Tom Marioni

August 17th

1992

pencil on paper

24 x 31 inches

Exhibited: Gallery Paule Anglim; label on reverse

Good condition

Original gallery frame

Domestic shipping $100

Tom Marioni (born 1937) is a first generation conceptual artist, curator and writer best known for his long-running performance, Drinking beer with friends is the highest form of art. He has performed this work, which takes the form of a drinking party, in his studio, at galleries, and at museums for over 50 years.

Marioni founded the Museum of Conceptual Art in San Francisco in 1970, which became an important venue for the conceptual artists of his generation, Paul Kos, Terry Fox, Howard Fried, Bonnie Sherk, Linda Montano and others. It was an alternative venue before there were such things, and promoted sound art, performance art and body art well before conventional spaces were willing to get behind those practices.

<Marioni’s work is rooted in process, epitomized by his first important work, the 1969 One second sculpture, made by throwing an extended tape measure through the air as a circle and watching it land loudly as a line. Marioni’s work has a zen or meditative quality and he works in series. He stands on a pedestal and draws circles with his arm fully extended. He plays jazz drums and uses drum brushing as a model for the drawing motion. He makes drawings that mirror measure walking and drawings that measure the length his arm can reach.

Good