ARTFEED — Contemporary Art Intelligence

Pace Gallery's 2012 Exhibition 'Happenings' Showcases Photographic Legacy of 1958-1963 Performance Art

exhibition · 2026-04-22

From February 10 to March 17, 2012, The Pace Gallery in New York City hosted 'Happenings: New York, 1958-1963,' curated by Mildred L. Glimcher. This exhibition highlighted photographic evidence and artifacts from performances by notable artists, including Jim Dine, Simone Forti, and Claes Oldenburg, with images taken by photographers such as Robert R. McElroy, Fred McDarrah, Martha Holmes, John Cohen, and I.C. (Chuck) Rappaport. Featured pieces included Carolee Schneemann's Quarry Transposed (1960) and Robert Whitman's Inside Out (1963). Additionally, a monograph was published by Monacelli Press, priced at $65, and contemporary New York Times pages from 2012 were affixed to walls behind certain artworks, creating a juxtaposition with historical items.

Key facts

  • Exhibition ran February 10 to March 17, 2012 at The Pace Gallery's 534 West 25th Street location in New York City
  • Featured documentation of Happenings performances from 1958-1963 by nine major artists
  • Five photographers documented the original events: Robert R. McElroy, Fred McDarrah, Martha Holmes, John Cohen, and I.C. (Chuck) Rappaport
  • Curated by Mildred L. Glimcher with accompanying monograph published by Monacelli Press for $65
  • Included Carolee Schneemann's mixed media assemblage Quarry Transposed (1960) referencing her 1962 Judson Church performance
  • Red Grooms's Painting from 'A Play Called Fire' (1958) was on loan from Greenville County Museum of Art
  • Robert Whitman's Inside Out (1963) featured multi-channel projection with sound added in 2009
  • Exhibition deliberately minimized video elements, using no more than one silent monitor per room

Entities

Artists

  • Jim Dine
  • Simone Forti
  • Red Grooms
  • Allan Kaprow
  • Claes Oldenburg
  • Lucas Samaras
  • Carolee Schneemann
  • Robert Whitman
  • Andy Warhol
  • John Chamberlain
  • Richard Bellamy
  • Pat Oldenburg
  • Robert R. McElroy
  • Fred McDarrah
  • Martha Holmes
  • John Cohen
  • I.C. (Chuck) Rappaport
  • Mildred L. Glimcher

Institutions

  • The Pace Gallery
  • Greenville County Museum of Art
  • Judson Church
  • Monacelli Press
  • artcritical

Locations

  • New York City
  • United States
  • Provincetown
  • 534 West 25th Street
  • New York

Sources