Lotteries are almost as ancient as time itself. A game similar to lotto began in pre-recorded history and archeologists have found evidence of lotto-style games initiated by the pharaohs of Egypt. Today, modern state-run lotteries are available in 38 states, giving away in excess of $52 million every day.

The seductive power of games is widely-acknowledged: we are attracted even when there is no financial pay-off. Witness the success of adult computer and video games, which comprise the largest segment of the entertainment industry -- surpassing television and film - - and accounting for over 40% of all U.S. consumer software sales. This exhibition explores the concept of the lottery and games as central features in American culture. It includes the work of eleven artists who work in traditional and time-based media.

In a random drawing held at the opening of The Lottery on Thursday, November 11, 1999, two Brooklyn artists won the opportunity to use the gallery's Special Projects Room for any art- related activity. "I wanted to find a way to inject the element of chance into the curatorial process for The Lottery," said guest curator Lenore Malen. The gallery received 131 entries to the lottery drawing. Artists had to be present to win.

Brooklyn-affiliated artists were invited to participate in the drawing by completing the sentence: "When I wake up on January 1, 2000..." At the opening Ms. Malen read a number of the postcard entries at random. Entry postcards were assigned numbers and numbered balls were drawn from a lottery globe to select the winners.

The winner for the month of November was Brenna Manuel, an installation artist whose work, Salt Piece, was constructed of flourescent and incandescent lighting fixtures and table salt. The installation filled the Rotunda's Special Projects Room with an eerie glow.

The winner for the month of December was Korean-born Hun Ju Park, who chose to use the room for an installation of her mixed media paintings. Park sees her paintings, which are created of hair, nails, pencil and charcoal, as physical expressions of self-- deeply personal visions of the subconscious world.

Lenore Malen is an artist, critic, writer and independent curator. She has exhibited widely in the United States and abroad, most recently at Art in General and Printed Matter, in New York. She teaches studio art at Parsons School of Design and from 1990-1996 was executive editor of Art Journal.