Airport, please for the world premiere of a film by Wolfgang Laib at Florence’s Museo Novecento

Wolfgang Laib
Without Time, Without Place, Without Body, 2019-2021
Museo di San Marco, Florence

Museo Novecento, Florence, Italy

This evening, July 7th at 9:30pm, the Museo Novecento in Florence presents the culmination of a series of extraordinary exhibitions created by Wolfgang Laib over the last few years in musuems throughout the city. The world premiere, Without Time, Without Place, Without Body – a film by Wolfgang Laib, records the exhibition project by the German artist realized in a series of solo shows held in landmark cultural institutions throughout Florence.

The Ziggurat
Pazzi Chapel
Basilica of Santa Croce

The film, commissioned by the Museo Novecento and produced by MUS.E, was made at the time of the exhibition of the same name,  at the Museum of San Marco (Polo Museale della Toscana), the Chapel of the Magi (Palazzo Medici Riccardi), the Rucellai Chapel (church of San Pancrazio, Marino Marini Museum) and the Pazzi Chapel (Monumental Complex of Santa Croce).  The relationship of the visibility of art and the invisibility of the spirit, magically linked the magnificence of the Renaissance tradition with the unique innovation of material and space for which Laib’s contemporary art is celebrated.

Pollen from Hazelnut, 2019
Cappella Magi
Palazzo Medici Riccardi, Florence

The film, narrated by the artist himself, retraces the phases of preparation and development undertaken during this very ambitious project that has created a close dialogue between the city’s past and the contemporary aesthetic platform of the German master. The art of Brunelleschi, Leon Battista Alberti, Benozzo Gozzoli and Beato Angelico forms a dialogue with Laib’s minimalist symbolic works.  Made with natural elements such as pollen and beeswax, Laib explores the relationship between sculpture, architecture and nature, uniting East with West in his daily life and in his creative practice.

Pollen from Dandelion, 2019
Museo di San Marco, Florence

In a time such as ours, in which the whole of humanity is looking for ways to overcome the pandemic and the difficult relationship between man and nature, Laib’s art provides a new perspective on the redefinition of humanism.

BIOGRAPHY

 

Wolfgang Laib was born in Metzingen in southern Germany in 1950. After studying medicine, he turned to the practice of art and in 1975 created his first work, Milkstone, a now iconic white marble slab covered with milk. In 1977, Laib began to collect pollen in the fields around his residence, starting a “practice” that would become a milestone in his artistic production. In the following years, between 1978 and 1981, he presented his famous pollen squares in several solo exhibitions in Germany, Italy, Switzerland and the United States. In 1982 he participated in Documenta 7 curated by Rudi Fuchs and in the Venice Biennale. Following a long trip that he made during those years in India, he included rice in his works, creating The Rice Meals for the Nine Planets and, later, the first Rice Houses. His exhibitions have been held in museums, exhibitions and art institutions around the world including: the ARC in Paris, the CAPC Musée d’Art Contemporain in Bordeaux, the Sidney Biennial, the Toyota Municipal Museum, the National Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo, the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Seoul, the Fondation Beyeler in Basel, the Macro in Rome, the Sant’Apollinare in Classe complex in Ravenna, the Kunstmuseum in Bonn, the Reina Sofia in Madrid, the Musée de Grenoble, the MoMA in New York, and the Centre Pompidou in Paris. He is represented internationally by Thaddaeus Ropac in Europe and Sperone Westwater in New York.

https://website-ropac.artlogic.net/news/561-wolfgang-laib-without-time-without-place-without-body/

Pollen from Hazelnut, 2019
Installation View
Cappella Magi, Palazzo Medici Riccardi, Florence

Airport, please! Gagosian London reopens an extraordinary exhibit by Rachel Whiteread

Gagosian Gallery London
Grosvenor Hill

We’ve taken digital gallery hopping for granted, looking online at a great many exhibitions instead of seeing them in person and telling ourselves we “saw” the show. A familiarity with the theme of an exhibit, a new direction a familiar artist is exploring, seemed to suffice. Now that we have been so long deprived from an easy access to museums and galleries, the level of anticipation of viewing works in person is truly appreciated. Long may this last, a renewed appreciation of seeing contemporary shows in person and a significant increase in the very old habit of spending a day on the Lower East Side or Chelsea, or Mayfair or the Marais.

