LAWRENCE WEINER: ANYTHING ADDED TO SOMETHING

Pace is pleased to present its first major exhibition of work by Lawrence Weiner at its Seoul gallery, entitled “ANYTHING ADDED TO SOMETHING”.

November 8 – December 28, 2024

A pioneering figure in the international Conceptual art scene of the 1960s, Weiner’s use of language was a powerful and transformative gesture to performance. Bringing the receiver of his work into its performative existence, the context and resonance of his art proposed radical questions pertaining to the nature of objects. The artist adopted language as his primary material in the late 1960s when he issued his “Declaration of Intent,” a seminal text within the early development of Conceptual art:

1. The artist may construct the piece

2. The piece may be fabricated

3. The piece need not be built

[Each being equal and consistent with the intent of the artist, the decision as to condition rests with the receiver upon the occasion of receivership]

Weiner described his medium as “language + the materials referred to.” He merged word and material in an act of performance to create his work, which developed over the years to include graphic elements and gestures in his signature style. Central to the work is the reliance on the viewer’s reading of it, which is based on one’s lived experiences. Weiner’s open-ended statements inevitably draw out insights and emotions that are personal to the viewer. His artworks—which, throughout his career, he installed atop walls, floors, windows, manhole covers, and buildings; printed in books and on posters; and occasionally sung—are deeply connected to the physical, cultural, and social circumstances of their environments. The artist translated his works into numerous languages so that they could be understood in the contexts of their institutional and public presentations around the world.

As the artist once said, “Anything that exists has a certain space around it; even an idea occupies space.” Weiner’s ANYTHING ADDED TO SOMETHING (2009/2024) occupies the second floor of Pace’s Seoul gallery. Viewers are confronted by the scale of the work as well as the social, economic, and environmental implications of anything added to something.