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8/2/2000

ARCO 2000

IFEMA - Feria de Madrid, Madrid

The 19th International Contemporary Art Fair.
Galleries from all over the world will present their exhibition projects, featuring up-and-coming artists and the great masters of the 20th century Italy will attend ARCO 2000 as Guest of Honour, through a programme headed by Achille Bonito Oliva.

The nineteenth edition of the International Contemporary Art Fair, ARCO, will take place in Madrid between 10th and 15th February of the Year 2000, featuring the participation of 256 galleries - 101 Spanish and 155 foreign galleries - from 29 countries. The selection, carried out by an International Committee made up of Spanish and foreign galleries and the heads of the most important Contemporary Art Museums in Spain, was made in accordance with main criteria based on artistic quality, professionalism and the international projection of the galleries.

The growing international participation at ARCO constitutes the most outstanding aspect of this new edition, at which we must also highlight the numerous participation of galleries which will be exhibiting at ARCO for the first time and the strong representation of avant-garde and experimental ideas and proposals, which, yet again this year, will capture the attention of collectors, critics, curators and heads of museums and art centres throughout the world.

One of the most important objectives of ARCO is to enhance its international dimension year after year through various innovative programmes, among which we must include the artistic programmes designed by curators from all over the world. An expanded selection from geographical areas and countries of special interest, the participation of more than one hundred elite curators and collectors from all continents in organised debates, and the possibility to address current curatorship-related issues from the various artistic view-points which exist today within a globally-based context, are the key aspects of this new Year 2000 edition, constituting its most significant contribution to the international art-scene as one of the most dynamic and lively art-fairs of the moment.

ARCO'00 will be organised around three important exhibition programmes. The central programme of the Fair, this year devoted to ITALY, will present an exhibition which aims to pay homage to one of the countries which has had the greatest influence on contemporary art during the last half of this century. The PROJECT ROOMS area will bring together the work of 30 artists from various countries, featuring unique proposals created specifically for their exhibition at ARCO. This year, the third programme, CUTTING EDGE, will bring together the multiple ideas and approaches of new up-and-coming artists working today on the international scene.

ITALY AT ARCO 2000

Since 1984, names as important as Jan Hoet, Head of the Van Hedendaagse Kunst Museum in Ghent, Kevin Consey, former Head of the Chicago Contemporary Art Museum, Octavio Zaya, Joao Pinharanda and Nicolas Bourriaud, renowned art-critics and independent curators, have left their mark on ARCO with artistic projects and programmes which have attempted to present a particular perspective of the various creative directions being pursued in Belgium, the United States, Latin America, Portugal and France, respectively.

In the Year 2000, Italy will be the guest of honour at ARCO, participating at the fair with an interesting programme organized by one of the country's most renowned art-critics and curators, Achille Bonito Oliva, in collaboration with Giorgio Persano, a gallery-owner of considerable stature. This programme aims to trace the Italian contribution to the international art scene from the 1950's to the present day, through a selection of 24 galleries - 12 will present works by the great masters and 12 will present up-and-coming artistic proposals - which will provide a perspective of some of the most important trends witnessed in contemporary art.

The presence of Italy at ARCO represents an acknowledgement of the central role which this country has played within the field of artistic creation this century, not only as a result of the importance and influence of such significant movements as Arte Povera and Transvanguardia, but also because of the contributions made by the latest generations of artists from the 1990's to international art.

The programme ITALY AT ARCO 2000, which features the support of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Cultural Relations Department - as well as the Italian Embassy in Spain and the Istituto Italiano di Cultura di Madrid, shall include an exhibition which will make up the Italian Pavillion, a programme of debates which will place the exhibition within its artistic context, and a selection of exhibitions which will take place at various cultural centres throughout Spain, coinciding with the staging of ARCO, based on the clear intention to promote current Italian artistic activity among the professionals from all over the world who attend ARCO every year.

In order to mark the presence of Italy at ARCO, a catalogue will be published under the direction of Gianpaolo Prearo Editore, featuring contributions by Achille Bonito Oliva, Cecilia Casorati, Laura Cherubini, Mario Codognato, Manuela Gandini, Daniela Lancioni and Angela Vettese.

