Archive: Issue No. 104, April 2006

11.04.06 Robert Hodgins in London
11.04.06 Robert Slingsby in London

2.03.06 'Black, Brown, White: South African Photography' in Vienna
2.03.06 William Kentridge in Italy
2.03.06 Ina van Zyl in the Netherlands

THE AMERICAS

11.04.06 Steven Cohen and Elu at Bard College, New York State

2.03.06 'Personal Affects' in Honolulu
2.03.06 'Snap Judgments: New Positions in Contemporary African Photography' in New York

THE CARIBBEAN

11.04.06 The 9th Havana Bienal in Cuba

AUSTRALIA

11.04.06 'Masquerade - Representation and the Self in Contemporary Art' at the MCA in Sydney
11.04.06 Marie Strauss in Melbourne
 

'Uninvited (working with restrictions)' is the title of an exhibition curated by Kerryn Greenberg which focuses on the provocative and testing performances of Steven Cohen and his partner Elu.

For almost a decade, the two have taken their performances to unexpected places-a rugby match, a bridal fair,a busy street, a rural village, a taxi rank, a squatter camp, a dog show-challenging assumptions, prejudice, and complicity at every turn, somersault, and pirouette. This exhibition considers how success can be realized in failure and freedom found through restriction.

The exhibition consists of videos and documentation photographs, and Cohen will be present and will participate in a panel discussion with Laurie Farrell and Jesse Shipley. He will also be giving an artist's talk. For more details on the exhibition, and related events, check the website http://www.bard.edu/ccs/uninvited/

Opens: April 9, 2006
Closes: April 23,2006

Often considered the master of South African painting, Robert Hodgins (who is now in his 86th year) returns to London for the first time since his sell-out Cork Street solo show in 2003, this time with an exhibition of new oil paintings and monoprints at the Simon Mee Fine Art gallery this month.

Opens: April 11
Closes: April 22

In 'Bones of the Rusting Carpet' Robert Slingsby has found treasures in discarded objects, whether they be ancient middens with stone artifacts or ostrich-eggshell beads, or the brightly coloured junk of Table Bay. So too has the Richtersveld, home of the Nama (often thought of as a discarded and forgotten race), revealed its 'bones' - tin-can-toys, enameled mugs and even a money box. These rusted treasures become both the visual and tangible structure of the art.

Opens: March 28
Closes: April 24

In 'Black, Brown, White...' at the Kunsthalle in Vienna, South African photo artists of various generations, who see themselves not as political documenters but rather as observers of everyday life, will show thematic series of their works which represent diverse facets of a country between apartheid and new departures. Work included ranges from David Goldblatt's famous 'Kwa Ndebele' series, which treated the compulsory commuting of black workers from the townships to the centre of Pretoria in the days of the passport law, to Omar Badsha's 'Imperial Ghetto', a study of everyday life among the Indian population of the harbour city of Durban.

Also participating are Pieter Hugo, Thando Mama, Zwelethu Mthethwa, Jo Ractliffe, Berni Searle and Andrew Tshabangu.

Opens: February 24
Closes: June 18

Kentridge shows alongside other art superstars, including Kiki Smith and Jake and Dinos Chapman, in the 'Biella Prize for Engraving 2006' at the Museo del Territorio in Biella, Italy. The exhibition represents the work of 34 contemporary artists from a number of different countries including Argentina, Austria, China, Denmark, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Israel, Mexico, Holland, Palestine, Poland, the US and South Africa.

The aim of the Biella Prize, which takes place every three years, has traditionally been to give prominence to contemporary printmaking. It takes an international outlook and showcases a broad spectrum of techniques, from woodcuts to photogravure, thereby demonstrating the continuing vitality of the graphic arts as an instrument of expression. The theme of the exhibition this year, 'Art in the Age of Anxiety', is a critical reflection on the social and political realities of our times. 'Insecurity, anger, escape from a painful reality, satirical criticism, idealisation of the past, an interest in ecology, a focus on the contingent, the informal and the worthless, the numbing of feeling, dystopia, regeneration, extinction and chaos are among the themes of the artists I have selected for the show. Consciously or unconsciously, artists mirror the world. They are sensitive barometers of our time, expressing opinions, observing its complexities and displaying our ambivalences.' writes Jeremy Lewison in the catalogue.

