Allen Ruppersberg in ‘Context Message’ at Zach Feuer Gallery
Allen Ruppersberg, ‘What Should I Do?,’ 1988, silkscreen on steel.
Allen Ruppersberg’s ‘What Should I Do?’ from 1988 poses a simple but often relevant question. It relates to his ‘70s autobiographical project ‘The Novel that Writes Itself’ for which he sold the parts of individual characters to people he knew. By the 80s, he hadn’t resolved the novel and in its place, began accumulating a series of short, unrelated texts like this one. Though only a few words, it assumes a lot: that the speaker has an audience, agency and options. With almost no means, this silkscreen on steel portrays a life in flux. (At Zach Feuer through August 3rd).
Merrily Kerr is an art critic and writer based in New York. For more than 20 years, Merrily has published in international art magazines including Time Out New York, Art on Paper, Flash Art, Art Asia Pacific, Art Review, and Tema Celeste in addition to writing catalogue essays and guest lecturing. Merrily teaches art appreciation at Marymount Manhattan College and has taught for Cooper Union Continuing Education.
For more than a decade Merrily has crafted personalized tours of cultural discovery in New York's galleries and museums for individuals and groups, including corporate tours, collectors, artists, advertising agencies, and student groups from Texas Woman's University, Parsons School of Design, Chicago's Moody Institute, Cooper Union Continuing Education, Hunter College Continuing Education and other institutions. Merrily's tours have been featured in The New York Times, Conde Nast Traveler, Sydney Morning Herald and Philadelphia Magazine.
Merrily is licensed by New York City's Department of Consumer Affairs as a tour guide and is a member of the International Association of Art Critics (AICA USA)
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