Group Material was a group of

conceptual art Conceptual art, also referred to as conceptualism, is art in which the concept(s) or idea(s) involved in the work take precedence over traditional aesthetic, technical, and material concerns. Some works of conceptual art, sometimes called insta ...

ists and an exhibition space, active from 1979 to 1996, which included

Jenny Holzer Jenny Holzer (born July 29, 1950) is an American neo-conceptual artist, based in Hoosick, New York. The main focus of her work is the delivery of words and ideas in public spaces and includes large-scale installations, advertising billboards, ...

Julie Ault Julie Ault (born 1957) is an American artist, curator, and editor who was a cofounder of Group Material, a New York-based artists' collaborative that has produced over fifty exhibitions and public projects exploring relationships between politi ...

Barbara Kruger Barbara Kruger (born January 26, 1945) is an American conceptual artist and collagist associated with the Pictures Generation. She is most known for her collage style that consists of black-and-white photographs, overlaid with declarative captio ...

Louise Lawler Louise Lawler (born 1947) is a U.S. artist and photographer living in Brooklyn, New York.Louise Lawler ...

, Félix González-Torres,

Hans Haacke Hans Haacke (born August 12, 1936) is a Germany, German-born artist who lives and works in New York City. Haacke is considered a "leading exponent" of Institutional Critique. Early life Haacke was born in Cologne, Germany. He studied at the ''S ...

, and others as members and participants. The group operated a gallery space in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, where exhibitions such as 1981's ''The People's Choice (Arroz con Mango)'' took place. ''The People's Choice'' consisted of more than a hundred objects loaned from neighborhood residents, often accompanied by a personal story about the object. Later, the group moved to headquarters on 26th Street in Manhattan and created exhibitions and installations in a number of locations throughout the US and occasionally in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. Group Material participated in the 1985

Whitney Whitney may refer to: Film and television * ''Whitney'' (2015 film), a Whitney Houston biopic starring Yaya DaCosta * ''Whitney'' (2018 film), a documentary about Whitney Houston * ''Whitney'' (TV series), an American sitcom that premiered i ...

Biennial Biennial means (an event) lasting for two years or occurring every two years. The related term biennium is used in reference to a period of two years. In particular, it can refer to: * Biennial plant, a plant which blooms in its second year and th ...

with their show ''Americana'', which included appliances and

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former descri ...

alongside historical artworks. The group used

advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...

space in a number of their works and exhibitions, including placing artworks as ads in newspapers, on billboards and buses, and on subway platforms. Notably, in 1988, the group created a project with the

Public Art Fund Public Art Fund is an independent, non-profit arts organization founded in 1977 by Doris C. Freedman. The organization presents contemporary art in New York City's public spaces through a series of highly visible artists' projects, new commissions, ...

called ''Inserts'', which took the form of an advertising supplement to

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

. The supplements were distributed in parts of

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

and

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

. A copy of the supplements is included in the collection of the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...

