Walead Beshty

Lindon Gallery, London

Acquired by the present owner from the above

Walead Beshty’s FedEx series challenges the idea of a unitary author as the boxes continually accumulate meaning as they circulate. For this series, Beshty creates glass or copper boxes, which he ships with FedEx each time they need to be transported to a gallery, client or museum. The glass boxes inevitably chip in transit just like the copper boxes begin to oxidize each time they are handled. In fact, Beshty has chosen glass and copper as his two materials precisely for their reactive properties so that the surface of his sculptures can record the history of their circulation. Thus, the work of art is not merely the untouched glass or copper box that Beshty initially created; instead, the box and all its accumulated damage and shipping documents become the work. The box’s movement, which imprints itself on the copper or glass surface, becomes integral to the work so that FedEx becomes an aesthetic agent on a par with Beshty. His boxes, which are always in flux, evolving each time they are transported, suggest that the artwork is in fact the history of its use and not a static container of meaning. In this way, the FedEx series makes us realize that art is produced through a continuous interaction with the public and by extension, that meaning is generated through complex networks of exchange.

Please note that this work must be shipped to the purchaser via Fedex, as per the artist's instruction.