calendario eventi  :: 

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5/5/2004

Two exhibitions

MIT List Visual Arts Center, Cambridge

Marjetica Potrc: Urgent Architecture

Marjetica is one of the most extraordinary artists I have ever encountered. Her work doesn't happen in the isolated confines of the studio, but rather in the world where masses of people compete for space and basic necessities. But far from being depressing or confrontational, her work is charged with beauty, humor and a tremendous sense of possibility. She is involved in a huge enterprise which involves nothing less than the fundamentals of human life and spirit.
Michael Rush, director of Palm Beach Institute of Contemporary Art (PBICA) and curator of the exhibition

CAMBRIDGE, MA The List Visual Arts Center (LVAC) is pleased to announce the upcoming exhibition, Marjetica Potrc: Urgent Architecture, which is on view from May 6 through July 11, 2004. Potrč, based in Slovenia, is an artist and architect, and is known for her ingenious re-imaginings of architectural structures in 'unplanned' cities (barrios, favelas, shantytowns, squatter communities). The highlight of the exhibition is a massive installation of housing units Hybrid House: Caracas, West Bank, West Palm Beach (2003)––a complex and visually arresting architectural collage based on her research into densely populated communities in Caracas, the West Bank, and West Palm Beach. She is also premiering a series of drawings of Boston's Big Dig Project.

The exhibition also includes works from her Power Tools Series 2001-3, such as Hippo Water Roller, a rolling container for water that substitutes for the heavy and clumsy vessels women place on their heads in many parts of the world; Clockwork Mobile Telephone Charger; and Survival Kit, used by the Mexican government and the U.S. Border Patrol for would-be immigrants which contains anti-diarrheal medicine, adhesive bandages, powder to prevent dehydration, birth control pills, and condoms.

Also included will be a representative selection of Animal Sightings Series (2001), a set of digital prints of animals such as coyotes, bears, and raccoons caught roaming cities and visiting houses.

The Opening Reception takes place on May 6, from 5:30 to 7:30 PM. On May 4, at 6:30 PM, there will be a panel discussion with Marjetica Potrc, freelance curator Carlos Basualdo, Director of PBICA and Curator of the exhibition Michael Rush, and architect and Dean of Architecture at MIT Adele Naude Santos. The panel takes place in Bartos Theatre.

Marjetica Potrc has particular interest in 'informal' or 'unplanned' cities, such as those that develop in major urban areas like São Paolo, Brazil; Caracas, Venezuela; San Juan, Puerto Rico; and many other cities in the world. Given the often desperate lack of resources in these communities, Potrc has designed 'self-sustaining' housing units that can provide water, sewage, and electrical service to the occupants. Rather than designing purely practical and drab residences, she injects her designs with glowing colors (pinks and oranges) as a way of celebrating life and the beauty she sees in shared needs. 'We all seek the same things,' she says, 'shelter, food, water, and beauty.'

Working with the themes of security, defense and pursuit of happiness, Potrc has constructed a massive installation of housing units based on what she had seen of gated communities and temporary shelters (that have become permanent) in Caracas, the West Bank, and West Palm Beach. Potrc saw strong affinities between these three areas in terms of the tensions between public and private space; safety and community interaction. Using available materials such as concrete blocks, barbed wire, wood, and aluminum, Potrc's installation is a monolithic testimony to the power of art and architecture in shaping and re-imagining the human environment. 'Such (designs) bring about a long-needed dialogue between the formal and informal city, which obviously benefits everyone,' Potrc says. 'The timing is good, too. Every three days, more than a million people move to urban areas, and many of them live in shantytowns.'

Previously shown at the PBICA, Florida, organized by its director Michael Rush, this is her first major presentation in a U.S. museum since winning the Hugo Boss Prize at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in 2000.

Marjetica Potrc was born in 1953 in Slovenia, where she still resides. She received art and architecture degrees at the University of Ljubljana where she is now a Professor at the Academy of Fine Art. She has exhibited worldwide including representing Slovenia at the Venice Biennale in 1993, the São Paolo Biennial in 1996, and she has shown in the Guggenheim Museum and the Kuenstlerhaus Bethanien in Berlin.

Marjetica Potrc: Urgent Architecture is organized by the Palm Beach Institute of Contemporary Art. This exhibition is made possible by the generous support of Robert and Mary Montgomery. It is made possible in Cambridge by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, the Council for Arts at MIT, and Edison Light Beer.

Image: Marjetica Potrc
Hybrid House: Caracas, West Bank, West Palm Beach, 2003
Building materials, communication and energy infrastructure
Commisioned by Palm Beach
Institute of Contemporary Art.
Photo by Michael Price.
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Artur Zmijewski: Selected Works, 1998 – 2003

CAMBRIDGE, MA The List Visual Arts Center is pleased to announce Selected Works, 1998 – 2003 by Warsaw-based artist Artur Zmijewski from May 6 to July 11, 2004. This is the first showing of his work in the United States. The Opening Reception is on May 6, from 5:30 to 7:30 PM, and Zmijewski will be present.

