Showing posts with label Installations. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Installations. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Exhibition Review: Fondazione Pomodoro, Milan





View of 1st Floor of Exhibition (f.l.t.r.): 
Corrafo Bonomi Non omnis moriar (1997); Laura Renna Stormo vulgaris (2010);
Fabrizio Corneli Grande Volante VIII (2002); Gianni Dessi Confini 1 (2009)
Paolo Delle Monache Archeologia di un istante (2010)

Fabrizio Corneli Grande Volante VIII (2002)

Gehard Demetz Hitler Mao (2010)

Bertozzi & Casoni Madonna scheletrita (2008)

Loris Cecchini Wallwave Vibrations (quanta canticum) (2009)

I would have to say that this month has been a great time for me to really push myself into going to art events that have been outside my typical comfort zone. So why does the exhibition "The Italian Sculpture of the XXI Century" at the Fondazione Pomodoro fit into this?  


Simple. I am a 2-D girl. It's a sad fact, but that is the work I usually find easier to interpret and am most quickly drawn to. 


Of course, this is not true 100% of the time. There are plenty of sculptures that I have loved since my first art history courses at University of Dallas. However, I always found it easier to write about 2-D work, because in the university setting these images were better transmitted from pages of an art history book or the slide projector in class. Sculptures and installations lose most of their value in this forum. 

What was even more exciting was the rarity of attending an exhibition where I was in awe of so many diverse sculptures and installations. In fact, the entire execution of the show exceeded my expectations. The show, which officially began on the 20th of October and ends on the 20th of January, displayed the most contemporary and recent sculptures and installations by 80 Italian artists.

The Fondazione Pomodoro's architecture adds to the splendor of presenting the works in a space that truly celebrates 3-D works of art, both small and large. This interplay of scale was well balanced in the exhibition and an obvious consideration when viewing contrasting works such as Fabrizio Corneli's Grande Volante VIII (2002) and Paolo Delle Monache's Archeologia de un istante (2010). 

Political themes were also considered in works that presented tyrannical leadership by few and the corrosive pollution by many, as respectively portrayed in Gehard Demetz's Hitler Mao (2010) and Bertozzi and Casoni's Madonna Scheletrita (2008). I was particularly fond of Demetz's work, as I had met the Galerie Rubin’s owners (who loaned this work to the exhibition) in Berlin at Preview Berlin. I will talk more about this and Berlin in my upcoming Recaps. 


Madonna Scheletrita in particular allowed for some interesting conversations between me and some Sicilian friends with who had I had been accompanied to the show. It was nice discussing contemporary art with people who come from completely opposite professional spheres from me (and each other). 

Perhaps the piece that I would want to own was Loris Cecchini's Wallwave Vibrations (Quanto Canticum) (2009), because, in the plainest terms, I thought it was a really visually interesting piece. I just liked it. 


Many times, art is as easy as that. 

Friday, July 16, 2010

Basel Recap: Satellite Fairs- Liste


Of all the art events during the Art Basel week, I was least impressed by the Liste art fair. Whether this is due to listening to the opinions of others prior to experiencing it, a particularly bad run-in with a gallery there, or the fact that I had all of 25 minutes to walk through the four-story labyrinth, I am not sure. All I can say is that I did not enjoy my time there. Unlike the Volta and Scope fairs that are still rather young and in the process of establishing themselves, but not as recognized as Art Basel, Liste celebrated its 15th anniversary and boasts that it is the fair for the young galleries and hip artists.

However, it would not be fair to say that none of it roused my interest. I was impressed by the limits that some of the galleries pushed in their spaces. Some of the galleries such as Harris Lieberman (New York), Kaskadenkondensator (Basel), Wilfried Lentz (Rotterdam) embraced and worked with the industrial design of the abandoned factory. This was not something I saw with regularity at Art Basel, Scope, or Volta.

