Claes Oldenburg Coosje van Bruggen
dal 21/3/2007 al 2/6/2007
Segnalato da
21/3/2007
Claes Oldenburg Coosje van Bruggen
Fundacio Joan Miro', Barcelona
Sculpture by the Way. The exhibition looks at the work produced jointly by these two artists over the last twenty years and contains more than two hundred sketches, drawings, models and sculptures that demonstrate the working process of each project. The artists have redefined the concept of sculpture from their own particular viewpoint, and they started collaborating in the 1970s. Curated by Ida Gianelli and Marcella Beccaria.
Sculpture by the Way
curated by Ida Gianelli and Marcella Beccaria
The Joan Miró Foundation is presenting “Claes Oldenburg Coosje van Bruggen. Sculpture by the Way”, curated by Ida Gianelli and Marcella Beccaria, director and curator respectively of the Castello di Rivoli Museo d’Arte Contemporanea in Turin. The exhibition looks at the work produced jointly by these two artists over the last twenty years and contains more than two hundred sketches, drawings, models and sculptures that demonstrate the working process of each project.
The collaboration between Claes Oldenburg (Stockholm, 1929) and Coosje van Bruggen (Groningen, 1942) began in the 1970s and is based on the coming together of two strong and very different personalities. The artists have redefined the concept of sculpture from their own particular viewpoint, and “Claes Oldenburg Coosje van Bruggen. Sculpture by the Way” documents the unique character of the creative path they have followed together.
The exhibition focuses on the last twenty years, with Il Corso del Coltello (The Course of the Knife) as the starting point. This performance, which was presented in Venice in 1985, and its related works reveal Oldenburg’s and van Bruggen’s capacity to open up their art to a dialogue with architecture, literature and theatre. It also shows their specific approach to the urban context and their determination to go beyond the safety of the museum walls.
Oldenburg and van Bruggen often work on large-scale projects, and have created sculptures for public spaces in cities in Europe, America and Asia. Their art, however, is produced in the privacy of their studio in an on-going dialogue. Every project is developed on the basis of sketches, drawing, studies and models – a dossier of ideas in a constant state of mutation, each of which is a work of art in its own right. Both the largest public sculpture and the smallest drawing represent a profound analysis of the forms and contents that characterise the artists’ explorations. With its broad selection of works, the exhibition offers visitors the opportunity to examine in detail the dynamics of their working methods.
A close-up view of the whole creative process of Mistos, commissioned by the Institut Municipal de Promoció Urbanística in 1989 and installed in the Vall d’Hebron, Barcelona in 1991, is an opportunity not to be missed.
“Sculpture by the Way” also contains a selection of installations for museums that includes the artists’ most recent pieces. These reflections on the fragility of human nature or on the microcosms that define our daily existence show the artists’ skill in communicating universal values that transcend linguistic and cultural barriers.
Among the latest sculptures is Dropper Flower, a giant poppy created specially for this exhibition.
The show is accompanied by a selection of documentary films on the artists’ work and their large-scale projects. “Sculpture by the Way” is a collaboration between Castello di Rivoli Museo d’Arte Contemporanea in Turin, where it was on show from 25 October 2006 to 25 February this year, and the Joan Miró Foundation in Barcelona.
Opening: 22 March at 19.30
Fundacio Joan Miro
Parc de Montjuic - Barcelona