Michael Asher (born 1943 in Los Angeles, California) is a conceptual artist, described by The New York Times as "among the patron saints of the Conceptual Art phylum known as institutional critique, an often esoteric dissection of the assumptions that govern how we perceive art. Rather than designing new art objects, Asher typically alters the existing environment, by repositioning or removing artworks, walls, facades, etc.

Life

Born in 1943, Asher is the son of Gallerist Betty Asher and Dr. Leonard Asher

He is a teacher at the California Institute of the Arts, where his "post-studio art" course consists of intensive group critiques that can focus on a single work for eight hours or more. His Writings, 1973-1983, on Works 1969-1979, co-authored by the art historian Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, was published by The Press of the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design.

Works

Asher's work takes the form of "subtle yet deliberate interventions – additions, subtractions or alterations – in particular environments." His work in the late 1960s and early 1970s consisted of dividing up gallery spaces using partition walls and curtains, and designing environments that reflected or absorbed sound. In the 1970s he began to remove elements from spaces, for example sandblasting away layers of paint or removing the partition walls separating an exhibition space from the gallery office. In 1979 he started to reposition objects in museum collections.

His untitled 1991 work featuring a granite drinking fountain juxtaposed with a flag pole was his first permanent public outdoor work in the United States. It is part of the Stuart Collection of public art on the campus of the University of California, San Diego.

He has exhibited at documenta (1972, 1982) and the Venice Biennale (1976), and his solo museum shows include the Centre Pompidou (1991), Los Angeles County Museum of Art (2003), Art Institute of Chicago (2005) and Santa Monica Museum of Art (2008).

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