Unfortunately, I do not have as many options for photographs as with the other fairs. This is mostly due to my lack of time, as I have mentioned. But also, I did not get the sensation that the galleries present were interested in answering questions or ‘dealing’ with a non-collector, non-curator graduate student who dabbles in blogging about art (read: non-journalist). So enjoy the limited images I have, form your own opinions, and if you have more questions take a look at Liste.

The following are some images I took of art spaces that were intriguing:




Oscar Tuazon, Title and Date Unknown
Gallery Unknown*


*Sorry Guys, I usually better at giving credit where credit is due, but I was in a rush to get back to work!

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Basel Recap: Satellite Fairs- Scope

Along with Art Basel, which I will continue recapping throughout the month of July, there were plenty of satellite fairs in Basel. Of them, I attended Scope, Volta, and Liste. Here are a selection of images from Scope, the satellite fair I first attended. 

All in all I was really impressed by Scope. Unlike Art Basel, whose 40 year anniversary boasts a beautifully designed and enormous layout, Scope was a bare essentials kind of fair. Nonetheless, the younger art and galleries presented did not fail to make their mark in the space provided. I think what really struck me as a common theme in this fair was the intersections made between East and West, high and low, historical and mythical, etc. 

Mattia Biagi’s work deals with the intersection of faith and war. The mixed media sculptures, like Heaven and Hell, are meant to show the absurdity that drives parents to send their children to fight in wars, while they in turn sit at home and pray for their offspring's survival. In this piece the artist pushes this interplay further by mixing a classical sculpture with a black-tarred weapon. This same type of intersection continues in Kris Kuksi’s assemblages. The artist takes low (mass commodity) objects and forms them into history-laden surrealist sculptures, as seen in Colonel Wilhelm Von Howitzerhead. 


I wish I could continue talking about all the pieces I love, but I hear my thesis calling. Instead I will just add their images and stress how much I enjoyed Scope's galleries and artists, as well as the fair's no-frill, no-confusion environment. 

Photograph of the Fair Area, Kaserne, Basel

Mattia Biagi, Heaven and Hell
Year Unknown, Multimedia Sculpture

Kris KuksiColonel Wilhelm Von Howitzerhead
2010, Mixed media assemblage, 32 x 30 x 12 in.




Year Unknown, Glass, 

Scope Installation Artist 
THE PEOPLE YOU LOVE BECOME GHOSTS INSIDE OF YOU
 AND LIKE THIS YOU KEEP THEM ALIVE
 2009, Painted wood, LED lights and recycled sunlight
Courtesy of Analix Forever

Monday, July 5, 2010

Recap Basel: Public Art



Public art is FANTASTIC!

Okay, I know, I will elaborate on this opinion. Let’s get past the bureaucratic concerns about public art, public opinion, and what artists are allowed to do with tax payers money. It would take too long to discuss this and take time away from enjoying the public art at Art Basel/ Art Public and from Art Parcours. Both of these public art events are connected with Art Basel, but they are very different in their concepts. 

In front of the entrance to Art Basel and scattered throughout the giant pavilion at the Messeplatz were selected Art Public installations and happenings. It was nice to know that those who couldn’t afford the hefty price tag that came with the Art Basel entrance card, could still eat lunch next to Thomas Houseago’s Giant Giant and enjoy the random sounds escaping from Alberto Tadiello’s LK100A. 
Although I missed most of the happenings, I was pleasantly surprised by certain installations that I did not truly notice until the last few days, such as Eric Hatten’s Déplacement/version 2010 (aka a streetlamp). It caught me by surprise, and it was fun to see other spectators sitting or leaning against it- not noticing that all the while they were interacting with art.

