editions

although I’ve been sneaking into different spheres of the art system – from a more conceptual practice in institutional exhibitions to commodity-form works in art galleries and elitist fairs – with this section, I’m interested in exploring alternative models of sustainability while creating a space of transparency.¹ Being a bit more affordable, these editions (hopefully) will connect the work with different people – while establishing other forms of distribution  – making a portion of the production more accessible but also creating unmediated (in the sense of other commercial agents) relations of exchange. 

all editions are standalone pieces, produced by the artist in a limited run specially to be sold directly from the studio. They come signed and numbered and with a certificate of authenticity. Once they sell out, they will not be reproduced.

for more information or inquires,
please send an email to ilesartuzi@gmail.com

available editions:

money and its double
the gift

1. I. We don’t usually talk about value within the art world. Either because it is a complex subject (to account for the pure abstraction of value and the difficulty to acknowledge labour time or other intrinsic value as material costs in relation to the work of art) or because it can reveal mechanisms that are better working in its opaqueness (as a system of self-validation). Some could argue that its mundanity would profane art. The reality is that although there is a structural assimilation of the art world to other systems – the artistic archetype of innovation and creativity are now everywhere in demand – the art market retains shady, local and archaic customs that benefits privileged information, speculation and the lack of transparency, often painted as an “amorous ethos” which “licenses opacity and irrationality in the mildest case, and vast reserves of corruption in the worst – a libidinising of commodity exchange that perhaps throws into relief the far-from-rational laws of operation of capitalist markets more broadly.” Thus, in the global capitalist economy increasing since the late twentieth century, “for which various kinds of ‘groundlessness’ (of money, value, etc) assume greater centrality”, the idea of the Romantic genius “has tended to render art a constitutively pliable, empty and speculative category of activity, a form of thought or nomination which often seems suggestively close to the protean forms of capital value
   II. Similarly to the way the artistic archetype has been incorporated, characteristics of the precarious neo-liberal worker are also reflected in the multitasking all-rounder artist, who is now also expected to act as “an entrepreneur dealing in his own cause.” Contrary to the idea that the artist is “someone who is genuinely removed from the market and solely interested in his or her own work” it is clear that, in fact, they “have to make commercially relevant decisions (concerning formats, material expenses, or distribution issues) every day.”
   III. Artist Editions have been made to support cultural institutions and socials causes. However, it is often forgotten the other fragile part of this system, the role that often works without getting paid. 
   
   [quoting or referencing the works of Marina Vishmidt, Isabelle Graw, Suhail Malik and Andrea Phillips among others]