Opening Reception: Juan Downey, The Invisible Architect

Join us for the opening reception of Juan Downey: The Invisible Architect, the first United States museum survey of the work of Chilean-born video artist Juan Downey (1940-1993). Juan Downey: The Invisible Architect features a selection of key works by this under-recognized pioneer of video art. A fellow at MIT’s Center for Advanced Visual studies in 1973 and 1975, Downey played a significant role in the New York art scene of the 1970s and 1980s.

Ranging thematically over several decades of the artist’s work, the exhibition includes early experiments with art and technology that mark a shift from object-based artistic practice to an experiential approach seeking to combine interactive performance with sculpture and video.  Along with this foundational early work, the exhibition also features Downey’s video installations of the 1970s and 1980s. These combine an autobiographical approach with the style of anthropological documentary-one of his most important contributions to the medium.

Reception preceded by a conversation with catalogue essayist Gustavo Buntinx and Marilys Belt de Downey, moderated by curator Valerie Smith at 5:30 PM in the Bartos Theatre.