Art Parcours was a scavenger hunt around the old center of the city set at nighttime. On this particular night it was cold and rainy. Not fun. But the scavenger-hunt for art was very fun. Although I had a pretty awful sore throat and was not dressed to ‘muddle through puddles,’ I sucked it up for the art.* And it was worth it. I bought a set of costume jewelry from Martha Rosler at her Fair Trade Garage Sale, I succeeded at achieving equilibrium with two other ‘viewers’ on Damien Ortega’s New Balance, and I enjoyed the sights and sounds of the eight other pieces (events). The two pieces which I thought were the most visually striking were Daniel Buren’s Colors on the Rhine and Angela Bulloch’s Night Sky: Mercury and Venus.


Ai WeiWei, Field, 2010
Galerie Urs Meile, Beijing, Luzern

Thomas Houseago, Giant Giant, 2010
Xavier Hufkens, Bruxelles

Alberto Tadiello's LK100A, 2010
 T293, Naples

Damien Ortega, New Balance2010
City Hall, Court Yard

Angela Bulloch, Night Sky: Mercury and Venus, 2010
Münster Cathedral

Daniel Buren, Colors on the Rhine, work in situ 2010. 
Old University


Quick Note: All daytime pictures are Art Public events, while nighttime shots are Art Parcours.
*I was lucky enough to have been invited to a VIP Reception at the Kunstmuseum. Great food and a great collection, but my attire was not meant to go from parading around the halls of a vast museum to wadding through the cobbled paths of the city.  

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Recap: Art Basel Unlimited

Art Basel has come and gone, but I wanted to take a couple of posts to recap my experiences in image and word. 

Of all the Art Basel sections, I was truly impressed by the works in the Art Unlimited area. This element of Art Basel began in 2000 and has since then focused on exhibiting works that “transcend the classical art-show stand- including video projections, large-scale installations, massive sculptures and live performances.”*


And boy did they transcend. I was blown away by the sheer mass of some of the works. It was also delightful to be able to interact with and touch works such as Michelangelo Pistoletto’s Labirinto e Grande Pozzo (1969/2010) and Agnes Varda's La cabane sur la plage (qui est aussi une cabine de projection), 2010. In Pistoletto's work I was not only trying to find my way through the massive cardboard maze to the central ‘well,’ but I was dealing with other viewers as they passed me or stood in my way. As we all focused on reaching the central point and then moving towards the opposite exit I became aware that this interaction with the other viewers was perhaps more important that the giant mirrored ‘well’ that reflected our images.

Yayoi Kusama’s Aftermath of the Obliteration of Eternity (2008) was an interesting work that the viewers got to enter (3 at a time). The most basic explanation for it was that the space was a lightshow set on a timer. This was due to the hundreds of floating candles. But it was much more than that. The space was moving, and the pattern of the flickering lights was an intense experience that called upon memories of searching for, stumbling to light, and holding candles after a major catastrophe.


There were so many installations that clearly intended to capture and hold the audiences attention. I highly recommend you taking some time to enjoy the images and video of  below. These were just a few of the works that interested me. But don't worry if you aren't drawn to anything here, this is just the tip of the Basel iceberg. Many more gallery, artist, fair reviews are coming soon!


Michelangelo Pistoletto, Labirinto e Grande Pozzo, 1969/2010 
Galleria Continua, It-San Gimignano/CN-Beijing/FR-Le Moulin

Glen Rubsamen, A Fever Dream, 2010
Mai 36 Gallery & Annemarie Verna Galerie, CH- Zurich; Alfonso Artiaco, IT- Naples 

Yayoi Kusama, Aftermath of the Obliteration of Eternity, 2008
Gagosian Gallery,US- NYC

Ugo Rondinone, Clockwork for Oracles II, 2008
 Gladstone Gallery, US-NYC

Zhang Huan, Hero No. 1, 2009
The Pace Gallery, US- NYC


Doug Aitken, Frontier, 2009
303 Gallery, US- NYC & Regen Projects, LA; Presenhuber, CH- Zurich; Miro, GB- London


* Description from the Art Basel website: see the link for Art Basel Unlimited. To find out more about these works and others, consult this webpage.