12th Istanbul Biennial
dal 14/9/2011 al 12/11/2011
Segnalato da
14/9/2011
12th Istanbul Biennial
Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts, Istanbul
Untitled (12th Istanbul Biennial), 2011 brings together artworks that connect political and social subjects with aesthetic and formal concerns. The curatorial point of departure is the work of the Cuban American artist Felix Gonzalez-Torres, whose pieces in different media provide examples of an artistic practice that is both politically outspoken and aesthetically progressive. The Biennial is composed of five group exhibitions, around which more than 50 solo presentations will be installed. Each of the five group shows will feature a large number of artists' works brought together under a particular argument.
curated by Adriano Pedrosa and Jens Hoffmann
Untitled (12th Istanbul Biennial), 2011 will bring together artworks that connect political and social subjects with aesthetic and formal concerns. The curatorial point of departure is the work of the Cuban American artist Felix Gonzalez-Torres (1957–1996), whose pieces in different media provide examples of an artistic practice that is both politically outspoken and aesthetically progressive.
The 12th Istanbul Biennial will be composed of five group exhibitions, around which more than 50 solo presentations will be installed. Each of the five group shows will feature a large number of artists' works brought together under a particular argument. These group shows—Untitled (Abstraction), "Untitled" (Ross),"Untitled" (Passport), Untitled (History) and "Untitled" (Death by Gun)—depart from specific works by Gonzalez-Torres that will be reproduced in the Biennial Companion publication. The group displays will have the character of cabinet exhibitions, each occupying a distinct space. Together they will function as thematic anchors for the five biennial sections. Each solo presentation will be linked to the subjects of the group shows, but will push the themes further, exploring the subjects the group exhibitions have introduced.
Untitled (Abstraction) is inspired by "Untitled" (Bloodwork—Steady Decline) (1994, graphite and gouache on paper, framed), and gathers works that subvert pure abstraction and the high-modernist grid by bringing in political and bodily themes.
"Untitled" (Ross) departs from "Untitled" (Ross) (1991, candies individually wrapped in variously colored cellophane, endless supply). The deliberately cryptic title of the exhibition is an homage to Ross Laycock, Gonzalez-Torres's lover, who appears in the titles of several of the artist's works. The exhibition blends the personal into the political, exploring themes of gay love, relations, family, identity, desire, sexuality, and loss.
"Untitled" (Passport) is inspired by "Untitled" (Passport #II), (1993, print on paper, bound in booklets, endless copies). It revolves around subjects such as national identity, the trespassing of borders, mapping, statehood, economic migration, and political and cultural alienation.
Untitled (History) is inspired by "Untitled" (1988, framed photostat). It focuses on the writing of history, history's writing, and alternative readings of history.
"Untitled" (Death by Gun) is inspired by the work of the same title by Gonzalez-Torres (1990, print on paper, endless copies). This group exhibition reflects on the rampant spread of worldwide gun violence through a diverse array of historic and contemporary artworks that focus on the role of the gun, the murderer, and the victim.
In response to those today who devalue the exhibition as the primary format of artistic and curatorial expression, favoring instead ancillary events and programming (especially in a biennial context), the organizers of the 12th Istanbul Biennial advocate for renewed attention to the importance of the exhibition itself. The biennial will be precisely installed in a single venue, privileging above all else the display and juxtaposition of the artworks. Special attention is being given to the exhibition's architecture, designed by Ryue Nishizawa (Office Of Ryue Nishizawa, Tokyo). Nishizawa is implementing an experimental architectural program in Antrepo 3 and 5, the early-20th-century warehouse spaces along the Bosphorus, using a pioneering combination of steel and drywall in a design that is reminiscent of the clusters of small houses and buildings found in Japan.
The publications of the biennial encompass three volumes, with graphic design developed in collaboration with Jon Sueda of Stripe, San Francisco: a book documenting the November 2010 conference Remembering Istanbul, which looked back at the history of the Istanbul Biennial; a short guide with full-color photographs and interviews with the artists by the curators; and a catalogue that will feature six new essays on the topics of the exhibition as well as installation images of the biennial.
