Muted Fanfare for the Shy
dal 25/9/2013 al 8/11/2013
Segnalato da
25/9/2013
Muted Fanfare for the Shy
narrative gallery, London
Inaugural exhibition. Patrik Aarnivaara's practice being mainly sculptural while Shirin Sabahi mostly works with moving image. Yet both artists have been preoccupied by the cinematic and the architectural and the relation between the two.
For its inaugural exhibition, narrative gallery is proud to present recent works by Patrik Aarnivaara and Shirin Sabahi, shown side by side for the first time. The two artists have been working in different mediums: Aarnivaara’s practice being mainly sculptural while Sabahi mostly works with moving image. Yet both artists have been preoccupied by the cinematic and the architectural and the relation between the two, especially when it comes to primary methods of viewing and engaging the viewer.
The exhibition is an invitation to look at various surfaces, either directly or through secondary measures such as film, still image and sculpture. Aarnivaara plants his viewing devices in the scenery as well as the gallery space: objects resembling studio tools reflecting, filtering or mirroring light and images of the location. Mounted on tripods, they are mobile and possible to dismantle, resembling equipment with changeable parts that can be used for different purposes: a projection surface or a prop for a photo shoot. Sabahi’s body of work consists of documentation and replication of the exhibitory function of a greenhouse; the presentation and protection of fragility in hope of simulating the natural habitat. On the stage, the plants transform into fine objects. Filming the glasshouse structure from outside, the building and its contents are animated for Sabahi’s camera. Both Aarnivaara’s viewing devices and Sabahi’s reproduction of the greenhouse blind suggest an unclear function: one that is inept, uneasy and at best redundant.
*The title of the exhibition is taken from Farnoosh Fathi’s 2013 book of poems, Great Guns.
About the Artists
Patrik Aarnivaara (b. 1977, Uppsala) currently lives and works in Malmö, Sweden. Solo exhibitions include: Slow Motion is Monumental Sculpture, Gallery Charlotte Lund, Stockholm (2012); and A Monument Which Needs a Shape, Which Needs a Story, Which Needs a Text, Which Needs Letters, Johan Berggren Gallery, Malmö (2010). Selected group exhibitions include: The Ghost of a Movement, Embassy Gallery, Edinburgh (2013); Inner Light, Erica Fiorentini Gallery, Rome (2011); Lunds konsthall presentation, Lunds konsthall, Lund (2010); and Murder at the Savoy – Exhibition of a Crime, Malmö konsthall, Malmö (2010).
Shirin Sabahi (b. 1984, Tehran) has previously exhibited at Tehran Photo Museum (2008); HISK, Ghent (2009); Mercosur Biennial, Porto Alegre (2009); Konsthall C, Stockholm (2010); Platforma Revolver, Lisbon
(2011); Oberhausen Short Film Festival (2012); CCS Bard, New York (2012); CAB, Brussels (2013); Kuenstlerhaus Stuttgart (2013) amongst others.
About the Gallery
narrative gallery is a new contemporary art space in London with a cross-disciplinary programme and a particular focus on conceptual work. The gallery’s primary objective is to open up a creative dialogue highlighting the wider cultural milieux within which our selected artists are working, and setting up provocative and enlightening juxtapositions and engagements between these and the London contemporary art scene through exhibitions and special off-site projects.
Image: Muted Fanfare for the Shy, 2013, film-still
For press information and images please contact:
Daria Kirsanova daria@narrativegallery.com
Opening: Thursday 26 September, 6 pm - 8 pm
narrative gallery
35 Riding House Street London W1W 7EA
Hours:
Tuesday - Saturday, 10 am - 6 pm