Gordon Matta-Clark: Bingo

The gallery will open on April 10th with an exhibition entitled Bingo by Gordon Matta-Clark (1943-1978). This will be the third exhibition of the artist's work at David Zwirner, the primary representative of the estate since 1998. On view will be work relating to the artist's 1974 project: three building fragments from the original house cutting; photographic works; and a film entitled Bingo X Ninths, which documents the progression of the project. Bingo is one of Matta-Clark's few surviving sculptural cuts existing today; most of his projects were demolished with the rest of the buildings.

Bingo began with a telephone call to the Niagara Falls Planning Commission in August 1974, allowing the artist to use a typical two-story, red-shingled house at 349 Erie Avenue, Niagara Falls, New York. Under contract with the city, the artist had 10 days to complete the project before the scheduled demolition of the structure. Matta-Clark chose to divide one side of the house into nine equal five-foot by nine-foot sections. Eight segments were removed from the structure one-by-one, leaving the center of the nine-part grid intact. These segments were taken to Artpark, seven miles away in Lewiston, New York, as part of a program of the Natural Heritage Trust. Originally named "Been-Gone by Ninth," Matta-Clark titled the project Bingo in reference to the typical American church function he felt was common in Niagara Falls. He echoed the gridded game card by removing panels from the grid he cut into the house.

Read more