Dec 12, 2024, 6:30 PM – 8 PM

Exhibition Walkthrough: Jane Dickson and Laura Hoptman on The Way I See It: Selections from the KAWS Collection

Join us for a unique conversation and in-person exhibition walkthrough of The Way I See It: Selections from the KAWS Collection with artist Jane Dickson and Laura Hoptman, Executive Director of The Drawing Center as they look at the art of the eighties that is part of the collection, swap stories and reminisce about New York City art, life and community during that era.

Jane Dickson

The Chicago-born artist Jane Dickson (1952–) is known for her evocative paintings, drawings, and prints that delve into the psychogeography of American culture. Dickson's artistic journey was shaped by late-1970s punk and alternative counterculture in New York, where she was active in artist collectives like Fashion Moda and Collaborative Projects Inc. (Colab), which staged the landmark Real Estate Show and The Times Square Show in 1980. In 1978, Dickson responded to a wanted ad in The New York Times for an “artist...willing to learn computers,” which led to her employment as the nighttime programmer of Spectacolor, the first electronic billboard at One Times Square. She used the opportunity to pioneer some of the first widely-seen digital art and animations of the time as well as to curate projects by her friends and colleagues, including Jenny Holzer, Keith Haring, and David Hammons. Dickson’s cinematic and fluorescent depictions of Times Square—where she lived in a loft on 43rd Street for nearly three decades—feature motels, strip clubs, sex shops, and late-night diners irradiated by the surrounding neon signs and colossal marquees, offering a powerful and penetrating commentary on American values and social strata.

Major support for The Way I See It: Selections from the KAWS Collection is provided by Neuberger Berman Private Wealth; the Outsider Art Fair; Skarstedt, New York; Christie’s Art Finance; and UNIQLO. Special thanks to 2x4 and Human Made.