Pierogi, in partnership with Monira Foundation and Mana Contemporary, presents Flat Files, a program and exhibition series developed as an expansive, interactive archive of portfolios containing original works on paper, presented alongside a long-standing schedule of solo and group exhibitions featuring emerging and mid-career artists.
Since their inception, access and participation have been central to the Flat Files’ mission. By allowing viewers to handle and explore portfolios directly, the project demystifies the art-viewing process and invites audiences to engage with original artworks in an intimate, self-directed way. The Flat Files offer access to works rarely seen in traditional gallery or museum settings, while opening pathways for people who may have felt that acquiring original artwork was out of reach. This exhibition foregrounds an in-person, visceral experience, bringing audiences back into physical relationship with artworks.
The artwork included in the Flat Files represents a wide cross-section of contemporary practice, encompassing emerging, mid-career, and established artists. For this exhibition, approximately 300 portfolios will be on view. In advance of the opening, additional artists will be curated into the exhibition from Monira and Mana studios and their surrounding communities. Several gallery walls will feature a salon-style installation of works selected from the portfolios, alongside a curated presentation of larger works that complement the works on paper in the files. This project is not a “who’s who” of the art world, but a deliberately inclusive platform for discovery and exchange.
The Flat Files were first exhibited at Pierogi in Brooklyn in 1994, beginning with a single file housing twenty artist portfolios. Since then, the project has grown to include work by over 800 artists and has been presented nationally and internationally at institutions including the Museum of Modern Art (New York), the Brooklyn Museum, Gasworks Gallery (London), Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (San Francisco), the Andy Warhol Museum (Pittsburgh), and others. In each location, local artists were invited to contribute, allowing the Flat Files to expand in direct dialogue with place.