#devon dikeou

A quick snapshot of what Dikeou Collection artists have been up to over the past month, and what to look forward to next month.

Devon Dikeou, Between the Acts (Virginia Wool): Jay Leno, 2014 Ongoing; Devon Dikeou, “WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT?”: From Sculpture, 1991 Ongoing. Image courtesy of the artist

Work by Devon Dikeou will be exhibited in “Unsafe at Any Speed” curated by Kenny Schachter, opening at Morton Street Partners on March 15

Image courtesy of V1 Gallery

“Hairy Tales,” a solo exhibition by Misaki Kawai opens at V1 Gallery in Copenhagen on March 4

Image courtesy of the artist and news.sky.com

Chris Gilmour’s incredible cardboard constructions are now being used to create sustainable set designs for film and television

Image courtesy of Instituto Cervantes NY

Work by Ester Partegas is currently on view in “That” at Instituto Cervantes NY through April 2

Image courtesy of Sadie Coles HQ

Jonathan Horowitz and Simon Periton have work on view in “Repeater” at Sadie Coles HQ, London, through March 26

Image courtesy of Drew Broderick, Hawaii Contemporary

Lawrence Seward and Momoyo Torimitsu photographed with their work (Seward’s “Seward Sun” and Torimitsu’s “Somehow I Don’t Feel Comfortable”) at the Hawaii Triennial

Vik Muniz, “The Birth of Venus, After Botticelli” Triptych from Pictures of Junk, 2008. Image courtesy of the artist and Ben Brown Fine Arts

Vik Muniz: A Brief History of Art is on view at Ben Brown Fine Arts London through March 11

Image courtesy of the artist

“The change in policy says that we want everyone to have access to art-making and it’s not the privilege of the wealthy to be able to afford good art supplies.” - Lisa Kereszi, senior critic and director of undergraduate studies in art, on Yale School of Art’s recent course fee elimination

Anicka Yi, “Le Pain Symbiotique” (detail), 2014. Image courtesy of the artist and Pirelli HangarBicocca

A quick snapshot of what Dikeou Collection artists have been up to over the past month, and what to look forward to next month. 

Devon Dikeou, “Donation” (detail), 2009 Ongoing

Devon Dikeou “Mid-Career Smear” in Denver, CO celebrated the fall equinox with the relaunch of the Dikeou Literary Series at Dikeou Pop-Up: Colfax

Ester Partegàs, “Codependence,” 2019, cardboard, cotton fabric, wood glue, Fast Maché, acrylic and enamel paint, sealer, steel, plywood, 61 x 49 x 49 inches Courtesy of the artist and Foxy Production, NY.

Ester Partegàs and Claire Watson’s exhibition Guardian is on view at Essex Flowers in Chinatown through October 2.

Anicka Yi, “Biologizing The Machine (tentacular trouble),” 2019. Photo: Renato Ghiazza

Anicka Yi will debut her most ambitious project to date at Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall on October 12.

Sarah Staton, “Alphonso,” 2021, wood-fired brick and bespoke hand paintings

Sarah Staton unveiled “Alphonso,” a public art installation in Newton Leys on September 19. Her SupaStore Pressure Drop traveling exhibition is currently on view at Cylinder Gallery in Seoul, South Korea.

Michael Dumontier and Neil Farber, “Library,” 2021

Michael Dumontier and Neil Farber of the Royal Art Lodge recently published Library, a book of collaborative paintings and illustrations of imaginary books and their titles.

Marcel Dzama, NYC Transit Bedford Avenue Station. Commissioned by MTA Arts & Design. Photo: MTA Arts & Design/ Kris Graves

Devon Dikeou, “’What’s Love Got To Do With It’: From Sculpture,” 1991 ongoing; (detail) “Reserved for Leo Castelli: Since Cezanne (After Clive Bell),” 2012 ongoing

“In-betweeness” is a central theme to Devon Dikeou’s art practice, which she describes as the spaces and materials that set the stage for important events and human interaction. She takes a specific element of that space, like a sign board from a gallery lobby or a napkin from a cocktail party and magnifies its role in what transpired within its proximity. She often goes further to recreate the space itself, be it a Parisian café or a bedroom in The White House. This conceptual model lends itself to art that materializes as everyday objects and installations, but there is more to it than that. What makes Dikeou a master of this model is that she is not merely repurposing the ordinary but rather reclaiming and elevating it as something significant, worthy, and precious. We now exist in a time when people crave nothing but normalcy, and Dikeou’s works exhibited in her retrospective exhibition “Mid-Career Smear” at The Dikeou Collection satisfies that craving for the everyday.