To remain in line with Gonzalez-Torres's idea of "Untitled" and his desire to circumvent established artistic and political conventions, the names of the artists will remain undisclosed until the biennial's opening. A critical position toward preconceived notions of the exhibition is a fundamental part of the curatorial premise, particularly with respect to a possible consumption of the exhibition via a list of the artists, the names of the curators, or the title of the show.
The 12th Istanbul Biennial, organised by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts and sponsored by Koç Holding, is set for 17 September–13 November 2011, under the curatorship of Adriano Pedrosa and Jens Hoffmann.
Adriano Pedrosa, born in 1965 in Rio de Janeiro, is an independent curator, editor and writer based in São Paulo. He has published in Artforum (New York), Art Nexus (Bogota), Art+Text (Sydney), Tate etc (London), Exit (Madrid), and Frieze (London), among others. Pedrosa curated F[r]icciones (with Ivo Mesquita, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid, 2000), was adjunct curator and editor of publications of the XXIV Bienal de São Paulo (1998), co-curator and co-editor of publications of the 27th Bienal de São Paulo (2006), curator of Museu de Arte da Pampulha, Belo Horizonte (2001-2003), curator of InSite_05, San Diego/Tijuana (2005), curator of 31st Panorama da Arte Brasileira (Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo, 2009), and artistic director of the 2nd Trienal Poli/Gráfica de San Juan (2009). He was a juror of the UNESCO Prize for the Promotion of the Arts (Istanbul Biennial, 2001), of the Prêmio EDP Novos Artistas (Museu Serralves, Porto, 2003), and of the Hugo Boss Prize (Guggenheim Museum, New York, 2004). Pedrosa is on the editorial board of The Exhibitionist: A Journal for Exhibition Making and is the founding director of Programa Independente da Escola São Paulo—PIESP.
Jens Hoffmann, born in 1974 in San José, Costa Rica, is a writer and curator of exhibitions based in San Francisco where he is the Director of the CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts. Hoffmann has worked for a number of art institutions including the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; KIASMA –- Museum for Contemporary Art, Helsinki; Kölnischer Kunstverein, Cologne; The Hugh Lane Museum of Modern Art, Dublin; DIA Center for the Arts, New York, Kunstverein in Hamburg; Kunst-Werke, Berlin; Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions, Los Angeles; Museum Kunst-Palast, Düsseldorf as well as for exhibitions such as Documenta X (1997), the 1st Berlin Biennial (1998), and the 9th Lyon Biennial (2007). He was the Director of Exhibitions at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London (2003–-2007) and co-curator of the 2nd Trienal Poli/Gráfica de San Juan (2009). He is currently co-curating, with Harrell Fletcher, the 1st People's Biennial, taking place in five US museums in 2010. Hoffmann is senior lecturer at the Curatorial Practice Program of the California College of the Arts in San Francisco, a guest professor at the Nova Academia di Bella Arti in Milan and an adjunct faculty member of the Curatorial Studies Program of Goldsmiths College, University of London. He is the founding editor of The Exhibitionist: A Journal on Exhibition Making.
The curators of the 12th Istanbul Biennial were appointed by the Advisory Board of the Istanbul Biennial. The advisory board consists of the artistic director of dOCUMENTA (13) Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev, contemporary artist Ayşe Erkmen, art consultant Melih Fereli, director of Exhibitions and Public Programs and chair of the Exhibitions and Museum Studies Program at San Francisco Art Institute Hou Hanru and director of the Sharjah Art Foundation and Al-Ma'mal Foundation for Contemporary Art, Jerusalem Jack Persekian.
The conceptual framework of the 12th Istanbul Biennial will be announced by a press conference by the curators; Adriano Pedrosa and Jens Hoffmann.
For further details: www.iksv.org/bienal
Media Relations
Ms. Elif Obdan T: + 90 212 334 07 13 F: + 90 212 334 07 16 E: elif.obdan@iksv.org
Professional preview September 15-16, 2011
Press conference September 15, 2011, 10 a.m.
Istanbul Biennial
Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts
Nejat Eczacıbaşı Binası Sadi Konuralp Caddesi No: 5, Şişhane 34433 Istanbul
Hours: Weekdays: 10.00-12.00 and 12:30-14:30 Weekends: 12:30-14:30 and 15.00-17:00