The Opening Gallery and ERIS ART are pleased to present Kenneth Goldsmith’s critically-acclaimed I Declare a Permanent State of Happiness. The exhibition coincides with the release a beautifully produced second edition of the book, and a signed limited edition, as well as a series of numbered prints.

I Declare a Permanent State of Happiness is a re- markable engagement with one of the most impor- tant philosophical works of the twentieth century, Wittgenstein’s Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus.

Written as a series of numbered propositions, Witt- genstein’s treatise is an ambitious attempt to elu- cidate the relationship of language to logic and to reality. Goldsmith’s response to the text is a testament to the highly distinctive artistic vision that characterizes all of his work. Inspired by the Tractatus but also boldly inventive, Goldsmith’s images reveal the breadth and depth not just of Wittgenstein’s genius, but also of the intervening artist’s creative fervor.

Collages, drawings, sketches, handwritten com- ments, blacked-out and blanched text, shopping receipts and scans-within-scans – these are some of the techniques that appear in this body of work. The exhibition will put on display the most dazzling of the original artworks reproduced in Goldsmith’s book. Innovatively presented in the Opening Gal- lery’s stunning exhibition space, this is a unique opportunity to witness an extraordinary form of creative and intellectual dialogue. The exhibition is curated by Sozita Goudouna and Alex Stavrakas.

Original works, as well as the second edition of I Declare a Permanent State of Happiness will be available for sale, together with copies of a deluxe limited edition of the same book, and prints.

Kenneth Goldsmith lives and works in New York City. He teaches writing at the University of Penn- sylvania. In 1996, he founded UbuWeb (http://ubu. com), the largest site for the free distribution of avant-garde materials, and in 2013 he was named as the inaugural Poet Laureate of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. In addition to I Declare a Permanent State of Happiness, his books include Wasting Time on the Internet and Duchamp Is My Lawyer: The Polemics, Pragmatics, and Poetics of UbuWeb, the latter of which was awarded the 2020 Prix François Morellet.

The Opening Gallery was launched as an initiative that supports contemporary art and international artists beyond the confines of the art market, while it fosters cultural engagement and exchanges between the US and the globe. This alternative art ecosystem attempts to go beyond prevalent gallery models and to showcase global underrepresented artists, and the work of women artists and artists of color. 50% of the proceeds support neurodiversity and charitable causes, and 25% of the proceeds are donated to the non-profit Luv Michael, which is committed to en- riching the lives of autistic adults.

Goldsmith’s recent artistic works are among the most powerful and provocative to have appeared in the last few years. HILLARY: The Hillary Clinton Emails was displayed in conjunction with the Ven- ice Biennale at the Despar Teatro Italia in 2019. It turned the seemingly banal act of printing out the former presidential candidate’s leaked emails into a widely discussed installation that was as notable for its conceptual brilliance as for its underlying political statement. Goldsmith’s ongoing project Retyping a Library was displayed at the Lofoten International Art Festival in 2022.

ERIS ART is the art branch of independent publish- er ERIS PRESS based in London and New York. The press publishes art, literature, and nonfiction, with a particular emphasis on politics and philosophy. Re- cent and forthcoming titles include Maurice Saatchi’s memoir Do Not Resuscitate: The Life and Afterlife of Maurice Saatchi, Andreas Philippopoulos-Mihalopou- los’s short story collection Book of Water, Walter Benn Michaels and Adolph Reed, Jr.’s No Politics but Class Politics, Gabriele Tinti and Andres Serrano’s Confessions, and Thomas Schlesser’s biography of the Norwegian artist Anna-Eva Bergman.

Press Contact: Angus Ledingham, angus@eris.press