. The group's archive is held in the special collections of

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

Exhibitions

Chronological list of exhibitions and performances * October 4–27, 1980 ''"Inaugural Exhibition"'' * November 4–11, 1980 ''"The Salon Election of '80"'' * November 22-December 21, 1980 ''"ALIENATION"'' * January 10-February 1, 1981 ''"The People's Choice (Arroz con Mango)"'' * February 14-March 9, 1981 ''"It's a Gender Show!"'' * March 7, 1981 ''"Revolting Music"'' * March 21-April 20, 1981 ''"Consumption: Metaphor, Pastime, Necessity"'' * May 2-June 4, 1981 ''"Facere/Fascis"'' * June 14–30, 1981 ''"Atlanta: An Emergency Exhibition"'' * July 11, 1981 ''"Eat This Show"'' * October 31-November 28, 1981 ''"Enthusiasm!"'' * December 10, 1981 – January 10, 1982 ''"M5"'', Interior bus advertisements, Fifth Avenue bus lines, New York * April 16, 1982 ''"DA ZI BAOS,"'' 14th Street and Park Avenue South, Union Square, New York * March 25-May 1, 1982 ''"Works on Newspaper"'' * May 29-July 17, 1982 ''"Primer (for Raymond Williams)"'' * June 19-July 9, 1982 ''"Luchar!: An Exhibition for the People of Central America"'' * April 14, 1982 ''"Revolutionary Fine Arts,"'' Taller Latinoamericano, New York * September 1–30, 1983 ''"Subculture,"'' Interior advertisements, IRT subway trains, New York. Concurrent exhibition held at Taller Latinoamericano, New York * January 22-March 18, 1984 ''"Timeline: A Chronicle of U.S. Intervention in Central and Latin America"'' * January 11-February 8, 1985 ''"A.D.: Christian Influence in Contemporary Culture"'' * March 21-June 9, 1985 ''"Americana"'' * April 27-May 25, 1985 ''"Democracy Wall"'' * 1985-1986 ''"MASS,"'' various locations: Hallwalls, Buffalo, New York; The New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York; Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions, Los Angeles; Artspace, Sydney Australia, and others * September 1-October 12, 1985 ''"Messages to Washington"'' * November 7-December 19, 1985 ''"Alarm Clock," "The Other America"'' * February 22-March 22, 1986 ''"Liberty & Justice"'' * May 24-June 14, 1986 ''"Arts and Leisure"'' * February 6–28, 1987 ''"Resistance (Anti-Baudrillard)"'' * June 12-September 20, 1987 ''"The Castle," "documenta 8"'' * May 22, 1988 ''"Inserts,"'' Advertising supplement to the Sunday New York Times * September, 1988-January, 1989 ''"Democracy"'' * October 1-November 14, 1987 ''"Constitution"'' * September 15-October 8, 1988 ''"Democracy: Education"'' * October 15-November 12, 1988 ''"Democracy: Politics and Election"'' * November 19-December 10, 1988 ''"Democracy: Cultural Participation"'' * December 19, 1968 – January 14, 1989 ''"Democracy: AIDS and Democracy: A Case Study"'' * December 16, 1988 – February 13, 1989 ''"AIDS & Democracy"'' aka ''"Elegy"'' * June 1-December 1, 1989 ''"Unisex"'' * October 14-November 26, 1989 ''"Shopping Bag"'' * November 11, 1989 – January 28, 1990 ''"AIDS Timeline"'' * February 23-March 30, 1990 ''"Your Message Here,"'' Billboard project * June 26-July 5, 1990 ''"Democracy Poll,"'' Insert in Der Togesspiegel, U-Bahn station, billboards, and an electronic billboard * September 1–30, 1990 ''"AIDS & Insurance,"'' Exterior bus advertisement * September 30-November 18, 1990 ''"AIDS Timeline"'' * October 26, 1990 – January 13, 1991 ''"Collaboration"'' aka ''"Economics: Oberlin Project," "Social Studies: 4+4 Young Americans"'' * April 19-June 23, 1991 ''"AIDS Timeline,"'' New York City * December 17–20, 1991 ''"Cash Prize"'' * October 8-December 31, 1993 ''"Tomorrow"'' * October 19, 1993 – January 23, 1994 ''"Democracy Wall"'' * May 6-June 18, 1995 ''"Market"'' * June 7–23, 1996 ''"Program"''

Associated Artists

* Jenny Holzer *Julie Ault * Félix González-Torres * Barbara Kruger * Louise Lawler *

Carrie Mae Weems Carrie Mae Weems (born April 20, 1953) is an American artist working in text, fabric, audio, digital images and installation video, and is best known for her photography. She achieved prominence through her early 1990s photographic project ''Th ...

* Mike Glier *

Nancy Spero Nancy Spero (August 24, 1926 – October 18, 2009) was an American visual artist. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Spero lived for much of her life in New York City. She married and collaborated with artist Leon Golub. As both artist and activist, Nancy ...

* Nancy Linn *

* Richard Prince * Doug Ashford * Tim Rollins (member from 1979-1987)

References

{{Authority control American artist groups and collectives