The Paradox of Legacy: Why Design Innovation Requires Destroying the Past

The late architect Stanley Tigerman viewed the passing of the creative torch as a potentially violent act, advising protégés to take the baton and use it to “stab” the predecessor who handed it over. This visceral metaphor suggests that true progression in culture demands more than just honoring history; it often requires actively dismantling it. This tension—between the weight of tradition and the necessity of rupture—forms the intellectual core of a new chapter for Volume Gallery, which inaugurates its expanded Chicago space by examining how the “heresy” of today becomes the canon of tomorrow.

Volume Gallery, a fixture in the city’s art scene for a decade and a half, is relocating to the industrial corridor of West Town this February. The move to 1700 West Hubbard Street represents more than a change of address; it signals a substantial scaling up of operations, with a new 3,500-square-foot facility that triples the gallery’s previous exhibition capacity. The expansion places the gallery among a growing concentration of contemporary art spaces revitalizing the area, suggesting a shift in the city’s cultural geography.

Sarah Rosalena
Terrapine, 2024
Pine needles, waxed thread, and stoneware
18.5h x 14w x 14d inches
47h x 35.6w x 35.6d cm — Sarah Rosalena artwork photographed for Blum Gallery by Evan Walsh

To inaugurate the expansive new venue, founders Claire Warner and Sam Vinz have curated a group exhibition titled The Heresy of Legacy. The show is conceptually rooted in the history of the avant-garde, examining how acts of rebellion eventually ossify into tradition, only to be challenged by a new generation of iconoclasts. The exhibition argues that innovation emerges specifically from friction with established canons, rather than through isolation from them.

The programming reflects the gallery’s long-standing focus on material-driven practices that blur the distinctions between art, design, and craft. By juxtaposing historical figures with contemporary makers, the curation highlights the dialogue across decades. The roster includes postmodern heavyweights such as Robert Venturi, Denise Scott Brown, and Stanley Tigerman himself, placed alongside contemporary artists like Selva Aparicio and Sarah Rosalena.

This approach underscores a curatorial philosophy that views creative inheritance as both a gift and a weapon. For example, the inclusion of voices like Richard Artschwager and James Wines alongside younger practitioners suggests that the struggle to redefine materials and forms is a continuous, non-linear process. The gallery intends to use the dramatic scale of the new space—characterized by terrazzo floors and double-height ceilings—to support more ambitious, large-scale installations that can physically embody these complex narratives.

Looking beyond the opening, the gallery has outlined a program dedicated to artists who challenge material histories. Upcoming solo presentations will feature Jonathan Muecke’s precise experiments with scale and Joe Feddersen’s synthesis of Indigenous imagery with contemporary visual language. These future shows align with the gallery’s stated mission to foster sustainable and ambitious development for artists, providing a platform where new methodologies can be tested.

In an era where the distinction between discipline and medium is increasingly fluid, the physical expansion of such institutions plays a critical role in the cultural ecosystem. By reinvesting in a permanent, larger footprint within the city, Volume Gallery is asserting that the physical experience of art and design remains paramount. The Heresy of Legacy serves as a fitting prologue to this new era, reminding audiences that the history of art is not a static archive, but a cycle of making, unmaking, and remaking that requires constant renegotiation.