This week, London galleries have reopened from the pandemic quarantine with some extraordinary exhibitions. Airport, please! First stop, Rachel Whiteread: Internal Objects, at Gagosian Grosvenor Hill. At last, a lockdown masterpiece, says The Guardian, in a recent article by Jonathan Jones reviewing the exhibition in London. As many of us have struggled with metaphorical ghosts in the loneliness and unease of lockdown, Rachel Whiteread has confronted her Ghost, a work she created in 1990, an icon of a new approach to sculpture, purchased by collector Charles Saatchi. Whiteread is celebrated for her ability to poetically capture the memory of a space.

Rachel Whiteread
Ghost, 1990
Plaster cast

In Internal Objects, Whiteread had revisited this early work during the lockdown, creating two remarkable new works, Poltergeist and Doppelganger. These works were not cast but assembled, two derelict exploding structures, shattered and abandoned, unified by being painted overall in a pure white.

The Guardian, Rachel Whiteread: Internal Objects.

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2021/apr/12/lockdown-masterpiece-covid-pandemic-rachel-whiteread-internal-objects-review

Rachel Whiteread
Poltergeist

RACHEL WHITEREAD

Dame Rachel Whiteread (born 20 April 1963) is an English artist who primarily produces sculptures, which typically take the form of casts. She was the first woman to win the annual Turner Prize in 1993.

Whiteread was one of the Young British Artists who exhibited at the Royal Academy’s Sensation exhibition in 1997. Among her most renowned works are House, a large concrete cast of the inside of an entire Victorian house; the Judenplatz Holocaust Memorial in Vienna, resembling the shelves of a library with the pages turned outwards; and Untitled Monument, her resin sculpture for the empty fourth plinth in London’s Trafalgar Square.

She was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2006 and Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2019 Birthday Honours for services to art.

Bio, Tate Modern

GHOST

Ghost (1990) was Whiteread’s first large-scale sculpture and set in motion the ambitious, architecturally scaled works for which she is widely recognized today. Made by filling a room of a Victorian house in North London with concrete to create a solid cast that picks up the details of the walls, mantle, and windows, Ghost is a positive room-sized object that reveals itself gradually, as one encircles the huge form. Whiteread expanded on this working method in House (1993; destroyed 1994), cast from an entire Victorian terrace house. Whiteread created this work after all the other terraces in the row had been demolished, and it stood alone as a reminder of the working-class homes that once spanned the street. The sculpture sparked heated debates around issues of real estate, class divisions, and urban sprawl.

Gagosian Gallery, artist biography 

https://gagosian.com/artists/rachel-whiteread/

20 GROSVENOR HILL, GAGOSIAN GALLERY, Mayfair London

20 Grosvenor Hill has transformed a dated office building into a striking double height, day-lit gallery space. The entire 21,800 sq ft development has been let to the globally renowned Gagosian Gallery.

British architects TateHindle designed the exterior of the building replacing the old 1990s façade with handmade Roman bricks in a blue-grey palette. The design achieves a contemporary feel while also complementing the building’s historical context.

Award-winning architecture practice Caruso St. John created the interior scheme having previously designed galleries for Gagosian in Rome and Paris.

Grosvenor Hill and the surrounding area has been associated with the arts since the 1870s when Sir Coutts Lindsay opened the Grosvenor Gallery.  Gagosian Gallery at 20 Grosvenor Hill builds on this rich heritage.

Artist, writer, co-founder of New York’s Private View, the innovative Madeleine Paternot

 

Madeleine Paternot
Founder, 3D Sculpture Park, Switzerland, co-founder, Private View NY

Anthropology comes from the Greek, literally “the study of the human.” As such, it overlaps with history, sociology, psychology, political science, literature, documentary studies, and other fields. What distinguishes anthropology is less what anthropologists study than how they do it, and in particular the investigative techniques of participant-observation.

Coursework in anthropology gives students powerful tools for making sense of society and culture, and an appreciation of both different cultures and of hierarchies and inequality in the 21st century world.