PROJECT ROOMS AT ARCO 2000

For the first time, a team of four curators from various parts of the world have defined the artistic composition of the PROJECT ROOMS area. In addition to Carlos Basualdo, Hou Hanru, Rosa Martinez and Octavio Zaya, in their capacity as permanent curators, ARCO has invited Francesco Bonami to join the team as a guest-curator, in order to carry out the selection of artists and their respective galleries, based on the proposals of the Spanish and international galleries which are presented and the deliberations of the curators themselves in relation to the idea of "Other Worlds", which has been chosen as the general theme of this edition. On this occasion, the Project Rooms at ARCO 2000 will bring together artists from all over the world, who share a common desire to present a complex and personal vision of the world in their works and to represent the various perspectives which make up contemporary life. The theme on which the selection was based sought to avoid all-encompassing criteria and emphasize the differences and contrasts which exist among all the various artists and creations chosen.

As is customary, the Project Rooms will feature the participation of up-and-coming artists on the international scene. The classification will be based exclusively on the degree of influence and innovative capacity of these works.

CUTTING EDGE AT ARCO 2000

The CUTTING EDGE Section this year represents a considerable step forward regarding the contribution made by ARCO as a showcase for the most contemporary art, providing a forum which presents the widest possible spectrum of galleries which are located on the artistic cutting edge within the international art markets. One of the main new features of this curated project is the expanded selection of Cutting Edge galleries, incorporating new geographical areas, with a view to encouraging the most radical artistic creation which takes place throughout the world today. Thus, the Cutting Edge Section will feature a selection of up-and-coming artists in the exhibition "ConoSur", selected by curators from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru and Uruguay.
The "East Wind / West Wind" exhibition will present a selection of galleries from Central and Eastern European countries. "New Art from the States" will provide an overview of current art produced in the USA. The selection entitled "New Dutch Views" will be made by 10 Dutch galleries. "Cologne-Berlin" will provide a perspective on up-and-coming art in Germany, "net space @ arco'00" will offer a view of the leading and cutting -edge art web sites and on-line communities, and, finally, the exhibition "Cutting Edge Crossroads" will feature the participation of a selection of galleries and artists of various nationalities.

A Review of Up-And-Coming Art from Various Parts of the World (Cutting Edge)

Visual supports and techniques such as photography, painting, video, electronic art, experimental graphics, installations and digital art will constitute, within a wide range of ideas and proposals, the up-and-coming art exhibition ConoSur, whose selection has been carried out by Gustavo Buntinx, Justo Pastor Mellado, Marcelo Pacheco, Adriano Pedrosa and Gabriel Peluffo. This exhibition aims to present alternative productions of various kinds to an international public, as well as the vital outlook of new up-and-coming artistic directions from the countries of South America.

For their part, Lorand Hegyi, Head of the Modern Art Museum of the Ludwig Foundation in Vienna and Victor Misiano, the curator at the Pushkin Museum and Head of the Contemporary Art Centre in
Moscow, will present a different range of new art through a selection of Hungarian and Russian galleries, providing an overview of the current art scene in these countries, whose development and presence within an international context has been strongly influenced by socio-political and economic factors.

With an exhibition which aims to reflect the cultural pluralism and diversity of the art scene in the United States, Kevin E. Consey has carried out a selection based on the current American visual culture scene. The general criterion of the selection was based on the presentation of galleries which have a coherent and extensive track-record working with artists who have captured international attention as a result of their innovative and provocative works.

The current art-scene in the Netherlands will be presented in the exhibition organized by Leontine Coelewij, the curator of the Stedelijk Museum of Amsterdam and Bartomeu Mari, Head of the Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art in Rotterdam, who will present a programme featuring a range of Dutch galleries which have traditionally carried out fine work within the field of contemporary art. Through the participation of a large number of the best current Dutch galleries, visitors will be able to admire the work of contemporary artists at work in the Netherlands.

The leading role played by the cities of Cologne and Berlin within the field of art and their distinct development over the last decade will be presented in the selection carried out by Udo Kittelmann, the Director and Head Curator of the Kolnischer Kunstverein in Cologne, making Madrid a neutral territory for a long-awaited dialogue between these two great centres of art and two great rivals. The galleries chosen will present young German artists, who, with their unique artistic approaches on an international scale, represent a new consciousness within the young German art-scene.

