Jonathan Monk Multiple

Jonathan Monk
Meeting #56, 2009
Edition of 90 ($40), with 30 signed and numbered copies ($140)
Produced by Mercer Union, Toronto

The British artist, Jonathan Monk, works in a wide range of media, but multiples have always been a key element of his practice. Mercer Union, an artist-run centre in Toronto, has produced Monk’s latest multiple as part of his long-running ‘Meeting’ series. Most often produced as wall texts or ephemeral slips of paper (a nod to the influence of Lawrence Weiner and other Conceptual artists in Monk's work), the ‘Meeting’ series invites viewers to rendezvous with the artist at a future time and location.

The multiple for Mercer Union is a pair of etched drinking glasses (one in English and one in French; this is Canada, after all), which is the first time one of the "Meetings" has taken such a concrete form. The text on the glasses invite people to meet the artist on the Maid of the Mist tour boat at Niagara Falls on August 1, 2015 at noon. The edition of 90 pairs, with the first 30 sets signed and numbered on an inserted card, is being sold for a very low price, considering Monk’s growing international stature. (The reason is Monk wants people to feel free to use the glasses, though that seems pretty unlikely.) Monk’s invitation is pretty specific, and yet there is no guarantee that the artist will turn up. In Monk’s world, the future of art is up for grabs.

For more information, contact Mercer Union at elaine@mercerunion.org.