Ehrlich Steinberg is pleased to present Nature Morte, 1982–1988, the first survey exhibition dedicated to the influential East Village gallery Nature Morte, founded by artists Alan Belcher and Peter Nagy, active from 1982 to 1988. The exhibition features early works, some unseen in decades, both originally shown at Nature Morte or created during its six-year run. Nature Morte, 1982–1988 includes represented artists Gretchen Bender, Jennifer Bolande, Kevin Larmon, Ken Lum, Richard Milani, Joseph Nechvatal, Joel Otterson, Steven Parrino, David Robbins, Not Vital, and Julia Wachtel, as well as exhibited artists Louise Lawler, Sherrie Levine, Allan McCollum and Laurie Simmons, and Richard Pettibone. The exhibition also features works by Belcher and Nagy, at the time represented by Cable Gallery and International with Monument, respectively.

Between 1982 and 1988, Nature Morte introduced a generation of artists whose practices resisted the dominant Neo-Expressionist painting then saturating New York’s hyped Downtown scene. Eschewing gestural, subjective, and emotionally charged aesthetics, these artists turned toward strategies of appropriation, photographic intervention, and a wry form of neo-conceptualism. Strongly influenced by the earlier example of Metro Pictures, Belcher and Nagy’s gallery sharply articulated contemporary art’s deepening entanglement within mass media, graphic design, and the logic of commercial display. Together, the exhibiting artists embraced a critical inhabitation of the structures of publicity, distribution, and reception, treating the languages of advertising, image-culture, and institutional framing as both subject matter and material.

Among the exhibition’s notable works are Louise Lawler’s 1985 installation Interesting, which combines wall graphics, photography, and text— shown for the first time since its original exhibition; Julia Wachtel’s fully hand-painted 1984 piece Cartoon/Cartoon; Steven Parrino’s formative 1982 painting Seek and Destroy; Joel Otterson’s 1986 sculpture Euro-Chic, included in his solo show at MoMA in 1987; Jennifer Bolande’s practice-defining 1984 sculpture Movie Chair; and Peter Nagy’s seminal 1987 work Industrial Culture. Presented alongside rare archival materials and ephemera, the exhibiting works highlight Nature Morte’s critical and lasting contributions to the international art world from the 1980s to the present.

The exhibition is accompanied by “Once More, With Feeling”, a newly commissioned text by Blake Oetting.


Installation view. Nature Morte, 1982–1988, 2026.


Installation view. Nature Morte, 1982–1988, 2026.


Allan McCollum and Laurie Simmons, Actual Photo, 1985. Silver dye bleach print, edition of 10, framed: 15.75 x 12.5 in. (40 x 31.8 cm); image size: 9.25 x 6.25 in. (23.8 x 15.7 cm).


Allan McCollum and Laurie Simmons, Actual Photo, 1985. Silver dye bleach print, edition of 10, framed: 15.75 x 12.5 in. (40 x 31.8 cm); image size: 9.25 x 6.25 in. (23.8 x 15.7 cm).


Allan McCollum and Laurie Simmons, Actual Photo, 1985. Silver dye bleach print, edition of 10, framed: 15.75 x 12.5 in. (40 x 31.8 cm); image size: 9.25 x 6.25 in. (23.8 x 15.7 cm).


Installation view. Nature Morte, 1982–1988, 2026.


Julia Wachtel, Cartoon/Cartoon, 1984. Acrylic on canvas, 36 x 36 in. (91.5 x 91.5 cm).


Julia Wachtel, Cartoon/Cartoon, 1984. Acrylic on canvas, 36 x 36 in. (91.5 x 91.5 cm).


Peter Nagy, Industrial Culture, 1987. Etched magnesium, dimensions variable; 20 x 20 in. (50.8 x 50.8 cm) each.


Detail. Peter Nagy, Industrial Culture, 1987. Etched magnesium, dimensions variable; 20 x 20 in. (50.8 x 50.8 cm) each.


Detail. Peter Nagy, Industrial Culture, 1987. Etched magnesium, dimensions variable; 20 x 20 in. (50.8 x 50.8 cm) each.


Installation view. Nature Morte, 1982–1988, 2026.


Jennifer Bolande, Movie Chair, 1984. Wooden chair, velvet, bronze, enamel paint, light stands, lights, gaffer’s tape, 60 x 72 x 36 in. (152.4 x 182.9 x 91.4 cm).


Jennifer Bolande, Movie Chair, 1984. Wooden chair, velvet, bronze, enamel paint, light stands, lights, gaffer’s tape, 60 x 72 x 36 in. (152.4 x 182.9 x 91.4 cm).


