ART NEWS:Sept.02
With works dating from 1975 to 1988, the exhibition “Poetic Form” focuses on John Chamberlain’s mid-career return to the use of car metal as a sculptural material, as well as his long-term interest in vibrant, colorful expression in 2 and 3 dimensions. Chamberlain broke from his pattern of using discarded autoparts in 1965, only to return to it in 1972. At times, his riotous structures would adhere to certain geometries. Chamberlain also gave structure to otherwise unconstrained abstraction in a series of drawings from 1976, each drawing comprises 3 cut pieces of paper, collaged vertically and with conflicting patterns of delicate, sprayed pigment. Info: Gagosian Gallery, 19 place de Longemalle, Geneva, Duration 7/9-3/11/16, Days & Hours: Mon-Fri 10:00-18:00, www.gagosian.com
The surfaces of David Benforado’s paintings are active and dynamic. Creating his own mediums and paints from pigments has enabled him to achieve multi-layered textured transparencies and to build up surfaces. In his latest works the artist uses the element of silence and pause as a point of departure to create space for contemplation. The paintings bear simple titles corresponding to the first reading of colour identification. However, on a closer observation multiple layers are revealed which build up the surface of the paintings, and the colors hidden under the apparent dominant color. An exhibition of his recent work is on view at: CocoMat Showroom, Leipzigerstr. 112, Berlin, Duration: 8/-9-3/11/16, www.artfein.com
This year’s Oslo Architecture Triennale explores the ways we relate to places and communities. The 2016 triennale presents two main exhibitions: “In Residence” at the National Museum–Architecture, which runs in parallel with “On Residence” at the Norwegian Centre for Design and Architecture. The two exhibitions illustrate how our sense of identity and belonging is constantly changing. modation, technology that promotes new markets and sharing economies, and new ways of being local and alien. The exhibition focuses on ten locations around the world, all of which illustrate how our sense of identity has changed. The selected locations are Copenhagen, Dubai, Gardermoen, Kirkenes, Lagos, New York, Prato, Risaralda, Stockholm and Torshov. Info: National Museum–Architecture, Bankplassen 3, Oslo & Norwegian Centre for Design and Architecture, Hausmanns gate 16, Oslo, Duration: 8/9-27/11/16, Days & Hours: Mon-Tue & Fri 10:00-17:00, Wed-Thu 10:00-20:00, Sat-Sun 12:00-17;00, http://oslotriennale.no
The 3rd Edition of Shanghai Photofair offers visitors a unique opportunity to engage with moving-image and video work alongside photography from established and emerging international artists. Except “Main” Section that is for commercial galleries of any age other sections are: “Connected” a new sector unique to mainland China featuring ambitious presentations of artists working in photography and moving-image. “Connected” will be the first time video is available to buy at the fair. The sector “Insights” is a curated exhibition of museum-quality works the inaugural edition will look at new approaches to traditional photography techniques and challenge our perceptions of the medium. Info: of Shanghai Photofair, Shanghai Exhibition Centre, 1000 Yan’an Road, Shanghai, Days & Hours: Thu 8/9/16 15:00-19:00 & Fri 9/9 11:00-18:00 by Invitation Only, Sat-Sun 10-11/9/16 11:00-18:00, www.photoshanghai.org
“WALKING ARTIST” is Hamish Fulton’s first solo show in New York in over a decade. While his drawings, sculpture diagrams, murals, and photographs have led to him be considered a practitioner of Land Art, Fulton considers himself instead as a “Walking artist”. In this exhibition, Fulton presents a body of work that exemplifies his ongoing commitment to art as a quiet protest against the alienation of people from the natural world. Included are two large scale vinyl works: the first refers to a guided and sherpa assisted climb of Mount Everest using bottled oxygen in 2009, the latter describes a pilgrim circuit of the Barkhor Kora and the Jokhang Temple in Tibet. Info: Josée Bienvenu Gallery, 529 West 20th Street, New York, Duration: 8/9-12/10/16, Days & Hours: Tue-Sat 10:00-18:00, www.joseebienvenugallery.com
The solo exhibition of Reza Aramesh, “At 11:57 am Wednesday 23 October 2013”, presents a new body of work, exploring the role that images of violence play in the contemporary moment: on this date, October 23, 2013, it was reported by media that in the southern province of Helmand, Afghanistan, a young couple that had eloped together was lured to the woman’s family home, and were later found decapitated. Though marginal in the history of contemporary conflict, it is a telling personal anecdote that addresses the central position of the body in question of violence. Aramesh has long conducted archival research on images that portray the violated body, forced into the multitude of public scrutiny, bereft of any characteristics. His work, however, is not that of a documentarian, but rather an intervention on these images against the background of the relationship between acts of violence and the history of representation. Info: Ab/Anbar, No. 2 Roshanmanesh Alley, Khagani St., Enghelab St., Darvazeh Dolat, Tehran, Duration: 9/9-/10/16, Days & Hours: Sun-Fri 11:00-20:00, www.ab-anbar.com
