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YOKO ONO’S “Mend Piece”

ON VIEW: August 31 — December 23, 2022

In this iteration of the iconic installation Mend Piece (Andrea Rosen Gallery, New York City version) (1966/2015), Yoko Ono proposes communal mending as an act of healing.

In a seemingly simple white room, shattered cups and saucers are placed on a table. Participants are asked to bind the fragments together using common household items: twine, glue, scissors, and tape. The resulting creations are displayed on nearby shelves, evidence of the power of collective action. Secluded from the bustling world, Ono’s meditative environment inspires reflections on the tumultuous concerns of society, as well as personal struggles.

Conceived in the 1960s at a moment of rapid cultural transformation, this early example of participatory artwork still resonates strongly today. Mend Piece calls to mind the Japanese philosophy of Wabi-sabi, an embracing of the flawed or imperfect. For Ono, a visitors’ small act of mending holds the potential to resonate at a universal scale. With straightforward directions, the artist asks participants to let go of pretension and consider larger ideas: “Mend with wisdom/mend with love./It will mend the earth/at the same time.”

Yoko Ono’s work radically questions the division between art and the everyday, the artist and the viewer. Participating in Mend Piece (Andrea Rosen Gallery, New York City version), one experiences Ono’s unique practice both intellectually and physically.

 

YOKO ONO’S Mend Piece (Andrea Rosen Gallery, New York City version) is organized by the American Federation of Arts (AFA) in partnership with the Rennie Collection.

The presentation of YOKO ONO’s
Mend Piece (Andrea Rosen Gallery, New York City version) is part of ArtRoom, an ongoing series of contemporary art installations organized by the AFA.

Generous support for the Neuberger Museum of Art’s presentation of YOKO ONO’s Mend Piece has been provided by Bonnie and Robert Romano.

 

About the Artist
Yoko Ono (b. 1933, Tokyo, Japan) is widely recognized for her pioneering conceptual art, which has encompassed performance, instruction, film, music, and writing. She has been the focus of major solo exhibitions at institutions such as the Guggenheim Bilbao, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo. Today, she continues to work tirelessly for world peace.

American Federation of Arts logo About the American Federation of Arts
The American Federation of Arts is the leader in traveling exhibitions internationally. A nonprofit organization founded in 1909, the AFA is dedicated to enriching the public’s experience and understanding of the visual arts through organizing and touring art exhibitions for presentation in museums around the world, publishing exhibition catalogues featuring important scholarly research, and developing educational programs.