Detail. Jennifer Bolande, Movie Chair, 1984. Wooden chair, velvet, bronze, enamel paint, light stands, lights, gaffer’s tape, 60 x 72 x 36 in. (152.4 x 182.9 x 91.4 cm).


Installation view. Nature Morte, 1982–1988, 2026.


Sherrie Levine, After Rodchenko: 3, AP, 1985. Gelatin silver print, framed: 10.25 x 10.25 in. (26 x 26 cm); image size: 4.25 x 4.25 in. (10.8 x 10.8 cm).


Installation view. Nature Morte, 1982–1988, 2026.


Installation view. Nature Morte, 1982–1988, 2026.


Installation view. Nature Morte, 1982–1988, 2026.


Kevin Larmon, Standing Behind #2, 1986. Oil and collage on linen, 18 x 18 in. (45.7 x 45.7 cm).


Kevin Larmon, Black, 1979. Oil and collage on linen, 18 x 20 in. (45.7 x 50.8 cm).


Kevin Larmon, HV, 1985. Oil and collage on linen, 18 x 18 in. (45.7 x 45.7 cm).


Kevin Larmon, Blue Seat, 1980–81. Oil and collage on linen, 18 x 20 in. (45.7 x 50.8 cm).


Joel Otterson, Euro-Chic, 1986. Brass, copper, iron fittings, bronze, cast-iron free weights, 64 x 11 x 11 in. (162.6 x 27.9 x 27.9 cm).


Joel Otterson, Euro-Chic, 1986. Brass, copper, iron fittings, bronze, cast-iron free weights, 64 x 11 x 11 in. (162.6 x 27.9 x 27.9 cm).


Detail. Joel Otterson, Euro-Chic, 1986. Brass, copper, iron fittings, bronze, cast-iron free weights, 64 x 11 x 11 in. (162.6 x 27.9 x 27.9 cm).


Detail. Joel Otterson, Euro-Chic, 1986. Brass, copper, iron fittings, bronze, cast-iron free weights, 64 x 11 x 11 in. (162.6 x 27.9 x 27.9 cm).


Ken Lum, Untitled Language Painting (Kudifly), 1987. Enamel paint on plywood, 72 x 83.75 in (183.2 x 212.6 cm).


Ken Lum, Untitled Language Painting (Kudifly), 1987. Enamel paint on plywood, 72 x 83.75 in (183.2 x 212.6 cm).


Installation view. Nature Morte, 1982–1988, 2026.


Installation view. Nature Morte, 1982–1988, 2026.


Louise Lawler, Interesting, 1985. Painted wall with title as text, edition 1/3 + 1 AP, dimensions variable.


Installation view. Nature Morte, 1982–1988, 2026.


Louise Lawler, Portrait (Green), 1984. Silver dye bleach print, edition 1/5 + 1 AP, framed: 32.25 x 25 in. (82.2 x 63.2 cm); image size: 23 x 15.5 in. (58.4 x 39.4 cm).


Louise Lawler, Portrait (Red), 1984. Silver dye bleach print, edition 1/5 + 1 AP, framed: 25 x 32.25 in. (63.2 x 82.2 cm); image size: 15.5 x 23 in. (39.4 x 58.4 cm).


Louise Lawler, Portrait (Blue), 1984. Silver dye bleach print, edition 1/5 + 1 AP, framed: 25 x 32.25 in. (63.2 x 82.2 cm); image size: 15.5 x 23 in. (39.4 x 58.4 cm).


Detail. Louise Lawler, Interesting, 1985. Painted wall with title as text, edition 1/3 + 1 AP, dimensions variable. Image courtesy of the artist, Sprüth Magers, and Ehrlich Steinberg, Los Angeles. Photo: Evan Walsh.


Detail. Louise Lawler, Interesting, 1985. Painted wall with title as text, edition 1/3 + 1 AP, dimensions variable. Image courtesy of the artist, Sprüth Magers, and Ehrlich Steinberg, Los Angeles. Photo: Evan Walsh.


Installation view. Nature Morte, 1982–1988, 2026.


Richard Pettibone, Andy Warhol, ‘Marilyn’, 1962, 1978. Acrylic and silkscreen ink on canvas, 3 x 3 in. (7.6 x 7.6 cm).


Richard Pettibone, Andy Warhol, ‘Marilyn’, 1962, 1978. Acrylic and silkscreen ink on canvas, 3 x 3 in. (7.6 x 7.6 cm).


