EXHIBITION / COLLABORATION
Philly vs NYC at 222gallery: twelve shared canvases
The 2003 exhibition used a two-city title for a collaborative idea, not a contest.
In this guide 5 sections
What the recovered release establishes
The release dated 14 March 2003 announces Philly vs NYC at 222gallery, 222 Vine Street, from 4 April to 30 May 2003. It describes 24 artists making twelve canvases, each pairing one Philadelphia artist with one New York artist. The text explicitly frames the project as collaboration rather than competition. It does not document visitor numbers, sales or a winning city.
Three pairs from the announced list
The release pairs Rebecca Westcott with Deanne Cheuk, Jim Houser with Andrew Kuo, and Ben Woodward with Jordin Isip, among twelve collaborations. These are names in the announced programme. No image of the resulting canvases has been recovered for this guide, so the graphic here explains the pairing structure rather than fabricating an artwork or an exhibition photograph.
Look for a shared decision
When viewing a collaborative work elsewhere, ask which decision could require negotiation: scale, division of space, a repeated motif or the point at which one mark meets another. Read the credits before assigning a visible feature to an individual artist. A confident attribution of “this half belongs to X” needs evidence, not an assumption based on style.
A complete paper collaboration
For an original exercise, two people use one sheet. Person A draws three shapes in five minutes; person B adds connections in five minutes. Both then agree on one change and make it together. On a separate sheet record the agreed rule and one decision that changed after discussion. This is an editorial exercise, not a reconstruction of any of the twelve canvases.
Evaluate the collaboration, not the winner
Discuss which rule made it easier to respond to the other person’s work, which decision was unresolved and what another round would change. Keep both names on the exercise. The exhibition’s useful lesson is that a shared surface can make exchange visible; it does not prove that all collaborations produce the same result.
Keep this three-part record
- 01People
The announced programme has 12 artists from each city.
- 02Pairing
One Philadelphia artist and one New York artist share a canvas.
- 03Result
The release announces 12 collaborative canvases, not a competition.