Carolyn Lazard
Support System (for Park, Tina, and Bob), 2016
durational performance with gifted bouquets, dimensions variable
This Walker-organized exhibition marks the first US solo museum presentation of the work of Philadelphia based artist and writer Carolyn Lazard (b. 1987). Working across disciplines and media, Lazard explores the social and political dimensions of care at the intersection of race, gender, and disability. Focusing on accessibility and dependency, their artworks and published writings center illness as a site of abundance and collectivity.
For their exhibition at the Walker, the artist presents Untitled, a newly conceived installation incorporating a moving image work and a bespoke seating arrangement. At the core of the installation is a video documentation of a performance between a performer and a careworker, exploring the body’s capacity for work, endurance, and rest. Lazard’s work questions the ableist expectations of what bodies can and should do under capitalism. How do cycles of illness and care disrupt demands for efficiency and productivity? How can we value each other’s lives regardless of our capacity to labor?
The exhibition can be viewed while seated on a variety of furniture – standard gallery benches, high and low chairs, cushioned surfaces – that have been selected by Lazard, each drawing our attention to the way in which institutions can or cannot accommodate different kinds of bodies.
Concurrently to the exhibition, the Walker is presenting A Conspiracy (2017), a work by Lazard recently added to the Walker’s collection. Installed in the P1 corridor, the work consists of a grid of white noise machines typically used to generate a sense of privacy within a hospital or therapist’s office.
Carolyn Lazard
February 12–December 11, 2022
Curatorial Team
Pavel Pyś, curator, Visual Arts.
Opening Day Talk
Saturday, February 12
Garden Terrace Room, 1 pm
Join Carolyn Lazard and exhibition curator Pavel Pyś for a conversation about the exhibition and Lazard’s artistic and writing practices.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Carolyn Lazard is a Philadelphia and New York-based artist working across video, sound, sculpture, and performance. Lazard has participated in exhibitions at several institutions including the Walker Art Center, KW Institute for Contemporary Art, MIT List Visual Arts Center, Palais de Tokyo, Museum für Moderne Kunst, and the New Museum. Lazard was included in the 2019 Whitney Biennial and is a recipient of the 2021 United States Artist Fellowship. Their writing has been published in the Brooklyn Rail, Mousse Magazine, and Triple Canopy. In 2019, Lazard published Accessibility in the Arts: A Promise and a Practice, an open source accessibility guide for small-scale arts organizations.