Evading Customs, an exhibition of economy and strategy, brings together a selection of works fabricated via instructions from sixteen artists who live and work outside the United Kingdom. Fifty artists were asked to contribute projects, a selection of which were then realized; the only limitation given was that each work be constructed by the curators, gallery staff, or other artists, on-site and at minimal expense. This premise is both commonplace—as artists often rely on others to install or produce works in their absence—and practical, since it effectively eliminates the shipping component of this exhibition. It allowed us to present ambitious works by artists we might not be able to afford to show in the UK otherwise; it also meant these same artists had the opportunity to make works specific to London, to address concepts of exchange, or to explore ideas that diverged greatly from their usual body of work.

The exhibition takes root in a number of important art-historical moments, including: George Brecht's Event Scores, which asked viewers to perform quotidian activities (1958); Sol LeWittʼs Sentences on Conceptual Art (1969); Lucy Lippard's instructive exhibitions, for which she gave directives to one artist, who in-turn instructed another, and so forth (1969–70); Hans-Ulrich Obrist's ongoing Do It exhibition and book series (1993–); the New York City non-profit Triple Candie's unauthorized retrospectives of David Hammons and Cady Noland (both in 2006); amongst many others—relative concepts, proffered here by necessity.

All proposals have been compiled for the creation of a PDF catalogue available on the Brown gallery website following the opening of the exhibition:
www.browngallery.co.uk/evadingcustoms.html

A group discussion of A. S. Neill's Summerhill, as part of Harrell Fletcher’s work In London, as in the rest of the world, it is time to re-read Summerhill, will take place at Brown on Thursday, October 1 from 7-8 PM. Please RSVP to info@browngallery.co.uk.

–Peter J. Russo and Lumi Tan

Artists:
José León Cerrillo, Tyler Coburn, Peter Coffin, E.V. Day, Harrell Fletcher, Adam Helms, David Horvitz, Matt Keegan, Tim Kinsella, Sara Greenberger Rafferty, Rachel Owens, Kate Shepherd, Matt Sheridan Smith, Allyson Vieira, Erik Wysocan, and Caleb Waldorf

With contributions by:
Brian Clifton, Joy Drury Cox, Rico Gatson, Samara Golden, Jonah Groeneboer, Timothy Hull, Jon Kessler, Fawn Krieger, Justin Lieberman, Mike Quinn, Andres Laracuente, Per-Oskar Leu, Sam Moyer, Ruairiadh O'Connell, Ry Rocklen, Asha Schechter, Macrae Semans, Nolan Simon, Colby Bird and Joshua Smith, Brina Thurston, Julia Weist, Hannah Whitaker, and Lisa Williamson

Additional materials by:
Dexter Sinister, Serious Issue, Provence, Paperback Magazine, and Landings Journal

Evading Customs is organized by Peter J. Russo and Lumi Tan.