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

[New York Close Up]

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["Rashid Johnson Trades Art With Angel Otero"]

[Rashid's thinking about trading this.]

[Rashid Johnson--Artist]

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? [laughter]

[Somewhere Between Brooklyn & Queens]

What's up?

[Angel Otero--Artist]

ANGEL OTERO: 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. [Laughter]

RASHID: It looks good.

So is this how it comes up?

ANGEL: ... I’m scraping 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 hardcore, high pigment oil paint so it’s like, yeah like strong, strong stuff.

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

RASHID: The harder to dry. Yeah.

ANGEL: So it’s kind of tricky.

RASHID: I like the text pieces too, man.

Angel [off camera]: Yeah, it's funny. I never thought

I'd be painting some text stuff.

RASHID: Yeah, how’d you get here?

Angel: I just wanted to see how the text would look with the process kind of thing.

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

ANGEL [off camera]: 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 [off camera]: 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 [off camera]: Yeah.

RASHID [off camera] : Like it’s lounging on it. Like... Like it’s pimping the canvas. [Laughter]

ANGEL [off camera]: That’s true, though. [Laughter]

RASHID [off camera]: Yeah, I dig that.

Angel: What do you having going on, the wood pieces?

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.

Angel: The gallery took everything from me, man. [Laughter]

RASHID: Maybe like something like that for me?

Angel: Like this size? Rashid: Yeah

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

RASHID: It’s like maybe....

Angel: Living in New York, you gotta... Rachid: I know, I know. It's not huge.

...My apartment's like a bathroom.

RASHID [off camera]: It’s like this. Like a... I’d say like four...

ANGEL: Four by five?

RASHID [off camera]: Like... yeah. You know what I mean?

Angel: Perfect, that's a perfect size.

RASHID [off camera]: Like you could fit it... Can I touch it a little bit?

Rashid: It's a banger man, totally. Rashid: Yeah.

I'll put this in the crib, man.

Angel: Yeah, it's a Rashid piece right there.

Rashid: Yeah. Done, done.

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

RASHID [voice over]: 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.