ForPatronsOnly

Art in the Service of Society

rock and roll hall of fame restroomAt the end of the last century, MoMA mounted a major exhibition, “The Museum as Muse: Artists Reflect,” which commented on nearly every aspect of museums and the art industry. “For Patrons Only” contributes to this body of work. Here I invite the viewer to meditate on both museums and artistic movements by considering an overlooked but critical space in every museum – the restroom.  Simultaneously hidden and open to the public, one will find the mundane, the predictable, the surprising, the overlooked, the critical.I have been adding photographs to this series for over fifteen years.  Started on a whim, my first challenge has always been to make an interesting image. Limited by palette and a reduced number of elements, I look for something that may connect to the larger institution, or comment on it.  The photographs have also become part of my visual memoir, tracking my movement through the art world over the years.

MASS MoCA Restrooms a Postcard Portfolio” on sale at museum shop, Hardware, & Davis Orton Gallery, Hudson NY. Prints exhibited at MASS MoCA between Men’s Room & Ladies’ Room
MASS MoCA Restrooms Postcard Portfolio by Karen Davis

For Patrons Only
Classics and Recent Work

New York Public Library 5th&42nd
New York Public Library 5th&42nd

National Building Museum, Washington DC
National Building Museum, Washington DC
Tate Modern, London UK
Tate Modern, London UK
National Portrait Gallery, London UK
National Portrait Gallery, London UK

 

Southside Gallery, Oxford MS
Southside Gallery, Oxford MS
The Louvre, Paris FR
The Louvre, Paris FR
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland OH
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland OH
Guggenheim, NYC
Guggenheim, NYC

 

 

 

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Art Gallery of Ontario
Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto ON

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Museum of Arts and Design, NYC © Karen Davis
Museum of Arts & Design, New York NY

 

 

 

Williams College Museum of Art © Karen Davis
Williams College Museum of Art, Williamstown MA
New Mexico Museum of Art, Santa Fe © Karen Davis
New Mexico Museum of Art, Santa Fe
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven CT © Karen Davis
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven CT
Addison Gallery of American Art, No.Andover MA © Karen Davis
Addison Gallery of American Art, No.Andover MA
National Gallery of Art - East Building, Washington DC © Karen Davis
National Gallery of Art – East Building, Washington DC
New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans LA © Karen Davis
New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans LA
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston - Houston TX © Karen Davis
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston – Houston TX
The Blanton Museum of Art, University of Texas at Austin TX © Karen Davis
The Blanton Museum of Art, University of Texas at Austin TX
Hunter Museum of American Art, Chattanooga TN © Karen Davis
Hunter Museum of American Art, Chattanooga TN