ART NEWS:July 01
The new edition of Sonae/Serralves Commission, presents “An Opaque Wind Park in Six Folds” by artist Haegue Yang. The newly commissioned work is composed of five partially arched towers, of varying dimensions constructed from brick and connected via a geometric layout of paving stones. Occupying an area of almost 70 m², this sculptural complex invites the viewer to walk around and between the hybrid landscape of its multiplying structures. Yang’s sculptural approach conventionalizes the layout of Islamic symmetric geometry, notably the form of the hexagon, created by a subdivision of the circle into six equal divisions or folds. Yang first used these standard construction structures for her installation An Opaque Wind at the 12th Sharjah Biennial in 2015. Info: Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art, Rua D. João de Castro 210, Porto, Duration: 22/6/16-4/7/17, Days & Hours: Tue-Fri 10:00-19:00, Sat-Sun 10:00-20:00, www.serralves.pt
If we consider that the international collections of museums are the mirror of a country’s diplomatic relations, the German avant-gardes of the early 20th Century are actually often underrepresented or nearly absent from the French collections. For some politicians, intellectuals and even artists, it’s precisely in their ideological opposition that the two neighboring cultures define themselves in the late 19th Century and in the beginning of the 20th Century. The exhibition “Between Two Horizons” tells this enthralling and complex story through a collection that serves perfectly the purpose: that of the Saarlandmuseum’s Moderne Galerie (Saarbrücken). The chronological layout, that brings t240 paintings, sculptures, prints and photographs, is completed by an extensive documentation – coming mainly from the Bibliothèque Kandinsky – to explain the historical context. Info: Curators: Dr Roland Mönig, Dr Kathrin Elvers-Svamberk and Alexandra Müller, Centre Pompidou-Metz, 1 Parvis des Droits de l’Homme, Metz, Duration: 29/6/06-16/1/17, Days & Hours: Wed-Mon 10:00-18:00, www.centrepompidou-metz.fr
Georg Baselitz is one of the most influential painters and sculptors of our time. In 1965/66, in a virtually explosive spurt of productivity, he developed his dramatic and paradoxical “Hero” paintings. The forceful workgroup of the Heroes and New Types is today regarded worldwide as a key example of the German art of the ‘60s. in a comprehensive monographic special exhibition 50 years after the paintings’ making, 70 paintings and works on paper are on view, distinguished by aggressively and defiantly painted monumental figures that have lost nothing of their ambiguous, portentous and vulnerable quality to this day. Info: Curator: Max Hollein, Co-curator: Dr Eva Mongi-Vollmer, Städel Museum, Schaumainkai 63, Frankfurt, Duration: 30/6-23/10/16, Days & Hours: Tue-Wed and Sat-Sun 10:00-18:00, Thu-Fri 10:00-21:00, www.staedelmuseum.de
A collection of 80 photos of Berenice Abbott is on presentation at Martin-Gropius-Bau. Berenice Abbott is considered to be one of America’s most important documentary photographers. She came to fame after releasing her “Changing New York” collection of photographs (1929-39). The series of images documents New York in times of change and not only features a combination of Victorian architecture and cowboy saloons, but also modern elements such as skyscrapers reaching high into the clouds and the first large billboards. Abbott took her camera through the city, photographing it street after street. In doing so, she took a similar approach to Eugène Atget. Abbott worked as a photographer until her death in 1991. Info: Martin-Gropius-Bau Berlin, Niederkirchnerstraße 7, Berlin, Duration 1/7-3/10/16, Days & Hours: Wed-Mon 10:00-19;00, www.gropiusbau.de