Cultural Anthropology Course Description, Stanford University

Madeleine Paternot
Blue Club Chairs
Acrylic and ink on canvas
2012

MADELEINE PATERNOT MAJORED IN CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY AT VASSAR COLLEGE, NOT THE MOST TYPICAL COURSE OF STUDY FOR AN ARTIST BUT ONE SHE HAS PUT TO GREAT USE. HER APPRECIATION AND KNOWLEDGE OF CULTURES FROM AROUND THE WORLD IMPACT ON THE SUBJECT MATTER AND TECHNIQUE IN HER PAINTINGS WHICH EMBRACE  IMAGES AND SENSIBILITY OF THE HOME AND ITS MEANING. HER STUDIES OF CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY HAVE ALSO STRONGLY IMPACTED ON THE MISSION OF HER FOUNDATION, THE 3-D SCULPTURE PARK IN VERBIER AND ON HER NEW ARTISTIC PLATFORM, PRIVATE VIEW NEW YORK, A BY APPOINTMENT GALLERY AND GATHERING PLACE FOR ARTISTIC DIALOGUE IN SOHO.

https://theknockturnal.com/private-view-new-york-launches-during-the-frieze-art-fair/

WE HAVE A LOT OF TERRITORY TO COVER SO LET’S REJOIN MADDY NOW.

MADDY, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR SHARING YOUR WORK AND YOUR ART VENTURES WITH THE LRFA BLOG.

Madeline Paternot
Mint Wallpaper

WHAT WAS YOUR CHILDHOOD? WAS YOUR FAMILY INTERESTED IN ART. DID THEY COLLECT?


I was named after the French children’s book, Madeleine, who was known for her adventures. I spoke primarily French until the age of ten. I love exploring and it’s no wonder that as an adult, I have lived an extremely nomadic existence. Travel was always encouraged and after my parents separated, I visited my father in Switzerland frequently.  My extended family lives in every corner of the world.  Through my early influences, I realized that travel and culture have always been an inspiration for me artistically.


Madeline Paternot
Tall Pink Chair

HOW DO YOU THINK THAT YOUR EARLY EXPERIENCES IN BOTH AMERICA AND EUROPE HAVE INFLUENCED BOTH YOUR OWN ARTISTIC OUTPUT AND THE PLATFORM OF THE GALLERY?

My work is highly influenced by my cultural sensibilities.  Retrospectively, my nomadic existence informs my work and the ideas around my gallery. A part of my practice focuses on creating “home” environments and being a catalyst for social change. I love this quote from Coco Chanel “an interior is the natural projection of the soul”. I really live by this. The old school loft style gallery that we created allows our visitors to experience art in an intimate and personal setting. It is no surprise that I would mix my enthusiasm for global outreach into my artist practice and business structure. 

Madeline Paternot
Chandelier (wheat pasted)

WHERE WERE YOU EDUCATED?


I was educated in America, Switzerland and the UK. After receiving degrees in cultural anthropology and French literature from Vassar College NY, I moved to Vevey, Switzerland to study product design at the Art Center School of Design. I received a Higher National Certificate in Fine Arts, at the Kensington and Chelsea College in London. I have always found the beauty in learning about cultures from all over the world. The gallery is a platform for international artists, galleries and institutions that do not have a platform in the United States or more specifically New York.  We wanted to create a space that could fill that gap and provide more opportunities for artists that are prolific yet under the radar.  I aspire for our programming to be a catalyst for social change.  

PRVT VW Soho is reflective of the mission of Verbier 3-D Sculpture Park and Residency in Switzerland that I co-founded with my longtime friend, Kiki Thompson in 2011. 

IN OUR NEXT LRFA POST, WE WILL TRAVEL TO SWITERZERLAND WITH MADELEINE PATERNOT TO LEARN ABOUT THE EXCEPTIONAL SCULPTURE PARK AND RESIDENCY PROGRAM SHE HAS ESTABLISH IN ONE OF HER HOMETOWNS, VERBIER.

PLEASE JOIN US!

SOUND & IMAGE, an exhibition of current members of the Federation at Westbeth Gallery, February 3-24th.

 

The Federation of Modern Painters and Sculptors presents Sound and Image,

an exhibition at the Westbeth Gallery on the theme of image and music.

