calendario eventi  :: 

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9/5/2013

VBCN Open

De Nederlandsche Bank, Amsterdam

Curated by Claire van Els and Hendrik Folkerts

VBCN OPEN 2012/2013 – an initiative of the Vereniging Bedrijfscollecties Nederland (VBCN) – is proud to present the time deposits project, a series of exhibitions and performances by artists Marie Reinert (France, 1971) and Mounira Al Solh (Lebanon, 1978). The central theme of time deposits is the notion of performance, a practice in contemporary art that has developed over the past ten years to once again become one of its most innovative forms. The exhibition examines and questions the different ways in which performances can take place, which documents remain after a performance, and how performance art can be presented in semi-public places outside of the museum context. Reinert and Al Solh examine the relationship between the performance and the document by questioning the causality between the two elements. How can objects facilitate a performance, and can a document also precede a performance? In what ways can an exhibition have the character of a performance? And how can the ephemeral and permanent be combined in performance?

PERFORMANCE IN SEMI-PUBLIC PLACES
In Reinert’s performance exhibition at De Nederlandsche Bank and the series of performances by Al Solh at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the special character of these two locations plays a key role. Both De Nederlandsche Bank and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are places that fulfill important public functions. They are extremely “visible” institutions in our society, as the central financial organ and the hub of international relationships, respectively. And yet these two locations allow only very limited access to the general public. Furthermore, the processes that take place in the two buildings are not always very transparent; in some cases, the secrecy is even protected by law. The contrast between the public role of the institution and the private or exclusive character of its location is an important starting point for both artists. In their performative gestures, Reinert and Al Solh show how the specific character of these locations relates to concepts such as visibility/invisibility and presence/absence. For example, they examine the differences and similarities between the everyday experience of the people who work at these institutions and the public image of these organizations.

MARIE REINERT – Bull & Bear
In the context of time deposits, Reinert will stage a performance at De Nederlandsche Bank for one month. It will only be partially visible to the visitors to the Bull & Bear exhibition, the title of which refers to the respective upward and downward trends in the financial market. Reinerts approach in performance is based on an “anthropological” research style that she has also used in earlier projects and which enables her to gather information about various social (work) spaces. In her new performance, Reinert will – with the help of a specially developed compass which determines the direction of the north by using the current trading rates of the Euro and the Dollar – explore the building on a daily basis and have intensive discussions with employees about their jobs and positions in the organization., The constant fluctuations in currency rates actually lead to physical changes; depending on the exchange rate, she will move towards certain places in the bank, and in relation to this have different, unpredictable encounters. In this way, Reinert links the spatial data of De Nederlandsche Bank to the financial system to which it is inextricably connected, expressing the economic systems that govern us whether we notice them or not. The documentation will be exhibited daily in the exhibition Bull & Bear. In addition to this, the exhibition Bull & Bear will present recent work of Reinert: the film Roll On, Roll Off (2010), which the artist made following a long-term “infiltration” on a Ukrainian freighter, and the drawing series Études Geste (2012-2013).

MOUNIRA AL SOLH – and suddenly there were women
In contrast with Reinert’s approach, Mounira Al Solh will present a series of performances at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs exploring performance as a ‘live event’ in the central conference room of the building. and suddenly there were women consists of a fictitious discussion about the specific context of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and what it means to stage a performance there. Inspired by the central conference room, which serves as the forum for many international meetings at the Ministry, and the portraits of all the previous – and predominantly male – ministers of Foreign Affairs and Development Cooperation hanging at the entrance to this room, Al Solh asks herself and the visitor about her own background as a Lebanese artist in the Netherlands, the blurring of national borders, and the representation of women in politics.

THE DOCUMENT IN PERFORMANCE
time deposits examines the relationship between live performance and documents by questioning the causality between the two elements. Can a document also precede the performance, and can objects facilitate a performance? How can an exhibition have the character of a performance? And how can temporary and permanent factors be combined in performance? The documents of Reinert’s performance – video and audio recordings, as well as photographic documents – are exhibited every day in the Bull & Bear exhibition, but they are just as ephemeral as the performance itself. Following the time deposits project, she will make a new film from the information and images that she collected. On the other hand, Al Solh uses extant documents in the building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs – the portraits documenting the institution’s history – but changes them thoroughly for a brief moment.

