Rules of the Game

What better metaphor is there for the life of an artist than a game of poker: bluffing, knowing when to lay low, taking risks, capitalizing on some luck, creating the belief that your hand is extremely valuable?

Rules of the Game is about the ephemeral: a Saturday night poker tournament that lives on in the collective memory of the players, but also as an artists’ book. It contains and documents new art collections assembled through wit, skill, and chance, therefore becoming an extension of that Saturday performance.

Are you in?


The Game

The game is Texas Hold ‘ Em and the wager is art. Six artist-poker players each wager an original work. The seventh player, an institution or collector, wagers an original artwork by Melissa Brown.

The collection at each of the 5 tables is determined by drawing names. One artist, one collector, or one institution leaves the table with an art collection earned through chance, luck and skill. This is a performance about acquisitions, permanent collections, fake collections, new collectors, and randomness.


The Players

Each table represents a series of temporal social relationships, connections, and influence.

Table 1

  • Dike Blair
  • Franklin Evans
  • Tamara Gonzales (winner)
  • Butt Johnson
  • David Kennedy Cutler
  • Leslie Park (winner)
  • Wendy White

Table 2

  • Kari Cholnoky 
  • Carla Edwards 
  • Derek Eller* (winner)
  • EJ Hauser
  • JJ Manford (winner)
  • Christian Patterson
  • Clayton Schiff

Table 3

  • Erik den Breejen 
  • Jim Drobnick
  • Caroline Larsen
  • Michael Mahalchick
  • Tony Matelli
  • Sherly Oppenheim
  • Siebren Versteeg (winner)

Table 4

  • Trudy Bensen 
  • Maria Calandra
  • Adam Cvijanovic
  • Ellon Gibbs
  • Jonah Kaner
  • Jacques Louis Vidal (winner)
  • Sean O’Connor

Table 5

  • Tony Bluestone 
  • Matthew F Fisher
  • Luke Murphy
  • John O’Connor
  • Jason Roussos‡ (winner)
  • Dannielle Tegeder
  • Jake Troyli

(*for Abigail Dansiger)

(‡ JPW3 as alternate)


The Book

Produced in an edition of 5, Rules of the Game consists of a manual, a deck of cards, a photo album, and the wager. At the end of the games, the player portfolios will either contain the original works of wagered art, or black and white xerox reproductions depending on the owner/player’s outcome in the game.


The Context

Since the 1960’s performance artists have been using the artists’ book as a space to present the ephemeral. In 1964 Yoko Ono released her iconic book Grapefruit—a collection of performance scores that has delighted art students and art lovers for years. In 1967 Alison Knowles Big Book became a site for interaction and she invited the audience to explore the landscape of this 8-foot-tall artists’ book. In 1976 Franklin Furnace was founded to support artists using publishing and performance and has presented these two time-based mediums side by side for nearly 50 years. In 1992 Susan Joy Share performed at Center for Book Arts using her book performance props. In 2019 Angela Lorenz performed her Chewing Tzu – The Rumination Book, her 1993 artists’ book which takes the form of several sticks of chewing gum printed with words to ruminate on. Melissa Brown’s book Rules of the Game continues in this lineage.

Exhibition Checklist

Trudy Benson
Red Stack
sprayed acrylic, pen, and crayon on paper
9.5 x 8.25 inches
2024
Won by Jacques Louis Vidal

Dike Blair
Untitled
Charcoal, gouache, gesso on paper
12 x 9 inches, 13⅛ x 10⅛ inches (framed)
2019
Won by Leslie Park

Tony Bluestone
Eclipse
Oil on Yupo
7.5 x 10 inches
2024
Won by Jasson Roussos

Melissa Brown
Rules of the Game
artists’ book, screen printed on paper, housed in clamshell with deck of cards, photo album documenting the performance, and all wagers won or lost
2018-2024
Edition of 5 books + 1 AP

Melissa Brown
Hermit (double sided)
flash, oil, acrylic on aluminum screen printed enamel
2018-2024
Won by Tamara Gonzales

Melissa Brown
Emperor (double sided)
flash, oil, acrylic on aluminum screen printed enamel
2018-2024
Won by Derek Eller

Melissa Brown
Ace of Swords (double sided)
flash, oil, acrylic on aluminum screen printed enamel
2018-2024
Won by Jacques Louis Vidal

