04/29/2026
Krakow Witkin Gallery’s current exhibition arranges works from the past 15 years by Kay Rosen () with works from 1983 by John Cage. While not an obvious aesthetic or conceptual pairing, the juxtaposition of works hopes to provide more nuanced understanding and appreciations of both artists’ approaches to observation, appreciation, chance, choice, and control.
John Cage (1912–1992) was best known for his musical compositions. Breaking with established techniques of both composing and performing, Cage believed in a balance between chance operations and predetermined structures and thus created some of the most revolutionary works of music of the 20th century. Meanwhile, in addition to his musical work, from the late 1960s until his passing, he created numerous bodies of visual art. He made drawings and also had a very consistent practice of printmaking, with most being made in collaboration with the incredibly talented Kathan Brown’s Crown Point Press. Krakow Witkin Gallery’s current exhibition highlights the “Ryoanji” drawings and prints, a body of work inspired by the highly revered rock garden at Ryōan-ji (“Temple of the Peaceful Dragon”), a Zen Buddhist temple that the artist first visited in Kyoto, Japan, in 1962.
“I think of the garden or the space for the fifteen stones as being four staves, or two pages—each page having two staves. And the staves are actually the area of the garden. Knowing the whole of it, I can find by chance operations where to put which stone.”
– John Cage
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https://www.krakowwitkingallery.com/exhibition/john-cage-and-kay-rosen/
