Cultural Currency: Contemporary Art from the Riemer Collection explores the inventive ways artists repurpose money to challenge conventional ideas of value and worth. By transforming bills and coins into striking, conceptual artworks, the artists in this exhibition reveal the deeper emotional and psychological implications of currency in our lives. Money is a constant in human society, a universal system of exchange that meets both basic needs and luxury desires. Yet rarely do we reflect on its aesthetic or material qualities. As artist Ray Beldner notes, “U.S. currency is the world's biggest ongoing print edition. Every bill is unique, and it's numbered uniquely. It's signed by the person that caused it to be made, the Secretary of the Treasury. It's made from archival materials. It's 100 percent cotton. It's beautifully done."
Ray Beldner, Money Bag, 2011, U.S. currency and recycled rubber,
13.75 x 13 x 10.5 inches; photo by Shaun Roberts
Ray Beldner, This Is Definitely Not a Pipe from the Counterfeit series, 2004,
sewn U.S. currency, 24.5 x 30.5 inches; photo by Shaun Roberts
Over 30 artists are featured in Cultural Currency, each engaging with these overlooked aspects of money, using it to address themes like capitalism, race, politics, identity, and power. Their work ranges from humorous to fantastical to deeply urgent, often conveying the emotional weight money carries, how it shapes dreams, anxiety, and aspiration. Collectors Davis Riemer and Louise Rothman-Riemer began acquiring currency-themed contemporary art in 1995, inspired by stories from their careers in financial advising. Their goal was to challenge assumptions about money’s intrinsic value. As Rothman-Riemer puts it, "Money is not money. It is what people want. It is power, security, the ability to do the things that they want, need, or would like to do. Money is very fungible, and it becomes what people bring to it." Visually captivating and intellectually provocative, Cultural Currency asks us to consider how the definition of currency can be reshaped into a multifaceted object steeped in meaning and intrigue.
This exhibition inclides over sixty five artworks by 38 artists, including: Lou Beach, Alice Beasley, Ray Beldner, Barton Lidice Beneš, JSG Boggs, Enrique Chagoya, Robin Clark, Sonya Clark, Rob Cohen, Don + Era Farnsworth, Kathy Hall, Kelli Hoppmann, Lenny Kislin, Lisa Kokin, Marcella Lassen, Jean Lowe, Rene Megroz, Aerosyn-Lex Meštrovic, Alejandro Monge, Richard Newill, Francesca Pastine, Walter Robinson, Paul Rousso, Azin Seraj, Richard Sexton, Richard Shaw, Oliver Smith, Sally Smith, Oriane Stender, Jill Sylvia, Dan Tague, Kim Testone, Robert The, Mark Wagner, Stacey Lee Webber, Marshall Weber, and C.K. Wilde.
Don & Era Farnsworth, Melting Dollar, 2016, mixed media on handmade
linen paper, 20.5 x 22.75 inches; photo by Shaun Roberts
The exhibition includes work in a variety of scale and media, including sculpture, collage, textiles, paint, print, and of course, international currencies. Cultural Currency: Contemporary Art from the Riemer Collection was organized by Bedford Gallery at the Lesher Center for the Arts, Walnut Creek, CA.
This exhibition will be on display at the Ellen Noël Art Museum in Odessa, TX from September 4th through November 2nd, 2025. The Museum is open to the public Tuesdays through Sundays 12-5PM, with extended hours on Thursdays until 8PM. As always, admission to the Museum is FREE.