RECENT NEWS

GOBER CREATES EDITION FOR ESOPUS

October 2, 2012

In July 2012, The Esopus Foundation closed its exhibition and performance venue Esopus Space and moved to smaller offices in Brooklyn in order to refocus its efforts on Esopus. Because this move would have taken place during the most intensive part of the production process for Esopus 19, we made the decision to postpone this issue one publishing cycle until Spring 2013. Since this change would have caused our current subscribers to wait a full year to receive the next issue of Esopus, we decided to invite a contemporary artist to create a special limited edition to act as a placeholder for Esopus 19—and also to serve as a thank-you for subscribers’ patience.

This summer, we asked New York City-based artist Robert Gober if he would consider creating this special multiple from scratch. Gober is one of the most acclaimed contemporary artists in the world: He represented the U.S. at the 2001 Venice Biennale, and his work has been featured in exhibitions at the Dia Art Foundation, MOCA Los Angeles, the Jeu de Paume, Paris, and in five Whitney Biennials. He will mount a major solo exhibition of his work at New York’s Museum of Modern Art in 2014.

After several months of deliberation, Gober decided to create a piece that not only fit within the custom cardboard mailer we use to mail copies of Esopus; he actually made the mailer itself a part of the work. The edition, called “Hope Hill Road,” is an extraordinary object, and we feel incredibly fortunate to be able to offer it to our readers.

Please note that a special signed-and-numbered version of “Hope Hill Road” (in an edition of 25) will be released by the Esopus Foundation and Robert Gober in mid-November 2012.

Other Recent News