines that gradually crest upwards and downwards, as well as a more diffuse light brown or gray horizontal band across the middle. The floor in the foreground is dark gray.

A large flatscreen monitor shows the back of a man’s head and layered silhouettes of posing workers cut from silvery metal. Fluctuating lines—two made in pencil, and one diffuse line made of spray tan—travel across the wall behind the monitor.

On the left, the screen component of a baby monitor hangs on a wall, dwarfed by the white space around it. On the right, a simple chart labeled “Performing Conditions” is printed on the wall, reaching almost floor to ceiling. The chart is a budget broken up into categories (like Travel/Accomodation and Catalogue) and subcategories (like Writers’ Fees and Shipping).

A budget spreadsheet titled "Performing Conditions" is displayed as a vinyl on the wall. It lists various expense categories, such as fees, travel, and production, with corresponding dollar amounts. The document also includes sections for individual and institutional project support, each with associated financial figures. Both expenses and support total $271,859.

The viewing screen of a baby monitor—with navigation and menu buttons and a white antenna—is attached to a white wall. The feed on the screen shows a person seated on a bench in a dark gallery, watching a projected film.

The viewing screen of a baby monitor—with navigation and menu buttons and a white antenna—is attached to a white wall. The feed on the screen shows a single metal stool against the background of dark gray walls and a sliver of concrete floor.

The viewing screen of a baby monitor—with navigation and menu buttons and a white antenna—is attached to a white wall. It is dwarfed by an expanse of white wall and a sliver of gray floor. The feed on the screen shows a single metal stool.

The recording component of a baby monitor—a bulbous camera joined to a cylindrical base, a bit like an eye in a socket—sits on a small wall shelf in a darkly painted room. Below, a small wall label identifies the work.

A film—showing a child on some rocks near a rushing waterfall—is projected in a dark gallery that also contains soft benches in an L shape and vinyl wall text.

In the background, a film—showing superimposed images of buildings, water, a railing, and an older man—is projected large on a wall, flanked by speakers and acoustic paneling. Three soft benches meet to form an L shape in the foreground.

In the background, a film—a grayscale image of a pipeline surrounded by figures, captioned “this is the Haifa shore”—is projected large on a wall, flanked by speakers and acoustic paneling. In the foreground, a person sits on a bench, watching.

Three bulletin boards covered in reproduced newspaper clippings, photographs, posters, and documents hang in a dark gallery. To their right is vinyl wall text and the camera portion of a baby monitor.

A bulletin board is covered with grayscale documents, mostly letter-sized and covered in text. The largest text is on a flier announcing an “open hearing” at the School of Visual Arts. Another flier enjoins “architects, choreographers … critics, writers, designers” and others to “DEMONSTRATE OUR STRENGTH AT MOMA!”

A bulletin board is covered by reproduced documents. In a row at the top, issues of <em>The Tech </em>convey headlines of antiwar protests: “Well-armed police rout I-lab pickets,” reads one. The bulletin board also features copies of posters: one prominently displays the date March 4, while others enjoin readers to come to MIT in November.

Reproduced documents are arranged on a bulletin board. Most consist of text, but one is a grayscale illustration of the outline of Central and South America, filled in with small crosses. The continent is gripped by a hand with stars and stripes on its cuff. Towards the top of the board, a row of photograph shows an exhibition of technological art: shiny balloons and glowing orbs.

A bronze penny-share dish filled with coins sits on a white desk surface, with concave shelving visible below. The surface of the dish has raised text that reads: “LEAVE-A-PENNY” on its top edge and “TAKE-A-PENNY” on its bottom edge.

A small brass dish holding a few coins rests on a white counter in the foreground. Behind it, a lobby leads to a translucent glass doors marked "MIT List Visual Arts Center," revealing an exhibition space with white walls covered in red and yellow markings.

A boxy monitor is positioned against a window, through which a street and the buildings of a campus are visible. The screen shows white text against a bright blue background, reading, “Every dollar spent by the education industry in physical equipment needed to send a message to you is matched by forty dollars spent by you to receive it.”

A boxy monitor is positioned against a window, through which a street, construction equipment, and the buildings of a campus are visible. The screen shows white text against a bright blue background, reading, “Education delivers students.”

A white wall—densely marked with handprints and vertical trails of red paint, as well as obscure geometric figures made of colored tape—occupies most of the frame. The portion of the gray floor that is visible is also marked with boxes and brackets of multicolored tape.

A man sits on a sturdy chest or box and looks down at the packet of paper in his hands. The white walls behind him are marked with dense lines of colored tape and splotches and smears of red paint. Other objects, like a hat and a typewriter, are arranged at his feet.

A man wearing a tie stands in a lunge position, one hand pointing at a splotch of red paint on a white wall. The rest of the wall is covered with dense lines of colored tape and splotches and smears of paint.

The top half of a man wearing a collared shirt and tie is shown against the background of white walls covered in tape diagrams and irregular red paint. He uses one palm to smear or apply paint onto the wall in front of him.

A man rests on his elbows and knees in a gallery, his hands covered in red paint. The white walls behind him are covered in geometric forms made of colored tape, and handprints and smears of red paint. The gray floor is also marked with crisscrossing lines of tape.

A man wearing a tie stands in a theatrical pose in a gallery: knees slightly bent, arms above his head, palms upturned. The walls and floor around him are marked with dense lines of colored tape and splotches and smears of red paint. A few props, like a hat, a typewriter, and a phone, sit on the floor too.

Three walls and the floor of a gallery are densely marked—with handprints and vertical smears of red paint, and with geometric figures and boxes made of colored tape. A few objects, including a metal folding chair, a shipping chest, a typewriter, and a phone, sit on the floor atop the tape markings.

