GLüCK - WELCHES GLüCK

GLÜCK - WELCHES GLÜCK
An exhibition on happiness, luck, and fortune
Deutsches Hygiene-Museum and Siemens Arts Program
March 6 to November 2, 2008

The search for happiness is as old as humanity itself, but our ideas of what happiness consists of, whether riches, consumption, freedom or love, are determined to some extent by the cultural, religious and economic conditions in which we live. These days, it is harder than ever to find common denominator for happiness. In our own affluent society, with its emphasis upon individual self-fulfilment, concepts of happiness have become similarly personalised. People’s very different needs and convictions are reflected in a wide range of competing paths to happiness.

All the same, the pursuit of happiness still poses the question: What kind of life do I – do we – want to live in this society? What part is played by subjective feelings of happiness, on one hand, and values such as solidarity and justice on the other?

So what do we mean, when we talk of happiness? The German language has one word ‚Glück‘, whereas others make a distinction between ‚happiness‘ and ‚luck‘. This exhibition presents very different and often contradictory forms of happiness in an associative composition of historical art and cultural exhibits, scientific objects and contemporary artworks. For all they may suggest that pursuit of happiness is an elemental part of human nature – there’s no compulsion to be happy!

That’s why the exhibition is not intended as yet another guide to achieving happiness. It is more of a test-bed, inviting visitors to take a new look at their own feelings and dreams. The motif of happiness appears in familiar and unfamiliar incarnations; it can be just as much an epitome of love, freedom or belief, as it can a synonym for intuition, immortality or Utopia. Moreover, the exhibition shows that happiness is inconceivable without its opposites; that misfortune, pain and loss are equally part of human existence.

The exhibition’s artistic director is Meschac Gaba. An artist from Benin, he has taken part in events such as documenta XI (2002), Venice Biennale (2003) and the São Paulo Biennale (2006). The exhibition was curated by Claudia Banz.

Each of the seven sections of the exhibition is marked by a large tableau, designed by Meschac Gaba.

DHMD: GLüCK - WELCHES GLüCK

L'argent

… Adel Abdessemed, Fikret Atay, Fabio Balducci & Sophie Calle, Iain Baxter, Philippe Cazal, Claude Closky, Moyra Davey, Wim Delvoye, Tracey Emin, Et n’est-ce* &/et, Malachi Farrell, Hans-Peter Feldmann, Sylvie Fleury, Claire Fontaine, Michel François, Gloria Friedmann, General Idea, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, David Hammons, Thomas Hirschhorn, Fabien Hommet, IFP, Michel Journiac, Edward Kienholz & Nancy Reddin, Ben Kinmont, Olga Kisseleva, Arnaud Labelle-Rojoux, Suzanne Lafont, Matthieu Laurette, Bertrand Lavier, Louise Lawler, Zoe Leonard, Les ready-made appartiennent à tout le monde ®, Gilles Mahé, Kris Martin, Cildo Meireles, Annette Messager, Antoni Muntadas, Marylène Negro, Cady Noland, Orlan, Gabriel Orozco, Ouest-Lumière, Cesare Pietroiusti & Paul Griffiths, Josephine Pryde, Claude Rutault, Seth Siegelaub, Santiago Sierra, Société Réaliste, Reena Spaulings, Ernest T, Taroop & Glabel, the Centre of Attention*, Joana Vasconcelos, Dana Wyse, la Biennale de Paris…

Dans une époque où la question de la rentabilité économique est omniprésente, dans l’art comme ailleurs, cette exposition propose un état des lieux non exhaustif de démarches artistiques qui ont interrogé la place de l’argent dans nos sociétés.
L’exposition est construite autour de trois sections complémentaires qui laissent entendre les voix, singulières ou collectives, d’artistes dont l’activité même peut être soumise aux fluctuations boursières.