Finally, Rafael Doctor, the Curator and Coordinator of the Canal Isabel II Exhibition Rooms and Head of Espacio Uno at the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia in Madrid, will present the Cutting Edge Crossroads Section, a selection of galleries from other non-represented countries, which aims to present a "global state", one which encompasses the artistic interpretations of various artists working in diverse countries, who, nevertheless, maintain a dialogue based on common roots.

DEBATES

One of the greatest attractions and meeting-points for the elite of the international art- world is presented by the debates which are organized annually by ARCO, focusing on issues which are of widespread interest to the art community. Almost one hundred curators, collectors, critics, conservators and heads of museums of considerable influence within the international art scene will participate at ARCO 2000, among which we might highlight figures as important as Germano Celant, Achille Bonito Oliva, Kynaston McShine, Francesco Bonami, Laurence Miller and Carloyn Christov-Bakargiev.

Furthermore, the programme of debates aims to include institutional representation of the highest level, both private and public, from the international art scene. Thus, the list of participating bodies includes the Solomon E. Guggenheim Museum of New York, MoMa of New York, the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia of Madrid, the Ludwig Museum of Cologne and Vienna, the Museum of Contemporary Art of Chicago, the Kolnischer Kunstverein of Cologne, the New Museum of Contemporary Art of New York, the Moderna Museet of Stockholm, the Istambul Contemporary Art Project, the Stedelijk Museum of Amsterdam, the Musee d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, the Contemporary Art Center of New York, the ArtPace Foundation of San Antonio, the Biennial of Sao Paulo, the Getty Research Institute for the Arts of Los Angeles, the Centre of Academic Resources
Chulalongkorn University of Bangkok, the Art Institute of Chicago and the Art Gallery of New South Wales of Sidney, among others.

The general themes which will be addressed during the Debates include the following: "Art and the Italian Art Scene", sponsored by the Italian Cultural Institute of Madrid; "Museums: Acquisitions Policy at Contemporary Art Museums", sponsored by the Fine Arts and Cultural Heritage Department of the Spanish Ministry of Education and Culture; "Challenges Regarding the Work of the Curator", a cycle sponsored by the ICO Foundation; "Would Goya Have Liked the Internet?", "Surfing the International", under the auspices of the Australia Council for the Arts, "ConoSur Latin Forum", "New Dutch Views", "The German Shift" and "Glamour and Posing".

COLLECTORS' FORUM

The programme will also host a meeting of international collectors known as the "COLLECTORS' FORUM", chaired by Manuel E. Gonzalez (Chase Manhattan Bank Collection, New York), to which the following collectors have been invited: Eduardo Costantini (Buenos Aires), Michael Klein (Microsoft Art Collection, Redmond), Ignacio Enrique Oberto (Caracas), Jose Olympio Pereira (Sao Paolo) Howard & Donna Stone (Chicago), Joao Carlos de Figueiredo Ferraz (Sao Paolo), Count Panza di Biumo (Lugano), Isabella Pratta (Sao Paulo), Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo (Turin) Juan Vergez and Rolf & Erika Hoffmann (Berlin) and Tom Patchett (Los Angeles).

This wide-ranging programme will capture international attention, promoting professional dialogue, an exchange of ideas and experiences and numerous contacts within the commercial and promotional fields, within the framework of the 19th International Contemporary Art Fair.

Director: Rosina Gomez - Baeza

For more information, contact: Marietta Vazquez (ARCO Press Office)

ARCO 2000 International Contemporary Art Fair
Parque Ferial Juan Carlos I, Madrid Pavilions 5 and 7 (North Entrance)

Exhibition Hours:
Official Opening (by invitation): Wednesday, February 9th, 8 p.m.
Professional Visitors (by invitation): Wednesday, February 9th, 4 - 8 p.m. and Thursday, February 10th, 11 - 2 p.m.
Open to General Public: Thursday 10 February: 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. and Friday the 11th to Tuesday the 15th: noon to 9 p.m.

For further information please write to:
ARCO, Parque Ferial Juan Carlos I, 28042 MADRID , SPAIN Fax (34) 91 722 57 98 / 58 00

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