Rashid Johnson Trades Art with Angel Otero | "New York Close Up" | Art21

How do artists make a fair exchange of one artwork for another? In this film, artist Rashid Johnson trades a new sculpture with fellow artist Angel Otero, opting for a new painting at Otero's studio in Ridgewood, Queens. Friends and unabashed fans of each other's work since they both attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, the artists informally discuss the unlikely direction of Otero's new text-based pieces as well as a few easel-sized paintings. Otero's process involves applying thick layers of intensely saturated oil paints, peeling the sculptural "skin" off of a surface, and loosely draping the result over a canvas. In exchange for the piece Johnson picks, Otero selects a recent Johnson wall-mounted work: an angular wooden shelf piece, also representing a new "funky" direction in Johnson's work. Johnson and Otero carefully calculate what an appropriate exchange would be at this point in their careers—negotiating market demand for their works and the pragmatics of displaying art in cramped New York apartments—playfully but thoughtfully testing the boundaries of their social and professional friendship.

Rashid Johnson (b. 1977, Chicago, Illinois, USA) lives and works in New York and Brooklyn, New York. Angel Otero (b. 1981, San Juan, Puerto Rico) lives and works in Brooklyn & Queens, New York.

CREDITS | "New York Close Up" Created & Produced by: Wesley Miller & Nick Ravich. Editor: Mary Ann Toman. Cinematography: Andrew David Watson. Sound: Nick Ravich. Associate Producer: Ian Forster. Production Assistant: Paulina V. Ahlstrom, Don Edler & Maren Miller. Design: Open. Artwork: Rashid Johnson & Angel Otero. Thanks: Alex Ernst & Angel Otero. An Art21 Workshop Production. © Art21, Inc. 2011. All rights reserved.

"New York Close Up" is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. Additional support provided by The 1896 Studios & Stages.

For more info: http://www.art21.org/newyorkcloseup

RASHID JOHNSON: Angel is a friend of mine. We met uh, a few years back after I graduated from the School of the Art Institute in the grad program.

He was I think the grad class after mine. He’s a painter and a sculptor.

You know we talk about art and life and he’s doing quite well now with his work and so we’ve been talking recently about trying to trade a work.

Sometimes it can be difficult to actually you know finish the deal. I’m sure he’s got you know the dealers kind of kicking down his door like what do you have available to us and so, you know....

It becomes kind of a sacrifice to like give it to your friends, you know?

What's up?

ANGEL OTORO: Word, man.

RASHID: This is the crew.

Hey, I'm Angel.

OFF-CAMERA: Thanks for letting us in.

ANGEL: No problem, man. More than welcome.

RASHID: We’re here to see your wares.

RASHID: It looks good.

So is this how it comes up?

ANGEL: ... I’m scrapping this new one but then you see it’s not drying.

RASHID: How long does it take them to dry?

ANGEL: This is a new pigment, this is like a hard core, high pigment oil paint so it’s like, yeah like strong, strong stuff.

But the thing is the more pigment, the....

RASHID: The harder it is to dry. Yeah.

ANGEL: So it’s kind of tricky.

RASHID: I like the text pieces too, man.

RASHID: Yeah, how’d you get here?

RASHID: Yeah. And how do you get the thickness? Just tons of oil paint?

ANGEL: Just tons of oil paint man. And after a month or something I try and scrape them out slowly slowly, like inch by inch.

RASHID: I mean it’s interesting because it’s like very much kind of attached to the canvas but it’s not like a slave to the canvas.

ANGEL: Yeah.

RASHID: Like it’s lounging on it. Like it’s pimping the canvas.

ANGEL: That’s true, though.

RASHID: Yeah, I dig that.

RASHID: I got the wood pieces. Which are...I’m actually making one right now in the studio. That...this one doesn’t have a home.

ANGEL: Like with a weird shape?

RASHID: Yeah, it’s funky. It’s funky, dude. But like that would actually be like a good one. You know what I mean? Yeah, man.

RASHID: Maybe like something like that for me?

ANGEL: What size is that wood piece you got over there?

RASHID: It’s like maybe....

RASHID: It’s like this. Like a...I’d say like four....

ANGEL: Four by five.

RASHID: Like...yeah.

RASHID: Like you could fit it. . . Can I touch it a little bit?

ANGEL: I wish I had more stuff man, to show you.

RASHID: It’s good, you know you want to have the pieces of your friends. I mean it marks a time in your own history, who you were with, what were you doing, and you know my wife is pregnant and my kid can grow up around really great art objects, other than mine. (LAUGHS)

I think it’ll be...it’ll be a good shaping experience to have you know...you know work by...by really you know good...good young artists around my....around my kid.

I also feel confident that I maybe took a wrong turn and that I don’t know where the fuck I am. I don’t know Brooklyn so well.

Should I take Knickerbocker?

OFF CAMERA: Yeah, it’ll cut up to Morgan.

RASHID: All right, cool.