Dylan Palmer: Labor

Composed of hundreds of handmade miniature terracotta bricks, Labor is a subtle, site-specific intervention that seeks to play off of the existing architecture of 223-225 West 10th Street. Palmer’s brick making and laying process consisted of a series of very repetitive gestures, which he ultimately found meditative and revelatory. Although this performative action is not immediately apparent to the viewer, producing the bricks and their labor-intensive installation was inherent to the manifestation of the work. Constructing the installation’s brick wall was the final absurd gesture in a litany of intentionally unpractical efforts that went into the project. To erect a miniature brick façade, Palmer sculpted hundreds of tiny bricks over the course of months, shipped them across the country, and followed in parallel air travel from Los Angeles to New York City. That all of this time and effort may go unnoticed because of the work’s uncanny resemblance to a modest brick wall pays homage to the skilled laborers and craftsmen who are often unrecorded and unheralded in the history of art and architecture.

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The West 10th Street Window is curated by Natalie Diaz and Jennie Lamensdorf and is sponsored by the Time Equities Inc. (TEI) Art-in-Buildings Program. TEI is committed to enriching the experience of our properties through the Art-in-Buildings Program, an innovative approach that brings contemporary art by emerging and mid-career artists to non-traditional exhibition spaces in the interest of promoting artists, expanding the audience for art, and creating a more interesting environment for our building occupants, residents, and their guests.