NEW YORK, N.Y.- Paris-based collective artist Claire Fontaine presents “Working Together,” her first exhibition at Metro Pictures. Founded in 2004 Fontaine lifted her name from a brand of French notebooks and stationery to develop a practice largely based on the elaboration of existing forms and materials. In an attempt to identify the transformed position of “the artist” Fontaine conceived the “ready-made artist,” which considers the contemporary artist as equivalent to the urinal or Brillo Box. Examining society’s visible and invisible cooperative systems, “Working Together” focuses on the delicate balance between independence and complicity. The sculptures, videos, paintings and neon signs in the exhibition explore conflict as an inherent aspect of working together while also addressing cooperation as essential to both struggle and daily life. Joke Paintings (Richar