Private Art Gallery Visit Series
April 14th, 2025 @ Gagosian Gallery
Columbia alumni were welcomed by Chiara Cola and Nina Garcia, at Gagosian Gallery for a private guided tour of the exhibition of Difference and Repetition. The visit included access to the private collector’s gallery.
Every act of destruction is also an act of creation. To destroy is to open up a space, to clear a path for something new.
—Gilles Deleuze, Difference and Repetition, 1968
Conceived in homage to Gilles Deleuze, Difference and Repetition presents a conversation between works by artists who have challenged the conventions of form, material, and perception, highlighting the evolution of their practices. The exhibition gathers defining works by key postwar figures Walter De Maria, Lucio Fontana, Donald Judd, Piero Manzoni, Mario Merz, Pablo Picasso, Robert Rauschenberg, Richard Serra, and Andy Warhol.
Difference and Repetition reveals how repetition in art can redefine perceptual and formal possibilities, examining how artists have employed seriality, variation, and accumulation to destabilize conventional patterns of sight and thought. Picasso’s declaration “In my case, a picture is a sum of destructions” resonates with Deleuze’s thinking. Parallelling the philosopher’s inquiries into differentiation and iteration is Serra’s credo that “Repetition is the ritual of obsession.”
Walter De Maria
14-Sided Open Polygon, 1984
Solid stainless steel with solid stainless steel ball
10.2 x 226.1 x 226.1 cm
© Estate of Walter De Maria.
Photo: Rob McKeever.
Courtesy Gagosian
ABOUT THE SERIES
Many art enthusiasts among our alumni have expressed a desire to explore contemporary art and understand the process of building an art collection, often wondering, “Where do I even begin?”
This series was created to address these questions and more. Each visit includes a guided tour led by an artist or curator, followed by a discussion at a Paris art gallery. It provides a unique opportunity for alumni and galleries to connect, fostering meaningful relationships around the world of contemporary art.
Posted by Victor Schaub Wong ’91 GSAPP
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