Alina and Jeff Bliumis’s ongoing series, A Painting for a Family Dinner, attempts to reconcile art with the domestic experience of people worldwide. Previously carried out in China, Israel, Italy, and the United States, A Painting for a Family Dinner brings the artists into the homes of local families where they offer a painting in exchange for the invitation to dinner in each household. As a precursor to the Bliumises’ work, Ben Kinmont has worked at what he terms the “threshold . . . of what can and cannot be called art” since the late 1980s. Kinmont has explored interactions between artists and local communities through his series Waffles for an Opening (1991) and I Will Wash Your Dirty Dishes (1994). Both works utilize the artist as a force for creating dialogue within the domestic sphere. Both also emphasize reciprocity and exchange: participants received a waffle breakfast or dishwashing services as a part of their exchange.
The prevalence of art projects foregrounding exchange, communication, and social interaction has dramatically increased. This conversation will engage artists who have narrowed their focus to the domestic sphere and the negotiations that occur there. In conversation with curator Megan Holly Witko, Ben Kinmont and Alina Bliumis will each present their works and discuss the implications for social practice when the interactions in question are private and intimate—rather than public and grand—in scale.
This event is free and open to the public. To attend, please RSVP to rsvp@curatorsintl.org with MEGAN in the subject line.
