Agnes Denes papers on exhibitions and criticism
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Abstract
Agnes Denes (born 1931, Budapest, Hungary) is a conceptual artist based in New York interested in environmental art, environmental activism, and philosophy. Over the course of her artistic career, Denes has participated in more than 450 exhibitions at galleries and museums across the world. This collection documents parts of Denes's career from the 1970s until 2004 and includes published essays by Denes; periodicals and books that contain critical reviews of her work; ephemera from exhibitions and events she was involved in including catalogs, invitations, brochures, and posters; and photocopies of published depictions of her artistic works.
Biographical
Agnes Denes (born 1931, Budapest, Hungary) is a conceptual artist based in New York interested in environmental art, environmental activism, and philosophy. Over the course of her artistic career, Denes has participated in more than 450 exhibitions at galleries and museums across the world. She began her career in the late 1960s and continues to create art in various media, including poetry, philosophical writings, drawings, sculpture, and environmental installations. In 1972, Denes was a founding member of the Artists in Residence (A.I.R.) Gallery in New York City, which was the first all-female artists cooperative gallery in the United States. Denes is most known for her ecological artwork, including Wheatfield – A Confrontation (1982) and Tree Mountain – A Living Time Capsule (1996).
Arrangement
Materials have been grouped together by topic.
Scope and Contents
The Agnes Denes papers on exhibitions and criticism (1971-2004) document parts of Denes's career as a conceptual and environmental artist from the 1970s to 2004. The collection includes published essays by Denes; periodicals and books that contain critical reviews of her work; ephemera from exhibitions and events she was involved in including catalogs, invitations, brochures, and posters; and photocopies of published depictions of her artistic works. Complete or partial copies of Denes's published works including Dialectic Triangle (1970), Inquisition Series from the Organic Notebooks (1971), Thought Complex (1972), Structures of the Mind (1976), Isometric Systems in Isotropic Space Map Projections from the Study of Distortions Series (1979), and Poetry Walk: Reflections--Pools of Thought (2000) are included in the collection. Also included are photographs of Denes's environmental art installations most notably Rice/Tree/Burial with Time Capsule (1969-1979) in Lewiston, New York; Wheatfield--A Confrontation: Battery Park Landfill (1982) in New York City; and Tree Mountain--A Living Time Capsule (1996) in Ylovari, Finland. Pictures of installations and drawings are also present alongside critical reviews and on exhibition and event ephemera.
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Conditions Governing Access
Materials are open without restrictions.
Conditions Governing Use
This collection is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use materials in the collection in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date; Agnes Denes papers on exhibitions and criticism; MSS 181; box number; folder number or item identifier; Fales Library and Special Collections, New York University.
Location of Materials
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated by Agnes Denes, 2006. The accession number associated with this gift is 2006.181.
About this Guide
Processing Information
A graduate student in the Fall 2019 session of Advanced Archival Description HIST-GA.2031 surveyed and wrote a processing plan for this collection. This collection was described by an archivist in the fall of 2021. Materials were placed in new acid-free folders and boxes.