BIOGRAPHIES OF THE ARTISTS
Mounira Al Solh (born Beirut, Lebanon, 1978) studied painting at the University of Beirut (1997-2001) and the Gerrit Rietveld Academy (2003-2006). She continued her studies at the Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten in Amsterdam (2007-2008). Al Solh has worked in various media, including video, performance, and installation art. In 2008, she founded the art journal NOA Magazine, which was published in a limited edition and was read by a select audience during public readings. Her recent solo exhibitions include: Dinosaurs, Art in General, New York (2012); Mounira Al Solh & Bassam Ramlawi, and drawings by René Daniels, Stedelijk Museum Bureau Amsterdam, Amsterdam (2011); Sfeir-Semler Gallery, Beirut, Lebanon (2011); Kunsthalle Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal, (2010); Rijksakademie Open Ateliers, Amsterdam (2008). Her work has also been included in the following group exhibitions: Bucharest Biennial, Bucharest, Romania (2012); The Ungovernables, New Museum, New York (2012); I decided not to save the world, Tate Modern, London/Salt Istanbul (2011). Al Solh lives and works in Amsterdam and Beirut.

The artistic practice of Marie Reinert (born Fécamp, France, 1971) takes place at the crossroads of performance, video, and installation art. Since the 1990s, when she studied at l’École superieure des arts décoratifs in Strasbourg, Reinert has focused on human behavior in specific organizations, systems, and protocols. Reinert’s working methods are very time intensive and she sometimes infiltrates organizations for weeks on end to examine them thoroughly, often fully integrating herself into them. Reinert’s video Roll On, Roll Off (2010), for which she spent weeks aboard a Ukrainian freighter with its completely male crew, is a recent example of this sort of long-term infiltration. Her work was recently exhibited during the Stedelijk Museum conference A Little Less Conversation, (2011); the festival for contemporary art in Toulouse Printemps de Septembre (2010); Festival de Danse et des Arts Multiples de Marseille (2010); and during Faite main, MAC/VAL gallery, Vitry-sur-Seine (2010). Reinert lives and works in Berlin and Marseille.

BIOGRAPHIES OF THE CURATORS
Claire van Els (1986) is an art historian and freelance curator. She studied art history at the University of Amsterdam, specializing in contemporary art and theory, as well as the history of feminist exhibitions. Van Els was involved in the organization of the Mike Kelley exhibition (2012-2013) in the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam and is currently working as the assistant curator for the exhibition In the Land of the Giants, with recent work by the American artist Jo Baer, which is also in the Stedelijk.

Hendrik Folkerts (1984) is the curator of the Public Program for the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. In this capacity, he was responsible for the museum’s performance, film, and lecture program during The Temporary Stedelijk (2010 –2012), and he is now organizing the public program of the reopened Stedelijk Museum. Folkerts studied art history at the University of Amsterdam and specialized in contemporary art and theory, the practice of feminist art since the 1960s, and the history of exhibitions. Before his current position, he was the coordinator of the Curatorial Programme for De Appel arts centre in Amsterdam. He regularly publishes in journals such as Metropolis M, The Journal for Art and Public Space, and various catalogues. Folkerts is the co-editor of the publications The Shadowfiles: Curatorial Education (Amsterdam: De Appel arts centre, 2013) and the forthcoming Facing Forward: Art & Theory From a Future Perspective (Autumn, 2013).

VERENIGING BEDRIJFSCOLLECTIES NEDERLAND (NETHERLANDS ASSOCIATION OF CORPORATE ART COLLECTIONS) (VBCN)
The Vereniging Bedrijfscollecties Nederland (Netherlands Association of Corporate Art Collections) (VBCN) is a platform for corporate collections of contemporary art. With the launch of the biennial VBCN OPEN prize for curators, the VBCN aims to support the production of contemporary art and give exhibition makers opportunities to submit exhibition proposals. Claire van Els and Hendrik Folkerts are the winners of the inaugural curator’s prize.

“time deposits” is made possible with the financial support of the Vereniging Bedrijfscollecties Nederland (Netherlands Association of Corporate Art Collections) (VBCN), the art collections of De Nederlandsche Bank, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Institut Français Pays-Bas.

Image: Marie Reinert, Roll On Roll Off, 2010. April 18, 2013

Press
Sabrina Kamstra
telefoon +31 [0]20 - 566 33 32

Marie Reinert – Bull & Bear
De Nederlandsche Bank, Amsterdam
Exhibition: May 10 to June 19, 2013
Please note: The exhibition at De Nederlandsche Bank is only accessible upon registration. You can register by sending an e-mail to kunstcommissie@dnb.nl or calling +31 20-5242183. Please include in the e-mail your full name and the number of your passport or other identification document. ID is mandatory.

Mounira Al Solh – and suddenly there were women
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Hague
Performances: June 10, 11 and 12, 2013
(The exact times of the performance will be announced shortly.)

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