Archive: Issue No. 114, February 2007

04.02.07 Ed Young in Madrid
04.02.07 William Kentridge in Berlin

15.01.07 South African Photographers in Berlin
15.01.07 Mandy Lee Jandrell in London

5.11.06 South African Artists in the Canary Islands Biennale

THE AMERICAS

04.02.07 Claudette Schreuders in New York

15.01.07 William Kentridge in New York
15.01.07 Sue Williamson opens at Wertz in Atlanta

3.12.06 African Comics in Harlem

7.07.06 'Body of Evidence' at the National Museum of African Art in the USA

FAR EAST

5.05.06 Robin Rhode in Japan

5.05.06 'Off the Record' in Tokyo
 

The archives of international art forum, 'PILOT:2' will be exhibited at La Casa Encendida in Madrid this month alongside 'ARCO 2007'. 'PILOT:2' is an independent initiative designed to bring together unrepresented international emerging artists with a vast array of curators, organisers, writers, collectors, gallerists and other artists. Ed Young was nominated by Kathryn Smith to be included in the collection last year.

Opens: February 15
Closes: February 19

La Casa Encendida
2 Ronda Valencia, 28012 Madrid
Tel: 902 43 03 22
Fax: 34 91 506 38 76
www.lacasaencendida.com

William Kentridge shows Journey to the Moon and Fragments for George Méliès at the Hamburger Bahnhof - Museum fur Gegenwart in Berlin. Fascinated by the first science fiction film telling the story of 'Le Voyage dans la Lune', Kentridge creates a homage to its creator, French experimental filmmaker Georges Méliès.

On nine screens, Kentridge transforms drawings on sheets of paper into scenes of bustling life. The strokes dance across the paper, forming semantic consolidations in an ephemeral surreality, evoking the charm of the very beginnings of cinema.

Opens: February 7
Closes: May 6

Hamburger Bahnhof - Museum fur Gegenwart
50 Invaliden St, Berlin
Tel: 49 (0)30 39 78 34 39
www.hamburgerbahnhof.de
Hours: Tue - Sat 10am - 6pm, Sun 11am - 6pm

The Neuer Berliner Kunstverein is hosting the first large scale exhibition of South African photography to be held in Germany, curated by Pam Warne of the Iziko South African National Gallery. Warne has subtitled the show 'Reality Check' as the exhibition aims to explore the ways in which contemporary South African photography reflects, examines and critiques the social, historical, cultural and political realities within the country.

The artists on show are Bridget Baker, Lien Botha, Jean Brundrit, David Goldblatt, Pieter Hugo, Santu Mofokeng, Zanele Muholi, Jo Ractliffe, Mikhael Subotzky, Guy Tillim, Andrew Tshabangu and Nontsikelelo 'Lolo' Veleko. Candice Breitz will also show a selection of new video work on February 21.

Opens: January 13
Closes: March 11

Neuer Berliner Kunstverein
128/129 Chaussee St, Berlin
Tel: (030) 280 70 20
Fax (030) 280 70 19
Email: nbk@nbk.org
http://www.nbk.org

Mandy Lee Jandrell is included in 'Latitude' at the Fieldgate Gallery in London, the second manifestation of a traveling group show of emerging artists living in London, Minneapolis and New York that evolves as it travels to exhibitions in each city. The exhibition premiered as '8x8x8' at the Soap Factory in Minneapolis in May 2006 and concludes in New York in 2007.

In 'Latitude', artists of widely differing practices and locales are brought together in an attempt to explore their fluid geographical identities. The artists are informed by both their immediate surroundings and the knowledge that their artistic production is part of a global dialogue. As such, common and uncommon themes are revealed as the artists respond both to each other�s work and the development of their own oeuvre over time and in each location.

Opens: January 12
Closes: February 11

Fieldgate Gallery
14 Fieldgate Street, London E1 1ES
Tel: 07957 228351
Email: fieldgategallery@gmail.com
www.fieldgategallery.com
Hours: Friday � Sunday 1pm - 6pm

The Canary Islands vice-ministry of culture has announced the '1st Architecture, Art and Landscape Biennial of the Canaries', a show of 70 artists' interventions spread across the seven-island archipelago off the coast of North Africa.

This Biennial is conceived as an event that intentionally reflects the specificities of this complex island territory, spread over the whole of the geography of the Canaries, occupying well-known centres and venues, as well as lesser known unconventional spaces in an event that highlights the discussion between the urban and natural, and the islands' own economic development and history in relation particularly to its adjacent African continent.

The South Africans involved are Ruth Sacks, Johan Thom and Kendell Geers.

Opens: November 27
Closes: February 10

Claudette Schreuders exhibits a series of new woodcarvings in her solo exhibition 'The Fall' at Jack Shainman Gallery in New York this month. Schreuders maintains her now iconic naïve style, with her large-headed, tragic squat figures ironically influenced by portraits - known as 'colon' figures - that African sculptors made of early European colonists.

