As part of the second edition of FM Forward, featuring American artist Marcia Hafif, the gallery hosted a discussion and live Q&A with Alanna Heiss, founder of P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center (now MoMA PS1) and Clocktower Productions, and Jarl Mohn, avid collector and NPR President Emeritus, on the artist’s seminal 1972-73 work, An Extended Gray Scale.
This is a recording of the virtual event, which took place on May 20, 2020. Questions and answers from the event are also posted online — click here to read.
FM Forward is the gallery’s digital platform for cultivating insightful connections between our artists, their pivotal artworks, and our engaged community. Click here to learn more.
About An Extended Gray Scale (1972-73)
In An Extended Gray Scale, a work that occupied the artist for nearly a year, Hafif painted gradations from black to white. Painting as many gradations she could distinguish, she completed a total of 106 22 x 22 inch oil paintings on standard cotton canvases. In the 2015 edition of Unlimited at Art Basel, Fergus McCaffrey presented the monumental work, in its entirety for the first time ever.
About Alanna Heiss
Alanna Heiss is an arts innovator, spearheading the groundbreaking early 1970s alternative spaces movement in New York City, including legendary programs like The Institute for Art and Urban Resources, Inc., Clocktower Productions, and 112 Greene Street. In 1976, Heiss founded P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center (now MoMA PS1), which she directed for 32 years. Throughout her career, Heiss has organized over 700 exhibitions worldwide. She is the recipient of several notable awards including the Mayor’s Award for Contributions to the Artistic Viability of New York City, as well as France’s prestigious Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres in the Légion d’Honneur and the Skowhegan Award for Outstanding Work in the Arts.
Heiss was a close friend of Marcia Hafif’s, championing her work and including the artist in several exhibitions over decades. In 2018, she co-curated the gallery’s memorial exhibition, Marcia Hafif Remembered, with Richard Nonas and Hanne Tierney.
About Jarl Mohn
Jarl Mohn is an artists’ advocate, respected collector, and Los Angeles institutional collaborator. In 2000, he co-founded the Mohn Family Foundation, a non-profit renowned for its active support of the arts, with his wife, Pamela. He is a former board member of the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art and a generous supporter of the Hammer Museum’s Made in LA series.
An industry leader in radio and media, Mohn currently serves as President Emeritus of National Public Radio. He is a former disc jockey, station programmer, general manager, and founder, president and CEO of several television and radio enterprises such as NPR, MTV, VH1, and E! Entertainment.
The eclectic Mohn Collection is widely known, due to the generosity of the family in opening their home regularly to individual visitors and groups. Amongst the collection is Marcia Hafif’s Shade Paintings, and Mohn has been an active voice in championing the artist’s work and the acquisition of An Extended Gray Scale by a U.S. institution.