In his On the Spiritual in Art, Kandinsky wrote: “Colour is the keyboard. The eye is the hammer. The soul is the piano with its many strings.”

Ever since Kandinsky likened paint to music, modernists have been thinking hard about the influential ways that visual art and music come together.

This exhibition explores the sounds of paint, ink and other media through the works of a group that has been an ensemble for 78 years and whose artists have been and still are fascinated by the coming together of two art forms. Founding member Mark Rothko’s son Christopher writes about his father: “Music was central to my father’s world—to his own aesthetic sensibilities, certainly, but also to the structure and expressive modes he found as a painter. I think it’s fair to say he was a painter who aspired to be a musician.”

Nicholas Christopher
House of the Rising Sun

This February 3-24, 2018, the Federation will be presenting ‘Sound & Image’ at the Westbeth Gallery, New York City.  29 Members will exhibit their work melding their art with the music that inspired them.  Throughout the gallery there will be interactive displays in which the viewer can immerse oneself in the visual presentation along with music playing on their mobile phone through the use of a QR scanner.

TO CARRY ON HIS FATHER’S TRADITION TO WORK IN A CREATIVE FIELD, ANDREW BOLOTOWSKY, ILYA’S SON, HAS PURSUED A MUSICAL CAREER.

Sunday, Feb. 11^th will bring Sound & Image to life with a flute performance by Andrew Bolotowsky, world renown flutist and son of Ilya, another Federation founder.  Andrew will give a brief talk about his father and then perform to the inspiration of the exhibition.  Other musicians will also perform between 4 pm – 6 pm that evening.

THE LRFA BLOG IS PLEASED TO FEATURE THREE OF THE CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS WHO WILL BE IN THE EXHIBIT BUT TO EXPERIENCE THE FULL IMPACT OF THE FEDERATION’S PRESENT ROSTER OF ARTISTS AND THEIR CREATIVITY, VISIT THE EXHIBITION AT WESTBETH GALLERY ON WEST STREET IN MANHATTAN.

Anneli Arms
Music Muse

ANNELI ARMS

Known internationally for sculpture and etching, it is her sculpture that sets her apart. By working with oversized creatures – human, marine and insect – she remarks distinctly on evolution, forcing the viewer to consider the beginning of future of humanity and his fears of both.  In time, the artist’s early paintings and relief works morphed into sculpture and gave birth to her “Human Creatures” and “Creature Creatures”.  None of the creatures, human or otherwise, are meant to be completely realistic. Instead, these parallel universes are individual and generic, seemingly modern and ancient at the same time.

http://www.anneliarms.com

Anneli Arms
Architect of His Dreams

JON SERVETAS

Jon Servetas
Oil on canvas

Jon Servetas started drawing as a child during WWll using poster paints and grocery bags from the market.
His work has evolved over the last 70+ years with the use of a warm color palette encapsulating everyday scenes.
His images are traditional in nature but are more of an impression of the scene with color taking over than true realism.

Jon Servetas

NICHOLAS CHRISTOPHER

My fascination has always been in taking the tool of the Impressionists and early compositional photographers and moving the photograph into the realm of ‘true art’. Working only outdoors with available light I capture the visual juxtaposition of the shadows that play within a compositional ‘color’ palette. Dimensionality or lack thereof is a product of this interplay. Dimension and shadow increase during the assembly process taking my 2 dimensional compositions and adding depth. Now light & shadow play a new role in creating a 3 dimensional finished work. The assembly rests on a wall, which is now also part of the paradigm.

www.nccworks.com

Nicholas Christopher
Mondrian Memory
mixed media

THE LRFA BLOG IS VERY PLEASED TO WELCOME GERI THOMAS IN OUR NEXT POST, THE FOUNDER AND PRINCIPAL OF A FIRM SPECIALIZING IN RECRUITING AND PLACEMENT OF POSITIONS IN THE ARTS. GERI WILL SPEAK OF HER NEW CONSULTING AND TEACHING VENTURES AS WELL AS ISSUES OF DIVERSITY, EQUAL PAY AND DISCRIMINATION IN THE ARTS’ PROFESSIONS.

STAY TUNED!