Alice Könitz's 'Commonwealth' Exhibition at Commonwealth and Council Explores Social Sculpture and Communal Space

Alice Könitz presented her first solo exhibition at Commonwealth and Council from March 12 to April 16, 2016. Located at 3006 W. 7th Street, Suite 220 in Los Angeles, the show featured interactive structures like Kiosk (2016), a tree house-sized booth made from stained plywood with PVC pipe legs. Other works included Untitled (2016) with three colorful hammocks, Pantry (2016) offering nuts and pickled treats, and Periscope (2016) providing views through foam core. The press release described Könitz's pieces as 'social sculptures' pursuing common well-being, aligning with the gallery's mission of generosity and hospitality. Young Chung, the LA-based artist and organizer who runs Commonwealth and Council, uses the pronoun 'we' to discuss the space. Könitz also operates the Los Angeles Museum of Art (LAMOA), founded in 2012 as a platform for participatory institutions. The exhibition highlighted the co-existence of Könitz and Chung's methodologies, with the gallery's partially stripped walls and floorboards retaining history from past projects. Social media from the opening showed visitors engaging with the works, though they later fell out of use. Artist Céline Condorelli's book The Company She Keeps (2014) is referenced, suggesting exhibitions can act as temporary utopias. The show proposed daily routines similar to an artist's life, emphasizing human interaction over physical forms.