It all began back in 1996, when Jeffrey Deitch of New York's Deitch Gallery mounted an exhibition called "Shopping." Never without his trademark pair of large, round eyeglasses, Deitch — who, by the way, recently became the director of L.A.'s Museum of Contemporary Art — hooked up 26 international artists with 26 SoHo businesses that, at the time, were quickly replacing funky art galleries, per the inevitable course of gentrification. The upshot was a veritable explosion of all forms of art about consumerism, consumption, and ownership displayed in trendy shop windows, boutiques, and restaurants, not to mention a hardware store, a Salvation Army outlet and a... More >>>