Merlin Carpenter

Merlin Carpenter explores the consumerism, fetishism, and elitism of the art world through stunt-like conceptual exhibitions. In his ongoing "The Opening" series, Carpenter signs blank canvases before each show's preview, producing the paintings only during the opening (generally resulting in black-on-white slurs against banks or collectors). He has also turned gallerists into studio assistants or had a collector reproduce 20 copies of an abstract painting. In the 2011 show “Heroes,” Carpenter's figurative paintings were accessible only to those who paid €5,000. For the general public, they could be seen as reproductions on a deck of cards.