There's still time to catch the exhibit The Keeper, through September 25th at the New Museum (235 Bowery, NY), curated by provocateur Massimiliano Gioni

"Densely packed with thousands of objects and images lovingly preserved by artists, collectors or hoarders…" — "It conveys the devotion of the various caretakers, questions what it means to be an artist and serves as a requiem both for artifacts being destroyed by war and for once-vital technologies that are now fading away." – 1st Dibs

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Above: "Arthur Bispo do Rosário’s undated Carrinho-Arquivo II (Archive-Cart II) combines cardboard sheets, metal hooks, string, wood and wheels. A patient at a psychiatric hospital in Rio de Janeiro, Bispo believed he’d been called on by God to present to the deity at Judgement Day all the earthly goods he deemed worthy of salvation. He spent decades amassing objects that he combined into pieces such as this. Photo courtesy Museu Bispo do Rosário Arte Contemporânea/City Hall of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil" – 1st Dibs

 

Other works by Bispo do Rosario:

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Some of Swedish artist Hilma af Klint's (1862 – 1944) abstract paintings, which she kept hidden for decades after her death:

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In 1993, the Austrian artist Oliver Croy and the critic Oliver Elser rescued almost 400 tabletop-scale models of imaginary Swiss buildings from junk shop oblivion. They were all made from cardboard, matchboxes and magazine tear sheets, by one Peter Fritz (1916-1992), an insurance clerk from Vienna about whom nothing further is known.

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2 responses to “Hoarders Without Borders”

  1. Scott Waterman Avatar

    I’ve been reading about it too. I’m going to try to see it. If I do I’ll make a report. xxsw

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  2. Sylvie Avatar

    Lucky boy! I do believe that it was you who first turned me on to Hilma’s work.

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