Opens: March 19
Closes: June 4

South African born Ina van Zyl will be having a solo show of drawings, watercolours and oils from the last nine years at the Dordrechts Museum this month. Van Zyl studied at Stellenbosch University and has contributed work to Bittercomix and other South African comics.

Opens: February 11
Closes: May 14

Blockbuster exhibition 'Personal Affects: Power and Poetics in Contemporary South African Art' travels to Hawaii this month, showcasing work by 17 artists from South Africa working in diverse media including sculpture, drawing, photography, painting, installation and video.

The Hawaii presentation of 'Personal Affects' reveals the increasingly mutual artistic concerns between artmaking practices in Hawaii and places as distant as South Africa. The distinctive cultural hybridity in both Hawaii and South Africa speaks to the dynamics of difference and inclusion in race, socio-economic divisions, language, customs, belief systems, and object/image making, among other things. As other locations in the world become increasingly less marginal to those inside and outside of (mainly Western) socio-economic urban centres, these dynamics become interwoven as one rich, discursive cultural fabric - one that is as familiar and spirited in Hawaii as it is in South Africa and which thus tangentially addresses issues of exclusion from the circuit of international contemporary art.

Participating artists are Jane Alexander, Wim Botha, Steven Cohen, Churchill Madikida, Mustafa Maluka, Thando Mama, Samson Mudzunga, Jay Pather, Johannes Phokela, Robin Rhode, Claudette Schreuders, Berni Searle, Doreen Southwood, Clive van den Berg, Minnette Vàri, Diane Victor and Sandile Zulu.

Opens: February 24
Closes: May 27

Organised by Okwui Enwezor, 'Snap Judgments' at the International Center of Photography will be the first major US presentation to focus on photo-based artwork from the African continent since 1996. More than 200 works by 35 artists from across Africa, the majority of whom will be exhibiting in the US for the first time, will be presented. The show's four sections - Landscape, Urban Formations, The Body and Identity, and History and Representation - reflect important themes being addressed by African artists today. ICP will produce a series of public programmes in conjunction with the show, as well as a landmark catalogue. A number of South Africans including Guy Tillim and Nontsikelelo Veleko will be exhibiting.

Opens: March 10
Closes: May 28

Still considered to be one of the world's most important biennials in spite of the stringent budget constraints which necessitate modest installations, the 9th Havana Bienal opened on March 23, with its theme of The Dynamics of Urban Culture. The Havana Bienal has always showcased the artists of the Caribbean, Latin America, Africa and Asia, and focussed on work that addresses social problems. Most of the artists have been located in the beautiful historic Cabana de Fortaleza, with its vaulted spaces, though exhibitions are spread throughout the city.

South Africans represented are Sue Williamson and Conrad Botes, though had funding been forthcoming, Moshekwa Langa and The Trinity Session, Stephen Hobbs and Marcus Neustetter, listed in the catalogue, would also have participated.

Among the featured artists are Shirin Neshat, Pascale Martine Tayou, Anne and Patrick Poirier, Lucy Orta and Spencer Tunick. See Reviews.

Opened: March 23
Closes: April 27

The major exhibition of 'Masquerade: Representation and the Self in Contemporary Art' examines how artists working today have dealt with the theme of self representation, considering ideas around construction of identity, and the interpretation of artifice and role play.

South African artist Tracey Rose is showing Ciao Bella, a video in which she assumes a variety of contrasting roles, first created for the Venice Biennale of 2001. Other exhibiting artists include Cindy Sherman, Ana Mendieta, Samuel Fosso, Martin Kippinger and Sam Taylor Wood.

For more information, go to www.mca.co.au

Opened: March 23
Closes: May 21

In the culmination of her Australian residency, Marie Strauss exhibits 'Small Disasters' in Melbourne this month. In her works stories of bullying and brawls are played out by a range of ceramic characters: a child, a boxer and animal figures take on such roles as gang members, invaders or violent parents.

Photographs, paintings and a video work contribute to the construction of a theatre of ideas and imagery. While each 'stage set' has the appearance of a children's picture book the works subtly explore the themes of cruelty and post-colonialism.

Opens: April 6
Closes: May 5