Commissaires de l’exposition : Caroline Bourgeois, commissaire extérieure pour le Frac Ile-de-France / Le Plateau et Elisabeth Lebovici, historienne de l’art.

Photo : Cesare Pietroiusti & Paul Griffiths

Le plateau - Exhibitions

SEVENTEEN gallery at Volta Show in Basel

SUSAN COLLIS
Made good

SEVENTEEN gallery at Volta Show in Basel

SUSAN COLLIS - seventeengallery


Collis' practice involves a subversion of time frame and visual perception through the manipulation of everyday objects. In the piece 'Paint Job', what initially seems like a collection of careless splashes and stains upon the fabric of utilitarian worker's overalls are, on closer inspection, meticulously stitched marks replicating the accidental and spontaneous moment. Further to this, Collis enjoys playfully positioning the works in overlooked areas of an exhibition space, to heighten the potential for an initial misreading. We, the viewer, are then forced to rewire our visual and mental understanding of a particular mark, thus elegantly extending our viewing experience.

Seventeen presents at the Volta Show : Susan Collins, CutUp, Graham Dolphin, Ana Prada

Exhibited artists: Susan Collis, Richard Cuerden, Paul B. Davis [BEIGE], Graham Dolphin, David Ersser, Bill Drummond, Peter J. Evans, Ana Prada, Ewoud van Rijn, CutUp, Maria von Kohler

http://www.seventeengallery.com/

Diverse Universe IV

Diverse Universe IV:

"DU exhibition 'Performance explosion' opening in NG Art Container Tallinn Culture Factory Polymer

Rahvusvahelise tegevuskunstifestivali Diverse Universe videonäitus 'Performance Explosion'

23.05- 15.06. 08

Avamine 23.05 kell 18.00

Näitus toimub NG Kunstikonteineri uuel ekspositsioonipinnal- kahenädalase kestvusperformance`i tulemusena valminud, verivärskes, värvilõhnalises galeriis, Kultuuritehas Polymer teisel korrusel. Eksponeerimisele tulevad performance´ite videdokumentatsioonid festivalil eelnevatel aastatel toimunud aktsioonidest ja käimasoleva Diverse Universe IV külaliskunstnike uudisteosed. Osalejad ja lähem info: www.nongrata.ee

Southwestern School of Estonian Art

"Group exhibition
„Southwestern School of Estonian Art“
Pärnu City Gallery
06.06 – 17.07. 2008"

Edela-Eesti koolkond

Näitusel osalevad:
Inge Ting, Baka, Billeneeve, Andrus Joonas, Flo Kasearu, Aivar Kurvits, Toomas Kuusing, Kaarel Kütas, Piret Loover, Mila Balti, Katrin Piile, Pusa, Remo Randver, Alar Raudoja, Katrin Rüütli, Siram, Jasper Zoova, Liivi Tantaal ja Ville-Karel Viirelaid.

Biological Imperative

Biological Imperative
June 14-July 26, 2008
Opening Reception June 14, 7-10 PM
Curated by Emma Wilcox
Main Gallery and New Media Room

Screening July 12, 3 PM
WAX, or the Discovery of Television Among the Bees

“…regarding a near future when objects that are partly alive and partly constructed exist, and when animal organs will be transplanted into humans. What kind of relationships we will form with such objects? How are we going to treat animals with human DNA?" - The Tissue Culture & Art Project

Artists:

Andrea Aimi, Brandon Ballengée, Michael Betancourt, Ana Black, David Blair, William Brovelli, Charlesworth, Lewandowski & Mann, Elio Caccavale, Sean Capone, Steven Dressler, Eva Drangsholt, Tagny Duff, Aganetha & Richard Dyck, Lucia Fabio, Asha Ganpat, Daphne Gerou, Nora Herting, Verena Kaminiarz, Jennifer Mazza, Jillian McDonald, Stephanie Metz, Lydia Moyer, Roger Sayre, David Sherry, Laura Splan, Brian Spolans, Ajla R. Steinvåg, Naoe Suzuki, Delmira Valladares, Maria Wallace

Structured around what the Tissue Culture and Art Project has called “cultural perceptions of life,” Biological Imperative freely mixes ideas of partial personhood, the possibilities of regeneration, multiples, fecundity, the semi-living, and the undead (things that just won’t die.) The exhibition posits linkage between disparate references such as (but not limited to) the undying popularity of the zombie genre, rabbit imagery, pirate radio and bioethical quandaries.