A cluster of shiny, iridescent silver balloons shaped like letters and punctuation marks, including two question marks, reflects pink, purple, and blue light against a dark, blurred background.

A row of vertical fluorescent light tubes, glowing blue, pink, and orange, stands on a wooden box. Wires with switches connect to the bases of the tubes, and additional colored lights are visible in the dark background.

Black party hats are arranged on a dark surface. One hat says "MOM" in white letters, and the stacks of hats say "SORRY" in white letters. The background is blurred with purple and blue neon lights.

A large, dark space is transformed into a lounge-like performance space, illuminated by vibrant blue, pink, orange, and purple neon lights that trace the contours of the room, including a mezzanine and staircase. Furniture, including sofas, chairs, and bean bags, is arranged on the floor, with a disco ball hanging from the ceiling.

A person in dark clothing stands on a metal mezzanine, holding a cluster of silver balloons shaped like large letters. A disco ball hangs from the ceiling, and the industrial-style room is illuminated by blue and orange tube lights.

Two people hold up large, shiny, silver helium balloons (including the letters M, E, and R); perhaps one is handing the balloons to the other. An audience is seated around them, and colorful neon lights illuminate the background.

A person in dark clothing and glasses speaks into a microphone, standing behind a black tiered cart. On the cart's top shelf are three stacks of party hats that read "SORRY" and "MOM." An audience is seated in the colorful, neon-lit background.

A person wearing black clothing and black glasses sits on a dark stage floor, looking to her left. She sits on a large black backdrop that extends from the wall to the floor, illuminated in a pool of light.

A person with glasses and a dark shirt stands center stage, speaking into a microphone and holding a white instant camera. She is flanked by smiling audience members, both wearing pointed black party hats.

Against a dark backdrop, a performer dressed in black makes an exaggerated face—a smile stretched into a look of surprise or fright—while sitting next to a crouched audience member wearing a party hat. Another audience kneels in front of them, leaning forward to take a picture. Glowing vertical light tubes stand in the foreground on the right.

Two people are posed together onstage against a dark backdrop, one smiling broadly, the other looking downward. An audience member kneels in front of them, leaning forward to take a picture. Glowing vertical light tubes stand in the foreground on the right, with additional figures partially visible along the picture’s edges.

A person in dark clothing and glasses stands center, speaking into a microphone, with three other people seated around them on a dark stage. The audience members all wear black party hats.

A group of people, many wearing dark party hats, are gathered in a room lit with pink and blue neon lights. A woman with red hair stands up from her seat holding a glittery silver banner of strung letters reading 'FORGOT YOUR BIRTHDAY.’

A man wearing a black party hat and a blue and black jacket kneels, holding a white instant camera to his face. Several people in party hats are seated in the blurred background.

A dark room is illuminated by bright pink and blue neon lights. A banner with the letters "OOPS" strung together is hung on the wall, alongside a diagonal slash of blue tube lighting. Two people wearing pointed party hats are partially visible in the foreground.

A large group of people, many wearing conical party hats, are gathered in a performance space. A speaker stands at the front addressing the seated audience, while neon lights, a disco ball, text banners, and silver balloons shaped like question marks decorate the multi-level room.

A performer in glasses and a dark shirt speaks into a microphone, gesturing to a seated audience. Many attendees wear conical party hats, and a large silver balloon shaped like the letter R visible on the right. Colorful vertical light tubes glow on a table in the foreground.

A person with short hair and dark glasses smiles while holding a microphone and leaning towards another person. The second person, wearing a party hat and a checkered sweater, pins a dollar bill to the performer’s shirt. Blurred figures and neon lights are visible in the background.

A person with a bald head and glasses, dressed in dark clothing, speaks into a microphone while standing in front of a seated audience. Many audience members wear black party hats with "SORRY" and “MOM” printed on them. The background features a metal staircase and neon lighting in pink and green hues.

A person holding a microphone stands and feeds a spoonful of food to a seated older woman wearing a patterned cardigan. Several other people in black party hats are seated around them in an indoor setting with neon lights.

A performer wearing glasses with dollar bills pinned to her shirt scoops dark ice cream from a large white bucket. Several people, many wearing black party hats, stand in line to be served.

Two people face away from the camera towards a dimly lit room with colorful lighting and seated audience members. The person on the left, with a bald head and glasses, holds a microphone and extends a spoonful of dark ice cream towards the other person. The person on the right wears a party hat, a head covering, and a puffer jacket, leaning forward with an open mouth.

A person in a black outfit and glasses stands in the center of a performance space and holds a microphone to a seated man’s mouth. A few dollar bills are pinned to her chest. Many audience members wear pointed party hats, and the room is illuminated with multicolored lights and disco ball patterns.

A person with dark-rimmed glasses and a black collared shirt speaks into a microphone. A few dollar bills are pinned to her chest. The room is illuminated by colored lighting and adisco ball, and audience members wearing party hats are visible in the background.

A group of people, many wearing pointed party hats, clap around a glowing light sculpture in a dimly lit room. The sculpture features vertical tubes emitting blue, purple, orange, and red light. A person in dark clothing leans over the illuminated sculpture, clutching a microphone behind her back.

A person in dark clothing and glasses holds a microphone, speaking into it, while standing in front of several glowing vertical light tubes in blue, yellow, and pink. Other people are visible in the dimly lit background; one wears a party hat reading “MOM.”

A white sheet of paper displays a handwritten message in blue ink: 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOMMY Love, Meryl.' Small candle flames are drawn above some letters, and a simple cake drawing appears near the top. The paper partially obscured by a stack of dark napkins in the upper right.

Performing Conditions: Artistic Labor and Dependency as FormMIT List Visual Arts Center, Cambridge

Exhibition Images

Performing Conditions: Artistic Labor and Dependency as Form
MIT List Visual Arts Center, Cambridge