Melissa Brown
Ace of Pentacles (double sided)
flash, oil, acrylic on aluminum screen printed enamel
2018-2024
Won by Siebren Versteeg

Melissa Brown
Death (double sided)
flash, oil, acrylic on aluminum screen printed enamel
2018-2024
Won by Jasson Roussos

Maria Calandra
Solar Eclipse from April 8 2024
acrylic on linen
8.125 x 6 inches
2024
Won by Jacques Louis Vidal

Kari Cholnoky
Untitled
acrylic and polar fleece on paper
13 x 10.25 inches
2018
Won by JJ Manford

Adam Cvijanovic
Small Volcano
Oil on plexiglass
10.75 x 14 x 2 inches
2021
Won by Jacques Louis Vidal

Erik den Breejen
The Wisdom of Insurity (apologies to Alan Watts)
acrylic on paper
9 x 12 inches
2020
Won by Jim Drobnick

Carla Edwards
Play the Part
american flags, nylon dye, bleach
12 x 17 inches
2024
Won by Derek Eller

Franklin Evans
floornotesalexanderstudio
laminated pigment print
11.5 x 9.25 inches
2017-2022
Won by Tamara Gonzales

Matthew F Fisher
The Faces We Don’t See
ink and collage on watercolor paper
13 x 11 inches
2022
Won by Jasson Roussos

Ellon Gibbs
Untitled
acrylic and oil on watercolor paper
12 x 18 inches
2024
Won by Jacques Louis Vidal

Tamara Gonzales
Moon in Scorpio
color pencil on paper
13 x 11 inches
2024
Won by Leslie Park

EJ Hauser
Untitled Mountains and Peaks Drawing
permanent marker on paper
12 x 9 inches
2022
Won by JJ Manford

Butt Johnson
Misattribution of Memory
gel ink on black paper
12 x 9 inches
2015
Won by Leslie Park

David Kennedy Cutler
Small Potatoes
inkjet fresco on drywall, wood
8 x 9 x 3 inches
2018
Won by Tamara Gonzales

Caroline Larsen
Stained glass skull
8.5 x 6 inches
2020
Won by Jim Drobnick

Jacques Louis Vidal
Set adrift in the positive useful haze
uv cured ink, acrylic on panel
16 x12 inches
2023
Won by Jacques Louis Vidal

Michael Mahalchick
Advent 1
latex
13.25 x 9.25 inches
2023
Won by Siebren Versteeg

JJ Manford
Vintage Woody Woodpecker Clock Box
oil pastel, color pencil, graphite on toned paper
14.5 x 11.75 inches
2024
Won by Derek Eller

Tony Matelli
Arrangement Study
inkjet collage on paper
16 x 21.5 inches
2022
Won by Siebren Versteeg

Luke Murphy
Draw Repeat
micro controller, software, code
4.5 x 2.25 x 2.25 inches
2024
Won by Jasson Roussos

John O’Connor
rSIN1EATER
graphite and color pencil on paper
11 x14 inches
2023
Won by Jasson Roussos

Sean O’Connor
Spring /sprung
gouache on paper
12 x 9 inches
2024
Won by Jacques Louis Vidal

Sheryl Oppenheim
Obscured Painting #2
suminagashi-marbled silk over oil on linen
10 x 12 inches
2024
Won by Jim Drobnick

Christian Patterson
I Pledge Allegation
one-shot of postage stamps
9.625 x 7.625 Artist Proof
2011
Won by JJ Manford

Bill Saylor
Untitled
pastel, inkpen, wax crayon
12 x 9 inches
2024
Won by Jasson Roussos

Clayton Schiff
Untitled
ink on paper
11 x 14 inches
2024
Won by JJ Manford

Dannielle Tegeder
Drawing 1138
ink and pencil on paper
10 x 12 inches
2021-2023
Won by Jasson Roussos

Jake Troyli
Holding and Folding
ink on paper
14 x 11 inches
2024
Won by Jasson Roussos

Siebren Versteeg
Bar Fly
video player and acrylic on canvas
10 x 8.25 inches
2024
Won by Jim Drobnick

Wendy White
Untitled (Three Bands)
acrylic on canvas
12 inch tondo
2023
Won by Tamara Gonzales

Exhibition Views

Photo Daniel Wang
Photo Daniel Wang
Photo Daniel Wang
Photo Daniel Wang
Photo Daniel Wang
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