CCS BARD

Thing Valley is an exhibition that engages with the prop as a surreal, uncanny form situated between action and conclusion. These objects, which once accompanied performances from across time, are now placed in an alternate temporal space—the exhibition space. Bearing the memories of performances, either through their appearances in photographic documentation or through their continued existence as sculptural forms, these objects enter a state of “middlelife.” The performances they enabled may have ended, but, in the museum context, the objects open up new conversations. Here, their material presence comes alive in dialogue between the past, present, and future.

The exhibited works appear frozen in time. Franz Erhard Walther’s Untitled (1969), a canvas book, embodies a static form that resonates with Gillian Wearing’s Trauma #3 (2001), a photographic still from a video performance. In their stillness, these works serve both as records of past performances and as autonomous art objects within the gallery space. Sculptures and photographs, such as Matthew Barney’s Cremaster 1: Red Lounge Manual (1995) and Krzysztof Wodiczko’s Alien Staff (1993), function as physical relics of performances. Meanwhile, works by Paul Chan, John Bock, and Jamie Isenstein—though not records of performances—become performative through their presentation in the gallery, embodying a perpetual intermission when stored away from the exhibition setting.

Thing Valley prompts visitors to understand these artworks as they share their “middlelives” together. This surreal environment creates a space where the real and the imaginary become conflated.

This exhibition features works by Laurie Anderson, Matthew Barney, John Bock, Paul Chan, Robert Gober, Mona Hatoum, Jamie Isenstein, Paul McCarthy, Franz Erhard Walther, Gillian Wearing, and Krzysztof Wodiczko.

Thing Valley is curated by Christopher Gianunzio, Grace Harmer, Gladys Lou, and Amy Qian.