Franz Petto

The Closed Gallery

https://www.petto.at/

The Closed Gallery is an art concept I joined. In my case, it's more like an asylum. Well, by closing everything, the asylum is one that extends worldwide.  There's not much to see in a closed asylum, so you won't see much in this gallery. I really feel sorry for you as an audience...  Of course, you will die soon, if you haven't already, God bless you...

Closed Gallery is a 1969 piece consisting of three invitations to gallery shows in Amsterdam, Turin, and Los Angeles printed on simple white cards. They informed the recipients that during the exhibition, the gallery would be closed. “It’s the purest form of this notion of what the physicality of art is and what art is really all about. One doesn’t need to even have the gallery space", said David Platzker, who sent out numerous announcement cards worldwide, each saying simply “During the exhibition the gallery will be closed”. “I got permission from Robert [Barry] to do the show,” Platzker said. “I asked him if he would lend me copies of the three prior announcement cards and he said, ‘Why would you want them? There is no show. I don’t want people to come to the gallery because the gallery is closed.’

Sold to a collector in NY