In “One day after another”, Antonio Ballester Moreno’s solo exhibition presents a series of new paintings and paper collages. Ballester Moreno is guided by instinct and uses the raw material of jute and acrylic paint within a palette of primary colors and foundational geometric shapes. The paintings refer to patterns and colors found in nature: yellow for light; blue to water; and the mixing of the two creates green, the color of vegetation; circles are cycles of the moon and sun; triangles are trees and mountains. All of these shapes are created through careful hand-eye coordination, resulting in subtle variances and a spontaneous quality of line. The title of the exhibition is reinforced through the repetition inherent in the making of each painting, which can be comprised of up to thirty layers of paint. Info: Christopher Grimes Gallery, 916 Colorado Avenue, Santa Monica, Duration: 9/9-/11/16, Days & Hours: Tue-Sat 10:00-17:30, www.cgrimes.com
Philipp Gufler’s exhibition “Een Gebeuren” focuses on the creative work of the Dutch performance artist BenD’Armagnac, which has continuously informed his own work throughout his career. He provided Gufler with the source for his contribution to the exhibition “You Must Make Your Death Public” (2016) at the Amsterdam-based De Appel Arts Centre, an institution with which D’Armagnac himself was closely connected in the ‘70s. The title-giving video installation” which is shown, emphasizes such shifts in perspective in a similar manner. Gufler captures the events with a GoPro camera. Instead of documenting the slow appearance of a person behind a white surface, as done by the photographs taken in 1975, the video shows the diligent process of layingbare and opening up from an inside perspective, an action, which Gufler completes by releasing the flies at the end of the performance and by which he also upgrades d’Armagnac’s own performance. Info: Françoise Heitsch Gallery, Amalienstrasse 19, München, Duration: 9/9-29/10/16, Days & Hours: Mon-Fri 14:00-19:00, Sat 12:00-16:00, http://francoiseheitsch.de
The 2016 Taiwan Biennial, the theme of this year’s biennial is “The Possibility of an Island”, with 30 artists/collectives invited to take part in the exhibition, seeking to examine how contemporary Taiwanese artists go about witnessing the changes and shifts unfolding in this era and how art is used to depict the present, future, and past of this island. The exhibition title takes its inspiration from the novel of the same name by Michel Houellebecq. The novel is told in the first person by the protagonists Daniel and two of his clones.Extending from its narrative approach and the underlying theme of an island, this year’s Taiwan Biennial brings together overlapping times, spaces, memories, and perceptions and seeks to use space-time transcending rhetoric to examine the changes and contemporary issues happening on the island of Taiwan through continual inspection and reflection, while also proposing possibilities for the future world. Info: Curators: WU Dar-Kuen and LIN Hsiao-Yu, National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, No.2, Sec.1, Wu-chuan W. Road, Taichung City, Taiwan, Duration: 10/9/16-5/2/17, www.ntmofa.gov
The exhibition “LE STANZE DEL VETRO” is dedicated to Paolo Venini, presenting 300 works that recount his creative vision as well as of those artists who collaborated with him over the years such as: Tyra Lundgren, Gio Ponti, Riccardo Licata, Ken Scott, Massimo Vignelli and Tobia Scarpa. Paolo Venini was a great protagonist of 20th Century glass, and made a decisive contribution to keeping it alive with his enthusiastic works over the course of 40 years. Thanks to careful research, the exhibition, features the company production, which was shaped by the specific choices made by Paolo Venini, leading, for example, to series such as the “Diamante” in the second half of the ‘30s. It was however, in the ‘50s that Venini devoted himself assiduously to the creation of new glass to great acclaim at the Milan Triennale and the Venice Biennale, but also in the international events for the support and promotion of Italian design and craftsmanship that were held both in Europe and the United States. Info: Curator: Marino Barovier, Fondazione Giorgio Cini, Island of San Giorgio Maggiore, Venice, Duration: 11/9/16-8/1/17, Days & Hours: Thu-Tue 10:00-19:00, http://lestanzedelvetro.org
With around 120 events, more than 50 partners and six days of art, the 5th Berlin Art Week is a key event for the international art world, featuring highlights of the art year during the third week of September. The art fairs abc art berlin contemporary and Positions Berlin will present the work of over 350 artists, while large scale exhibitions at Berlin art institutions feature artists like Halil Altındere, Anne Imhof, Andreas Greiner, Sven Drühl, Yvonne Roeb, and Gordon Parks. In addition, three art prizes will be awarded, while a programme at Kino International will focus on the medium of artist films. A 12-hour special finale of the 9th Berlin Biennale takes place alongside openings and events at 20 project spaces and nine private collections, highlighting the vibrant art life of the city, which presents itself each year in a new way with its many facets. Info: Berlin Art Week, Duration 13-18/9/16, www.berlinartweek.de