By Request: Behind the scenes with Jeffry Cudlin

What the hell is Jeffry Cudlin up to?

BY REQUEST is a subversive, humorous, and celebrity-obsessed show about the Washington, D.C. art world.
 
Seven D.C. power players—collectors, curators, and critics—were asked to fill out surveys to determine their ideal works of art. These surveys were turned over to seven different D.C. artists who pledged to deliver custom pieces.
 
There was one small catch: The show’s ringmaster, Jeffry Cudlin, insisted that he be depicted in every work of art, thereby transforming himself into the show’s biggest celebrity. The resulting outlandish images feature cross-dressing, a severed pig’s head, and a pair of fake latex breasts, courtesy of an FX makeup artist.
 
A live web terminal at the show’s opening will allow audiences to decide if the show is a success or a failure—and the results will be tracked and announced over the course of the evening. By the reception’s end, everyone will know if Cudlin’s art world power grab was a stroke of genius or simple megalomania.

Find out more when his show opens on June 25 at Flashpoint Gallery.