Allen Ruppersberg, How To Make A Good Print (State II) #1–8, 1996. Courtesy of the artist and Hamilton Press, Los Angeles
Allen Ruppersberg, How To Make A Good Print (State II) #1–8, 1996. Courtesy of the artist and Hamilton Press, Los Angeles


1150 25th St / McEvoy Foundation for the Arts

Opening Reception: June 1st | 6pm–8pm

What is an edition, anyway? explores the traditions, conditions, and inventive expressions of the contemporary artist's multiple.

This group exhibition presents artworks from the McEvoy Family Collection and the collection of Thomas Cvikota alongside new and commissioned projects by Enrique Chagoya, Daniel Clowes, Ala Ebtekar, Jonn Herschend, Stephanie Syjuco, and Hank Willis Thomas. A related daily video program, curated by Tanya Zimbardo, features works from visual artist Alison O’Daniel.

What is an edition, anyway? is the Bay Area version of an exhibition of the same name co-curated by Cvikota for Chicago’s Mana Contemporary in 2018. For this iteration, or “edition,” artistic approaches in photography, performance, illustration, technology, and installation further explore the notion of an edition as an idea reproduced in limited quantities.

Featuring limited-edition artists’ books, prints, album covers, film ephemera, and other objects dating from the mid-20th century to the present, the exhibition provides a historical context to editions-based practices while engaging six contemporary artists to contribute creative projects that reflect their personal interpretations of the concept. Themes of politics, ownership, authenticity, sampling, distribution, creative autonomy, and empowerment run strongly through the presented objects and artworks.

Additional performances, screenings, talks, and workshops will take place throughout the run of the exhibition, including special programs presented in tandem with the San Francisco Art Book Fair (July 19–21, 2019).