The exhibition “CAUSE THE GRASS DON’T GROW AND THE SKY AIN’T BLUE”, brings together artists who call into question those systems that in art organize a hierarchy of materials and urban zones. These artists have set up their studios in the suburbs, by choice or for financial concerns, and their surroundings are often at the very core of their artistic practice. They exhibit their work successively in neighbourhood art centers and prestigious locations at the heart of the metropolis. They work with poor materials as opposed to more noble ones. They question volumes and the place of art in the public space by bringing it face to face with its problematics, not just artistic, but also architectural or sociological. These artists modify our vision of the town and encourage us to make an aesthetic judgement on things that were previously likened to a pollution of the senses. Info: Curators: Clémence Duchon & Flavie Loizon, Praz-Delavallade, 5 rue des Haudriettes, Paris, Duration: 7/7-24/9/16, Days & Hours: Tue-Sat 11:00-19:00, www.praz-delavallade.com
Inspired by the display structures of low-end downtown Mexico City commercial spaces, Pia Camil in her solo exhibition “Slats, skins and shop fittings”, appropriates the material of slat paneling found in dollar stores and department stores to create wall works from which she traces an aesthetic thread to the stylistic traditions of American Minimalism. Camil specifically channels Frank Stella’s Copper Paintings (1960-61). Camil takes Stella’s paintings as a point of departure and imbues an iconic image with contemporary social and cultural implications. Reminiscent of Lygia Clark or Helio Oitica’s wearable art pieces known as “habitable paintings,” Slats, skins and shop fittings investigates the intersection of art and life and its ability to inspire change. Info: Blum & Poe Gallery, 19 East 66th Street, New York, Duration 7/7-12/8/16, Days & Hours: Tue-Sat 10:00-18:00, www.blumandpoe.com
Art Santa Fe celebrates 16 successful years this summer. This year’s show hosts a wide range of exhibitors, including art publishers, gallery owners and artists from around the world. The Spotlight Artists Program provides collectors with a focused look at several cutting-edge artists who will each be creating a site-specific solo exhibition. A new addition to the Fair , the Art Labs will feature special curated projects produced in partnership with Santa Fe’s leading museums and art institutions. Art Labs showcase the thriving art landscape of Santa Fe and are informed by Art Santa Fe 2016’s curatorial theme, “HORIZON”. Info: Art Santa Fe 2016, Santa Fe Community Convention Center, 201 W Marcy Street, Santa Fe, Dates: 7-10/7/16, Hours: Thursday, July (7/7/16) 17:00-21:00, Fri-Sat (8-9/7/16) 11:00-20:00, Sun (10/7/16) 11:00-17:00, Admission: Total Ticket Pass: $100 (Includes Opening Night Preview Party and access all days and hours. Admits 2 people), General Public: One-day pass $20, Three-day pass $25, Student/Senior: One-day pass $10, Three-day pass $15, www.artsantafe.com
“True Value” by Theaster Gates brings together a selection of existing works and new commissions in two different spaces at Fondazione Prada. The artist explores habitual, everyday things, immersed in the most evocative Black aesthetics. Gates operates on the conviction that everyday objects convey a deep understanding, not only intrinsic to their material aspect, but reminiscent of the experiences in which they have been immersed. On the first floor of the Podium, Gates hosts “True Value” (2016), which presents his rendition of an abandoned hardware store. The work gathers materials, objects and tools removed from their original context and relocated in an art environment, deploying a framework to formulate a poetic and pragmatic space around objects of trade and human relationships those economic and labour exchanges create. Info: Fondazione Prada, Largo Isarco 2, Milan, Duration: 7/7-25/9/16, Days & Hours: Mon & Wed-Thu 10:00-20:00, Fri-Sun 10:00-21:00, www.fondazioneprada.org
“Matter” is the solo exhibition of Ivan Toth Depeña’s 2-dimensional pieces. Although the artist has been working increasingly in the public realm, this exhibition highlights his self directed studio practice. The works exhibited explore the spatial qualities of painting and drawing using topography, transparency, density of light/color, and layering to achieve work that utilizes chance and intention to create an encapsulated multiverse of compositions. Adding another layer of automation and chance to his process, Depeña works with software to create random patterns and generate line work from drawings that are in turn used to create 3-dimensional cutting models. Info: Praxis, 541 West 25th Street, New York, Duration: 7/7-3/9/16, Days & Hours: Mon-Fri 10:00-18:00, www.praxis-art.com