Joel Kyack's "Most Games Are Lost, Not Won" At Frieze Art Fair

LA-based artist creates carnival game for art fair.

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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"This is almost everything I'm interested in jammed into one," Joel Kyack says, explaining his "Most Games Art Lost, Not Won" project at Frieze New York, "It is painted, a sculpture, and a performance."

Now based in LA, Kyack grew up in Pennsylvania, where his family helped organize the local country fair and ran a booth with fair games. He's channeled this personal history in an engaging installation on Randall's Island, pulling from the hack aesthetic of his youth to build a trailer housing two games of luck.

"The heart of this project is about acquisition and desire," Kyack notes.

He's tackling the art world playfully. Leveling, he believes, the playing field by giving all attendees equal shot at a prize. The trailer acts in opposition to the other booths on site and is part of a non-profit program of artist commissions under the name "Frieze Projects NY." There are two games, a ball and ring toss, and as Kyack sets the rules, "You can play once and if you win, you win."

Frieze ends today. Skip lunch and try your hand at Kyack's game of luck.

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