Devon Dikeou, “Security/Secure,” 1989; (detail) “Do I Know You?,” 1991 ongoing; (detail) “The News,” 1991 ongoing; (detail) Security Ke-Master, 1991 ongoing

After an extended closure due to Covid-19, The Dikeou Collection officially reopened to the public in March 2021. Seeing new and familiar faces walk through the doors has been a refreshing reminder how important real-life art experiences are for everyone in the creative ecosystem, especially when that experience mimics “real life.” Security/Secure, The News, Do I Know You, Security Ke-Master. . . these are all objects one would see throughout the day, but in 2020 and 2021 thus far, they are now novel and dare I say, exciting. A man with his family visited recently, and while in the office (complete with an employee time clock and cards) he commented how he felt like he was at work, a place he had not been in close to a year. And the crazy part is that he actually seemed happy and energized by that realization.

Devon Dikeou, “’Takes A Licking, And Keeps On Ticking’—Timex Ad Campaign,” 1991 ongoing

Only in these strange Covid-times would someone revel in the fact that an art exhibition makes them feel like they are at their job. There is an inherent understanding that art experiences are special and meant to be appreciated because we carve time out of our busy schedules to have them. We seek opportunities to momentarily escape our normal lives and try to see the world through a fresh creative lens. Now that the world’s scope of normal is upended, we long to go back to the days of seeing businesses open their big front gates in the morning and grabbing a sandwich from the deli before heading into work or school. Devon Dikeou and The Dikeou Collection invite you to return to that world, just as you left it.

The average American, ages 20 to 65, works 40 hours a week. That adds up to approximately 10.3 years over the course of a lifetime. While some people have jobs that require them to work outdoors, or in labs, factories, classrooms, and theaters, most of us spend our days working in an office environment. Desks, chairs, computers, and filing cabinets populate these spaces, walls are typically white with no decorative elements, and some are windowless. Offices like this can make work a real drag, so it is exciting when a company makes an effort to create a stimulating environment for their employees. In 2002, Devon Dikeou created what would be her “ideal office” for the French media and publishing company, Outcasts Incorporated. For four months, the Outcasts office was customized with furnishings picked out by the artist, as well as artworks of her own creation. Devon’s Ideal Office is still in operation today at the Dikeou Collection, and continues to be a fun and inspiring space to work. Outcasts Incorporated had six ideal office installations by different artists until July 2004, with Dikeou’s being the first of the series. As an artist whose concepts analyze the inner workings of the art world and different viewing contexts, and whose studio also operates as an office for the production of zingmagazine, designing an ideal office was an appealing opportunity to present her multifaceted practice in a novel environment. Wall color was of primary importance when beginning the project, and Devon opted for a shade a of blue that matched the color of Peggy Guggenheim’s bedroom at her palazzo in Venice, which she renamed “Peggy Guggenheim Blue.” Blue signifies loyalty, confidence, and intelligence, and is said to be the most productive color for an office environment, as it stimulates the mind and easily compliments other colors in the space. This particular shade is lively yet soothing, suggests luxury but not ostentation, and sets the tone for the individual artworks and modern décor.

Plants like the ones in Dikeou’s Cajole are known to reduce stress at work and can help diffuse office noise. They would also decrease the frequency of airborne illness and help maintain room temperature if they were real, but their artificiality is what best suits the idealized scene. The use of plants suggests a desire to bring the outside in, and she extends this idea by considering not only what goes inside of an ideal office, but where an ideal office would physically exist. She envisions her office to be in one of America’s most iconic landmarks, Yankee Stadium, first base to be specific, represented via Touch of Greatness: Babe Ruth. The fact that Outcasts’ headquarters is in an entirely different country from Yankee Stadium makes the setting even more outlandish, therefore pushing the impracticality of idealism to its maximum. But like the wall color and the plants, Touch of Greatness could have a beneficial impact on the employees, perhaps working as a subliminal motivator, instilling greatness through osmosis.

The baseballs signed by Babe Ruth and the green Astroturf with base and baseline that comprise Touch of Greatness inspire success, but they also call for interaction and bring a sense of play to the setting. The Trick Is, There Is No “K” is another work by Dikeou installed in the office where players collect the letters printed in matchbooks to spell out “Dikeou” in hopes of winning a carton of cigarettes. Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi has written extensively about work and business psychology, and says game playing at work relaxes the mind and allows for creative thinking and breakthrough ideas. However, this game is impossible to win without the letter K, and will likely lead to frustration rather than a celebratory smoke.

While the overall scheme of the Ideal Office is imbued with wit and joviality, Dikeou’s Takes A Licking, and Keeps on Ticking serves as a reminder that time is not free, and when an employee checks in at that clock he/she is then obligated to put all personal matters on hold until they punch out. The title, though, which refers to the popular Timex campaign introduced in the 1950s and brought back in the ‘90s, is about resilience and the ability to function under stress. Strong work ethic and professional integrity are qualities that define an ideal employee, and only those who fit that motto have the honor of clocking in at the Ideal Office