WHAT: “Blind Cut,” curated by Jonah Freeman and Vera Neykov

WHEN: Opening January 19-February 18, Tuesday-Saturday 10 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.

WHERE: Marlborough Gallery Chelsea, 545 West 25th St., New York

WHY THIS SHOW MATTERS: As news of art forgeries is scattered across the web and legal questions arise with regards to the use appropriation in art, Marlborough Chelsea stages the appropriately timed exhibition “Blind Cut.” The ambitious group show brings together an impressive guest-list of contributing artists and borrowed works that delve into varying forms of fiction. From renderings by the Italian radical architectural firm Superstudio to French faux artist collective Claire Fontaine and surrealist film master Luis Buñuel, “Blind Cut” embraces work that focuses on invention, persona, utopia, and authorship.

Not only is the list of featured artists full of super-stars, like Cindy Sherman, Ed Ruscha, Sherrie Levine, Ryan Gander, and Francis Picabia (among others), but the contributor list for the accompanying publication is full of heavy-hitters as well. Prolific science-fiction writer and the creator of numerous literary fictitious worlds J.G. Ballard and exaggerative memoirist James Frey write complimentary essays and interviews.

A highlight for the exhibition, and perhaps the lynchpin, is Belgian conceptualist Marcel Broodthaers, whose seminal work, the fake “Musee d’Art Moderne, Department des Aigles” (1968-74), has set the stage for artists like John Baldessari to produce works of institutional critique and primarily text-based art objects. His work “Les Poissons” (1975) is a maze of words and letters meant to provoke inquiries into the truth of objects and language. Kudos to Marlborough for diving into this currently hot art-world conversation.

To see the artworks featured in "Blind Cut" at Marlborough, click on the slide show.