Adam Lerner

  • February 28, 2017 7:00 PM

TICKETS

Why Does Fred Sandback’s Work Make Me Want to Be Ridiculous?

Sandback was willing to risk his sculptures being nothing at all, and so he was able to create works of art that feel relevant to everything. Adam Lerner on Fred Sandback

Adam Lerner, Director and Chief Animator of the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver, opens this Tuesday Evenings season with “Why Does Fred Sandback’s Work Make Me Want to Be Ridiculous?” Believing that institutions can easily lose their connection to the soul of art, Lerner discusses his unconventional approach to keeping the sacred impulse alive. His talk addresses why he brings magicians, go-go dancers, assorted livestock, and other unexpected elements into the walls of the museum alongside serious exhibitions of contemporary art.

Throughout his career, Lerner has curated numerous exhibitions and projects with contemporary artists, such as Barnaby Furnas, Liam Gillick, and Christian Marclay, as well as showcasing the nontraditional talents of astrobiologists, shamans, and pigeoneers, among others. In her 2012 New York Times article “Puppies, Paintings and Philosophers,” Carol Kino states that Lerner’s work to engage audiences is “reshaping what has become a stale model for a contemporary art museum.” Included in Lerner’s many projects is the exhibition Fred Sandback, co-curated with Nora Burnett Abrams at the MCA Denver, which becomes a point of reference for this Tuesday Evenings presentation.

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Lectures begin at 7 pm in the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth's auditorium. Seating begins at 6:30 pm and is limited to 250; a live broadcast of the presentations is shown in Café Modern for any additional guests. A limited number of tickets (limit two per person) will be available for purchase ($5) from 10 am until 4 pm the day of the lecture online at www.themodern.org/programs/lectures. Free admission tickets (limit two per person) are available at the Modern's information desk beginning at 5 pm on the day of the lecture. The museum galleries remain open until 7 pm on Tuesdays during the series (general admission applies).

Café Modern serves cocktails and appetizers on Tuesday nights during the lecture series.