Institute of Contemporary Art at MECA, On view from January 18 – February 23, 2018, Wednesday - Sunday, 11am-5pm, Thursday until 7pm, First fridays until 8

In 1966, German-born American sculptor Eva Hesse attached a seemingly simple long metal cord to a canvas that dramatically transformed a painting into a sculpture. Such a simple act revolutionized our understanding of what a painting could be. By privileging the painting’s marginal feature—the frame, its structural support — Hang Up transcends the medium’s inherent two-dimensionality.

Off the Wall pays homage to Hesse’s groundbreaking work and investigates how contemporary artists continue to explore this liminal space between painting and sculpture. At times, a painting’s skin slides onto the floor or creeps onto the ceiling. In others, structural components protrude outward into the gallery space. As our spatial relationship with such works is reconfigured, objects on view in Off the Wall permeate into space and challenge our comprehension of both painting and sculpture. To provide an intimate perspective on this topic, Off the Wall will feature a range of works by two Brooklyn-based artists, Rosy Keyser and Ryan Wallace. A representative sampling of work will be presented by each artist to provoke thought about the shifting dynamics between painting and sculpture or sculpture and painting as well as their collision. The exhibition will be accompanied by a catalog with an essay by guest curator Jaime DeSimone.