This is the first monograph to explore the dynamic and engaging work of New York–based artist Kevin Beasley (born 1985), published on the occasion of the largest museum exhibition of his work to date. Beasley deploys sound and clothing as his core artistic materials, combining them in stunning, densely packed sculptures and immersive acoustic experiences. In his live performances, Beasley has embedded microphones or other electronic sound equipment in sculptures made of objects and materials such as sneakers, foam and resin, exploiting and manipulating their sonic possibilities. Beasley’s diverse sculptural work ranges from compositions of shredded T-shirts, hoodies, fitted hats and du-rags, to a large-scale installation of embellished megaphones and gas masks.

Kevin Beasley

Arts & Photography

History & Criticism

The Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston

Less Is a Bore: Maximalist Art &amp; Design is a multigenerational survey of strategies of pattern and decoration in art and design. Borrowing its ethos from Robert Venturi’s infamous retort to Mies van der Rohe’s modernist edict “less is more,” it includes works that privilege decoration and maximalism over modernism’s “ornament as crime” philosophy. The catalog begins in the 1970s with artists who sought to rattle the dominance of modernism and minimalism, such as those affiliated with Pattern &amp; Decoration. Less Is a Bore includes experiments in patterning by Sanford Biggers, Jasper Johns and Miriam Schapiro; the transgressive sculpture and furniture of Lucas Samaras and Ettore Sottsass; and the installations of Polly Apfelbaum, Nathalie du Pasquier and Virgil Marti. Also included are works by Roger Brown, Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian, Jeffrey Gibson, Valerie Jaudon, Joyce Kozloff, Robert Kushner, Ellen Lesperance, Sol LeWitt, Howardena Pindell, Lari Pittman, Pae White and Betty Woodman, among others.

Less Is a Bore: Maximalist Art & Design (INSTITUTE OF CO)

Auther, Elissa

Porter, Jenelle

Goldin, Amy

Collections, Catalogs & Exhibitions

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