Not Vital, Untitled, 1982. Oil stick on paper with black and white photo, 17.25 x 14 in (43.8 x 35.6 cm).


Not Vital, Untitled, 1982. Oil stick on paper with black and white photo, 17.25 x 14 in (43.8 x 35.6 cm).


Installation view. Nature Morte, 1982–1988, 2026.


Installation view. Nature Morte, 1982–1988, 2026.


Installation view. Nature Morte, 1982–1988, 2026.


Joseph Nechvatal, HMMM, 1984. Oil, graphite, photo-mechanical blow-up on paper mounted on board, 18.5 x 45.5 in. (47 x 115.5 cm).


Peter Nagy, Nature Morte Timeline, 1984. Xerox mounted on board, 21 x 21 in. (53.3 x 53.3 cm).


Peter Nagy, Nature Morte Timeline, 1984. Xerox mounted on board, 21 x 21 in. (53.3 x 53.3 cm).


Installation view. Nature Morte, 1982–1988, 2026.


Richard Milani, Someone Who Will Make Things Right, 1985. Acrylic on fiberglass screen, 22 x 18 in. (55.9 x 45.7 cm).


Installation view. Nature Morte, 1982–1988, 2026.


Richard Pettibone, The 50’s, 1986. Oil on canvas, 16 x 14 in. (40.6 x 35.6 cm).


Gretchen Bender, TV Text & Image (SELF-CENSORSHIP), 1986. Live television broadcast on a monitor, vinyl lettering, edition 1/3 + 1 AP, dimensions variable.


Gretchen Bender, TV Text & Image (SELF-CENSORSHIP), 1986. Live television broadcast on a monitor, vinyl lettering, edition 1/3 + 1 AP, dimensions variable.


Installation view. Nature Morte, 1982–1988, 2026.


David Robbins, The Art Dealers’ Optical Tests, 1987. Wood, paint, string, paper, flashlight, black and white photographs, edition 1/2, dimensions variable; 12.5 x 17 in. (31.8 x 43.2 cm) each, optical implements box: 16.75 x 25.25 in. (42.5 x 64.1 cm).


Detail. David Robbins, The Art Dealers’ Optical Tests, 1987. Wood, paint, string, paper, flashlight, black and white photographs, edition 1/2, dimensions variable; 12.5 x 17 in. (31.8 x 43.2 cm) each, optical implements box: 16.75 x 25.25 in. (42.5 x 64.1 cm).


Detail. David Robbins, The Art Dealers’ Optical Tests, 1987. Wood, paint, string, paper, flashlight, black and white photographs, edition 1/2, dimensions variable; 12.5 x 17 in. (31.8 x 43.2 cm) each, optical implements box: 16.75 x 25.25 in. (42.5 x 64.1 cm).


Detail. David Robbins, The Art Dealers’ Optical Tests, 1987. Wood, paint, string, paper, flashlight, black and white photographs, edition 1/2, dimensions variable; 12.5 x 17 in. (31.8 x 43.2 cm) each, optical implements box: 16.75 x 25.25 in. (42.5 x 64.1 cm).


Detail. David Robbins, The Art Dealers’ Optical Tests, 1987. Wood, paint, string, paper, flashlight, black and white photographs, edition 1/2, dimensions variable; 12.5 x 17 in. (31.8 x 43.2 cm) each, optical implements box: 16.75 x 25.25 in. (42.5 x 64.1 cm).


Installation view. Nature Morte, 1982–1988, 2026.


Installation view. Nature Morte, 1982–1988, 2026.


Alan Belcher, Tariff, 1987. Color photograph, wood, nails, 5.25 x 5.75 x 5.5 in. (13.3 x 14.6 x 14.0 cm).


Alan Belcher, Canadian Softwood, 1986. Color photograph, wood, nails, 7.25 x 20.25 x 7.5 in. (18.4 x 51.4 x 19.1 cm).


Alan Belcher, $51.49, 1983. Dye transfer on bottle of solo fabric softener, edition of 12, 8.75 x 3.75 x 1.75 in. (22.2 x 9.5 x 4.8 cm).


Alan Belcher, $51.49, 1983. Dye transfer on bottle of solo fabric softener, edition of 12, 8.75 x 3.75 x 1.75 in. (22.2 x 9.5 x 4.8 cm).


Steven Parrino, Seek and Destroy, 1982. Acrylic on canvas, 22 x 42 in. (55.9 x 106.7 cm).

Photos: Evan Walsh