In his compelling videos, Zmijewski creates situations to shape relationships between so-called "normal" individuals and those with physical defects. He then records what happens. In Singing Lesson I and Singing Lesson II, videos from 2001 and 2002, deaf children learn to sing. Eye for an Eye (1998) depicts a fit young woman lending a man her fingers to use to wash his disabled body and two men-one with two healthy legs and one missing a limb-climbing stairs and walking together. In Out for a Walk (2001), paraplegics assisted by able-bodied men repeat this painful act of walking; and KR WP shows that men who are warriors are just men after all. The exhibition also includes The Game of Tag (1999) and Our Songbook I (2003).

Zmijewski's works challenge moral codes against displaying "defective" human beings, and he says Out for a Walk "is a film about failure." But he also challenges notions that the disabled can succeed only if they achieve at the same standards as the physically fit. Zmijewski demands the viewer see and accept what is, rather than some arbitrary, imposed standard of perfection.

Artur Zmijewski (b. 1966 in Warsaw, Poland) lives and works in Warsaw. From 1990 to 1995, he studied at the Faculty of Sculpture of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, Poland; and in 1995, he earned a diploma from the studio of Professor Grzegorz Kowalski in Warsaw. In 1999, Zmijewski studied at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam, the Netherlands; and in 2000, he won a prize for his video work An Eye for an Eye at Guarene Arte 2000, in Guarene, Italy.

Zmijewski's solo exhibitions include those at Galerie Arsena, Bialystok, Poland; MUCA Roma, Mexico City, Mexico, D.F.; Galeria Kronika, Bytom, Poland; ITESO University, Guadalajara, Mexico, D.F.; Baltycka Galeria Sztuki Wspolczesnej w Slupsku, Poland; Foksal Gallery Foundation, Warsaw, Poland; and Galerie für Zeitgenössische Kunst, Leipzig, Germany (all in 2003). Other solo shows include those at Galerie Peter Kilchmann, Zürich, Switzerland; Collective Gallery, and the Edinburgh, Scotland (both in 2002); a.r.t. Gallery, Plock, Poland (1994, 1996, 2000, 2001); Gallery 2, Centre for Contemporary Art-Ujazdowski Castle, Warsaw (1998); and Friends' Gallery A.R (1995).

Artur Zmijewski has participated in numerous group shows including those at Galerie Peter Kilchmann, Zurich, Switzerland (2004); Auckland Art Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand (2003); Centre d'Art Contemporain de Brétigny, Brétigny, France; Umeå Kultur, Umeå, Sweden; Kunstverein für de Rheinlande und Westfalen, Düsseldorf, Germany; Kunstverein Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria; Foksal Gallery Foundation/Hotel pod Jeleniem, Cieszyn, Poland; Ludwig Museum, Budapest, Hungary; Museo Universitario de Ciencias y Arte Roma, Mexico D.F.; Kulturhuset, Stockholm, Sweden; and Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien (MUMOK), Vienna; all in 2003.

Group shows from 2002 include The Centre for Contemporary Art, Ujazdowski Castle; Liverpool Biennial 2002, Liverpool, United Kingdom; Galeria Zacheta; Manifesta 4, Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Other group exhibitions include those at Landesmuseum Joanneum, Graz, Austria, and Triennale di Milano, Palazzo della Triennale, Milano (both 2001); Kunsthalle Baden-Baden, Germany (2000); and Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Sweden and Ars Baltica-Triennale of Photographic Art, Stadtgalerie, Kiel, Germany (both in 1999).

Artur Zmijewski: Selected Works, 1998 – 2003 is made possible with the generous support by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, the Council for the Arts at MIT, and Edison Light Beer.

Reception: May 6, 5:30 – 7:30 PM

May 6, 2004 – July 11, 2004

Gallery Hours:
Tuesday–Thursday: 12–6PM; Friday: 12–8PM; Saturday and Sunday: 12–6PM
Closed Mondays and July 4

Information:
617.253.4680
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Public Programs

Artist Talk and Film showing of Karolina (2002)
May 11, 6:30 PM, Room E25-111

Curator's Talk
Jane Farver, Director
Wednesday, May 26, 12 PM

Gallery Talks
Bill Arning, Curator
Wednesday, May 19, 12 PM and Friday, June 11, 6 PM

Hiroko Kikuchi, Education and Outreach Coordinator
Sunday, May 23; June 13 and 27; and July 11, 2 PM

The List Visual Arts Center
20 Ames Street Building E15, Atrium level
Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139
617-253-4680

Directions:
The List Visual Arts Center is located in the Wiesner Building, 20 Ames St., at the eastern edge of the MIT campus. It is in close proximity to Kendall Square, Memorial Drive, and the Longfellow Bridge.
By T, take the red line to the Kendall/MIT stop, follow Main St. west to Ames St., turn left, and walk one block to the cross walk. The List Visual Arts Center, housed in a building identifiable by its white gridded exterior, will be on your left. Signage is on the building.
By car, coming across the Longfellow Bridge or from Memorial Drive, follow signs for Kendall Square. Limited metered parking is available on Ames Street. A parking garage is located at the Cambridge Center complex (entrance on Ames between Main and Broadway) during business hours and on campus after business hours and on weekends.

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