Archive: Issue No. 101, January 2006

9.12.05 Gregg Smith in the Netherlands

4.11.05 Gregg Smith in Spain, Germany and France
4.11.05 Ed Young and Mikhael Subotzky in Turin

THE AMERICAS

9.12.05 James Webb in Argentina

4.11.05 Robin Rhode in 'New Photography '05' at MoMA
4.11.05 Ed Young and Frances Goodman in Threat Zone

7.10.05 Ralph Borland at MOMA

ASIA

9.12.05 James Webb in China
 

Gregg Smith's performance It's not what you do, it's the way that you do it will be realised over a 5 day period in December in the town of Nijmegen. This work was comissioned as part of a larger project and exhibition, curated by Hilde de Bruin, entitled 'Hidden Rhythms' and is an expansion of an earlier performance, called Men and Boxes. Last month, Smith, who is currently based in France, was showing there, in Germany and Spain.

Opens: December 11
Closes: December 16

Capetonian Gregg Smith, who is now resident in France features with his film Should We Never Meet Again at a number of venues throughout Europe. The film was made in Paris and Tourcoing in the first half of 2005 will be shown at the 'LOOP Video Festival', Galeria des Angels, Barcelona; 'Model Missed Opportunities', curated by Sabine Winkler at the Brandenburgische Kunstverein in Germany; and 'L'art de produire l'art', curated by Christophe Kihm at 'Le Fresnoy Studio National des Arts Contemporain'.

LOOP Video Festival
Opens: November 8
Closes: December 15

'T Turin Triennial Threemuseums' is a new exhibition curated by Francesco Bonami and Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev that plans to present the most innovative developments in the visual arts. The triennial is organised by the Castello di Rivoli Museo d'Arte Contemporanea, the Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo and the GAM Galleria Civica d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Torino

Each edition of 'T' plans to be organised in two parts: the first is an invitational section of 75 young artists from around the world, this year including Ed Young and Mikhael Subotzky. The second section of the event pays homage, with solo exhibitions, to two mid-career established artists, this year including Takashi Murakami.

Young will be exhibiting Damn Those Bitches Represent, Bruce Gordon and the performance Do Nothing.

Opens: November 11
Closes: March 19

In various sites around Buenos Aires, James Webb will exhibit First Of The Gang To Die, recordings of bird distress calls broadcast in trees and town squares around the city and its neighbouring environs. Webb's star appears to be on the up following last year's residency in Japan.

Opens: December 1
Closes: December 7

Robin Rhode exhibits alongside Carlos Garaicoa, Bertien van Manen and Phillip Pisciotta in 'New Photography '05' an annual series of exhibitions devoted to significant recent work in photography. Since 1985, over 50 artists from 13 countries have been featured in this forum. After a six-year hiatus, the New Photography series resumes, presenting work by four artists from Cuba, Holland, the United States and South Africa, respectively. They all work in a variety of techniques and across a range of themes.

Opens: October 21
Closes: January 16

'Threat Zones' at the Triangle Project Space in Texas explores society's obsession with threats to personal and public safety. Frances Goodman exhibits The Voice of Reason which explores the increase of fear of germs and increasing neuroses in contemporary society and was shown in Cape Town a few years back. Ed Young shows Killing Teddy, a video of the usually doe-eyed artist mercilessly murdering a series of fuzzy teddy bears with a shotgun, car etc.

Opens: November 18
Closes: December 17

Ralph Borland's artwork 'Suited for Subversion' will be exhibited this month in a group show at the New York Museum of Modern Art. The exhibition is entitled SAFE: Design takes on Risk, and will be the first major design exhibition at MoMA since its reopening in November 2004.

SAFE: Design Takes On Risk features a carefully selected array of more than 300 contemporary design objects and prototypes from all over the world designed for a variety of reasons: to protect body and mind from dangerous or stressful circumstances; respond to emergency situations; ensure clarity of information; and provide a sense of comfort and security. The objects displayed in the exhibition address the spectrum of human fears and worries, from the most exceptional to the most mundane, from the dread of earthquakes and terrorist attacks to fear of darkness and loneliness. The exhibition is organized by Paola Antonelli, Curator, and Patricia Juncosa Vecchierini, Curatorial Assistant, Department of Architecture and Design, The Museum of Modern Art.

'Suited for Subversion' is a project to create a suit that protects the wearer at large-scale street protests. The suit also monitors the wearer's pulse and projects an amplified heartbeat out of a speaker in the chest of the suit. Ralph Borland presented this work while in development as part of his submission to the Public Eye conference 'Beyond the Gallery' in Cape Town in 2002.

Opens: October 16
Closes: January 2, 2006

In various sites throughout China, including Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Guilin and Hong Kong, James Webb will exhibit There's No Place Called Home, a series of recordings of non-migratory South African bird calls broadcast from speakers concealed in Chinese trees. This is an ongoing international project for Webb and has previously been presented in Japan and Argentina, with new prospects presenting themselves in Germany, Pakistan, Iran and the UK for 2006. This version of the work will feature the sounds of carnivorous birds. The work has been specially adapted for the sites, and is open to multiple artistic readings with issues like the possibility of Avian Flu transmission by migratory birds. At the same time Webb will also be recording Chinese birdcalls to install in public spaces in Barcelona and Madrid next June.

Shanghai, various venues
Opens: November 27
Closes: November 30

Beijing, various venues
Opens: December 1
Closes: December 4

Guangzhou, various venues
Opens:December 5
Closes: December 7

Guilin, various venues
Opens: December 8
Closes: December 9

Hong Kong, various venues
Opens: December 10
Closes: December 12