Gran Fury's 'Read My Lips' Retrospective at Auto Italia
Auto Italia South East in Bethnal Green is hosting Gran Fury's inaugural UK retrospective, titled 'Read My Lips', from 2 October to 16 December 2018. This exhibition celebrates thirty years since the collective's establishment and a decade since the venue's founding. Gran Fury, which operated between 1988 and 1995, comprised eleven members, including Richard Elovich and Avram Finkelstein. The showcase features notable billboards and posters, such as 'Kissing Doesn't Kill: Greed and Indifference Do', and is presented without interpretive panels. Additionally, various artists will contribute to related events. Influenced by Barbara Kruger, Gran Fury's activism employs advertising aesthetics, highlighted by pieces like 'The Four Questions' (1993) and a billboard addressing US healthcare.
Key facts
- Gran Fury's 'Read My Lips' is their first comprehensive UK retrospective.
- The exhibition runs from 2 October to 16 December 2018 at Auto Italia South East in Bethnal Green.
- It marks 30 years since Gran Fury's formation and 10 years since Auto Italia's inception.
- Gran Fury was active from 1988 to 1995 and consisted of 11 members.
- The collective emerged from ACT UP.
- Key work 'Kissing Doesn't Kill: Greed and Indifference Do' appeared in Chicago in 1990.
- The exhibition includes reproductions of billboards and posters without interpretive panels.
- Gran Fury's false banknotes were dropped at the NY Stock Exchange in 1989, helping lower AZT prices.
- Members include Richard Elovich, Avram Finkelstein, Amy Heard, Tom Kalin, John Lindell, Loring McAlpin, Marlene McCarty, Donald Moffett, Michael Nesline, Mark Simpson, and Robert Vazquez-Pacheco.
- Accompanying events feature Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley, Otamere Guobadia, Richard John Jones, Harley Yeung Kurlyowski, Carlos Maria Romero, METRO, and Jack O'Brien.
Entities
Artists
- Gran Fury
- Richard Elovich
- Avram Finkelstein
- Amy Heard
- Tom Kalin
- John Lindell
- Loring McAlpin
- Marlene McCarty
- Donald Moffett
- Michael Nesline
- Mark Simpson
- Robert Vazquez-Pacheco
- Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley
- Otamere Guobadia
- Richard John Jones
- Harley Yeung Kurlyowski
- Carlos Maria Romero
- METRO
- Jack O'Brien
- Barbara Kruger
- Robert Indiana
- General Idea
- Derek Jarman
- David Wojnarowicz
- Gregg Bordowitz
Institutions
- Auto Italia South East
- ACT UP
- AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power
- Whitney Museum of American Art
- NY Stock Exchange
- The New York Times
- Village Voice
- Hyperallergic
- Afterall
Locations
- Bethnal Green
- London
- United Kingdom
- Chicago
- United States
- South Africa
- New York City
Sources
- Afterall —