Open Call for “Found Scents”

This is the 2024 open call for artworks to be included in an exhibition at Olfactory Art Keller. The exhibition will explore the use of unusual materials to construct scent art. It will be called “Found Scents”.

In visual art, there is a long tradition of using materials that are not normally considered art materials. Examples are Marcel Duchamp’s “Fountain”, a porcelain urinal signed "R. Mutt", Tracey Emin's “My Bed”, the artist’s unmade bed and items from her room, such as condoms, underwear, and a pair of slippers, Jeff Koons' “Two Ball 50/50 Tank”, which consists of two basketballs floating in a glass tank, and Salvador Dali’s “Lobster Telephone”, a plaster lobster that has been attached to the receiver of a telephone. Some artists spent their entire career working with unusual materials. The assemblagist Joseph Cornell was known for glass-fronted boxes in which he arranged collections of found objects and images. The contemporary sculptor Sarah Sze builds large scale installations from everyday items like strings, Q-tips, and empty bottles.

In olfactory art, the use of found scents or everyday scents as material for artworks has become more popular in recent years. David Bernstein created his "salad" by blending three single-origin olive oils. Alexis Karl scented her installation “The Exquisite Inevitable” largely with infusions of plant materials she collected in forests. Catherine Haley Epstein experiments with exhibiting a perfumer’s liquid waste, and Dutch artists Lernert & Sander mixed together every perfume released in 2012 to make their “Everything”.

“Found Scents” will be a survey of novel artworks in this tradition. Submitted works can be odorous liquids (the gallery will provide a bottle or other container) or odorous liquids in a container (the bottle or container is part of the artwork and will be produced by the artist) or odorous objects. (Odorous objects can only be considered if they have a subtle scent because they will be displayed in a small room with several other scented works.) Proposals for performances centered around found scents are also welcome. Olfactory Art Keller is a commercial art gallery, so the works in the exhibition will be for sale exclusively at the gallery.

We are asking for proposals (less than one page, images are allowed) to be submitted as email attachments to info@olfactoryartkeller.com by March 25. If your proposed project is selected for inclusion in “Found Scents”, you will have two months to produce the work. If you have any questions, please reach out to info@olfactoryartkeller.com.