Blue Chip is the prelude to a yet unrealized art project entitled Art Deli, proposed as an immersive installation by artist Philip Lique that reimagines the rituals of exhibition-making through the lens of a neighborhood delicatessen. Drawing from Fluxus traditions, the project merges communal food experiences with the playful destruction and distribution of artworks.
A prelude to the full realization of Art Deli, Blue Chip is an open call exhibition which displays artists works in a visual dialog with a “degenerative” text based work, assembled from bags of Lays potato chips. Any work that measures 12”x12” could be submitted for this exhibition. Artists could submit up to 3 works. All work was to be hung within a numbered grid. All artworks are priced at $500, with a 50/50 split between gallery and the artist.
Lique contributed "BLUE CHIP," a wall sculpture comprised of Lays Potato Chip bags to the project. Similar to the arrangement of artwork, the potato chip wall was arranged in a grid format.
Bags of Original (yellow), Sour Cream (green) and Salt & Vinegar (blue) were arranged to spell "BLUE CHIP," a term often used to reference high value artists or artworks. As bags of chips were purchased, the phrase was gradually deconstructed, literally consumed by “Art Deli “ supporters. Individual artworks (i.e. potato chip bags) were sold for $20 per bag, with 100% of sales devoted to future “Art Deli” honorariums.
Through humor, participation, and the blending of art and everyday ritual, Art Deli offers a distinctive platform for collaboration and exchange, reframing the value of art as both consumable and communal.
