John Knight: CONVERSATIONS
2021 Curator-in-Residence
Beyond a Totality of Effect, curated by John Knight at the Foreground Gallery, Butte, Montanta, 2022.
How was your experience as an Open AIR Artist-in-Residence?
As the 2021 Curator in Residence with Open AIR, my experience was different than most resident artists. For the past year I engaged in studio visits, Zoom meetings, phone calls, and email threads with all of last year's residents. Rather than make art I was able to be in community with artists and develop an exhibition that both celebrated all of the 2021 artists, and their residencies with Open AIR.
Claire Fontaine, Same Time War Zone, 2018. Installation at Williamson Knight Gallery.
Williamson Knight Gallery was a curatorial project that sought to equitably give space to emerging women, artists of color, and queer artists, as well as to political activists. Williamson Knight Gallery was a collaboration between Iris Williamson and John Knight.
What was your research process during this time?
My research process during the past year was guided by the conversations I had with the 2021 resident artists. Depending on interests, needs, or wants by each artist, I was able to develop a fuller understanding of their practices. As an independent curator and artist, I seek to understand the conditions in which artists prefer to exhibit their work. As such, my work and research was artist-driven, and concerned with how to best exhibit and celebrate their work in relation to Open AIR.
MK Guth, The End of the Party, 2016. Installation at Cherry and Lucic.
Cherry & Lucic was a curatorial project based out of a garage in Northeast Portland, Oregon that aimed to interrogate the qualifications for exhibiting contemporary art. Cherry & Lucic presented mid-career artists in order to return their works to an unstable site that was more consistent with their locations of production. Cherry and Lucic was a collaboration between Eleanor Ford, Kyle Raquipiso and John Knight.
What are you up to now (post Open AIR)?
I received an ARPA grant from the Montana Arts Council which is allowing me to produce a series of paintings and photographs in late 2022. I am also preparing for solo-exhibitions in London, England; and Chicago, Illinois. I have also been toying around with the idea of starting a gallery/project space in Missoula.
The Elements Conspire Against Nature, 2019. Exhibition at Final Hot Desert, Salt Lake City, Utah. Curated by Ben Sang.
How would you describe your work?
As an artist and as an independent curator, my work is conceptual and often site specific. At the moment I am interested in monochrome painting, ready-made objects, and collapsing the idea of authorship in art. Past projects of mine have included running project spaces and galleries, under various pseudonyms, and finding alternative ways to support working artists. I am interested in how to better participate in artistic communities. Friendship, politics, and collaboration are important to my work.
Fragments, 2021. Installation at BSMNT Gallery in Leipzig, Germany. Curated by Ben Sang at Final Hot Desert.
Tell us about your most recent solo exhibition?
My most recent solo exhibition occurred in Leipzig, Germany at BSMNT Gallery, and was curated by Ben Sang of Final Hot Desert. This project developed out of my interest and past participation in political youth movements and subcultures, which was then applied to the political situation in Leipzig, and in eastern Germany. The exhibition consisted of three sculptures, a photograph and a sound piece, which contemplated individual and collective memory. My friend Wyatt Neihaus who resides in Rotterdam, Netherlands, provided an essay to help contextualize the work in Europe.
Narcotic Flowers, 2019. Exhibition at Private Places, Portland, Oregon. Curated by Bobbi Woods.
Any new projects in the works?
With my ARPA grant from the Montana Arts Council, I am developing a site-specific project in an old brick jailhouse, in Basin, Montana. The project is being facilitated by educator and organizer Jenny Bevill, and The Montana Refuge Gallery. The project is also in collaboration with Stephen Hunt [Blackfeet (Amskapii Pikaanii), Nez Perce (Nimipuu), Sioux (Sisseton), Pend d’Oreille (Ql'ispé), and Chippewa Cree (Ne Hiyawak)], who most recently exhibited at the Missoula Art Museum. This project will be my first exhibition in Montana since moving to the state in late 2017.
Laconic Phrase, 2021. Two person exhibition titled: Show Title with Nicolo Gentile at GCADD, Granite City, Illinois. Curated by Kalaija Mallory.