Elio Caccavale’s MyBio Dolls are educational dolls informed by consultation with bioethicists, symbolizing possible biofutures, and allowing children to imagine narratives for scenarios such as human/animal organ transplants. Brandon Ballengee’s drawings of deformed frog specimens collected throughout the world also create a sense of the unfamiliar: some frogs have too many limbs, some too few. In Jillian McDonald’s two-channel installation in the new media room, Zombie Loop, zombie and survivor are somehow the same, referencing the genre's implied life cycle. The endurance of radio signals in the atmosphere links Charlesworth, Lewandowski & Mann’s video work, Radio City to the theme of the undying. The piece is a record of journey via boat to an abandoned sea fort used by pirate radio transmissions in the 60’s. After an altercation that left one broadcaster dead, his wife rowed to sea and played “Strangers in the Night” as a memorial. CLM mimicked this action in 2006, playing the same song at high volume over the open water. The fecundity or productivity of animals, namely rabbits and bees, inspired other works in the exhibition, such as those by Aganetha Dyck with Richard Dyck, and David Blair. Dyck’s Hive Scans are large-scale color prints made in collaboration with bees, via a scanner introduced into a beehive. David Blair’s full-length film WAX was created over 6 years with footage shot on site at actual nuclear testing facilities in the US, flight simulation software and archival footage. The convoluted story concerns a beekeeper’s transformation upon discovering that his bees communicate between the living and the dead, and raises questions as to the collective and individual value of life.

Gallery Aferro - Upcoming

Current open calls at Aferro

Containerart

News from Containerart

"In partnership with the Container Arts Biennale of Kaohsiung, Taiwan, we deposited 23 art containers in Genova.
The containers form a cultural and aesthetic ecosystem around town, and are on display until June 8. Artists from all over the world.
For additional info on containerart go to www.containerart.org.
Download the map/brochure of the Genova event at: www.containerart.org/ContainerArtEcoGenova.pdf
Visit our constantly updated blog http://containerart.wordpress.com/"

In-Presentable 08

El poder de la nueva pieza de los performers madrileños Los Torreznos creada junto a cinco artistas también madrileñas; el subjetivo punto de vista, la crítica y la reinterpretación de la sociedad y cultura brasileña en las obras escénicas y películas de los artistas Marcela Levi, Luiz Abreu, Rodrigo Sebastano y Delano Valemtim; la instalación sonora de la taiwanesa Hong-Kai Wang, trabajo basado en la comunidad inmigrante china de Madrid; la sutilidad y el universo de la artista noruega Mette Edvardsen; la memoria como espacio topológico y quiebra emocional en la obra de los croatas BADco; la observación humorística de la compañía de coreógrafos ingleses New Art Club; la refl exión práctica teórica de la artista servia Bojana Cveji¿; el viaje entre códigos de la portuguesa Paula Caspão; el documental sobre la historia de la escena Downtown/Nueva York de la brasileña Cristiane Bouger; el trabajo performático y en vídeo de las artistas visuales vascas Sandra Cuesta y Larraitz Torres y el encuentro que con ellas mantendrá la también artista vasca Isabel de Naverán; la forma del estar en la coreografía de la griega Maria Hassabi; y el concierto de la francesa Melanie Valera (Tender Forever), forman la propuesta multicultural e interdisciplinar de la sexta edición de In-Presentable.

LA CASA ENCENDIDA - Madrid