'The Fall' is Schreuders' most extensive exploration of Christian iconography, and with titles such as In the Beginning, Paradise and Departure, Schreuders presents contemporary interpretations of the Biblical story of Eden and our subsequent fall from God's grace.

Opens: February 9
Closes: March 10

William Kentridge is amongst the artists exhibiting in �Breaking Boundaries: Exploration and Collaboration at Atlantic Center for the Arts�, at the Atlantic Center for the Arts in New York. The exhibition is a collection of both works-in-progress and completed works and celebrates the history of Atlantic Center for the Arts. Selected by curator Judith Page from Atlantic Center�s permanent collection, the works in this exhibition represent an impressive cross-section of the prestigious artists; musicians, composers, writers, poets, choreographers, painters, sculptors, photographers, playwrights and directors, who have been Master Artists at Atlantic Center.

Opens: January 30
Closes: March 17

Located in Atlanta's trendy art district, Castleberry, the Wertz Gallery, under the directorship of Jason Wertz, shows an international roster of artists, including Odili Donald Odita, Kay Hassan and the Egyptian photographer Maha Maamoun. Following the successful showing of 'Comfort Zones' at the gallery last July, a collaborative show with Pat Ward Williams, Sue Williamson will open a solo show at Wertz on February 2.

Entitled 'Hotels and Better Lives', the show will include the video and print series in which Williamson investigated the lives of immigrants who come to Cape Town from other parts of Africa. The 'Better Lives' series attempted to make visible the enormous sacrifices and difficulties experienced by the newcomers, many of whom face rejection by the local community as they set about making a new life for themselves.

A new series of work which has not been shown before, is 'What about El Max?' El Max is a small fishing community in Alexandria, Egypt, under threat from the military who are stationed nearby and a petro chemical company at the top of the canal that leads to the sea. Both would prefer the community to move elsewhere.

Working in El Max as part of an international art project, Williamson suggested to residents that their statements of solidarity and determination to remain could be painted on the outside of their houses, in English and Arabic. Her photographs document this work.

The artist is currently working in New York at the Cooper Hewitt Museum of Design on a fellowship from the Smithsonian Institution, and will be present at the opening.

February 2 to March 6, 2007

In partnership with Africa e Mediterraneo, a non-profit organisation based in Bologna, Italy, The Studio Museum in Harlem hosts 'Africa Comics', the first-ever exhibition in the United States dedicated exclusively to comic art from across the continent. A new generation of African artists is expressing itself through a medium most Americans associate with superheroes and funny pages. Using comics, this talented group depicts the rage, desperation, hope and humour of daily life in Africa. The work, which addresses issues as wide-ranging as corruption, human rights, immigration and the plight of women, provides an unprecedented glimpse into modern Africa.

'Africa Comics' includes 32 artists or 2-person artists' teams from all over the continent, including Angola, Benin, Central African Republic, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Gabon, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania and Togo.

Opens: November 15
Closes: March 18

'Body of Evidence' is a new show at the Smithsonian Institute's Museum of African Art. The long running show is an exhibition of works by contemporary African artists from the museum's collection who deal with ideas of 'The Body' with varying levels of explicitness.

The artists use the human body, and its absence, as a site for issues of race, identity, gender and geography - all issues that are often integral to artists from this continent. South African artists Kay Hassan, Gavin Jantjes, Rudzani Nemasetoni, Georgie Papageorge, Johannes Phokela, Berni Searle, Sue Williamson and Jeremy Wafer are included.

Opens: June 14
Closes: April 6, 2007

Robin Rhode is amongst a multitude of exciting artist in an exhibition entitled �All About Laughter: Humor (sic) in Contemporary Art� at the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo. The exhibition traces a vast history of humour in art and is divided into sections that include �Anti-Art and Avant-Garde Laughter,� �Everyday Laughter� and �Deviant Laughter�.

Rhode exhibits in �The Flip Side of Laughter�, an exhibition focusing on the role that laughter and humour play in facilitating cross cultural understanding as artists take light-hearted swipes at their own cultures and communities.

Opens: January 27
Closes: May 7

Timed to coincide with the opening of 'Africa Remix' at the Mori, is a project much lighter in weight and more ephemeral in concept: 'Off the Record', devised by Belgian artist Eric van Hove, now based in Tokyo, will hi-jack X-Cube storage lockers found in subway stations in the city.

These lockers are opened not by a key but by utilising a cell phone number designated by the storer. Invited artists will make an artwork to fit into one of these lockers, which measures 30 x 30 x 60 cm. An SMS to a friend inviting him/her to come and view the artwork will set the process in motion. The invitee will then invite someone else in turn, setting the new cell phone number as the new code. 'Think of Chinese whispers', says Van Hove.

Participating artists include Lara Baladi (Egypt), Federico Herrero (Costa Rica), John di Stefano (New Zealand) and Sue Williamson (South Africa).

Will the artwork be stolen by a viewer? Will the next invited viewer take the trouble to pay a visit? Will an earthquake destroy Tokyo and all the artworks? The agenda is open.

More information? http://www.transcri.be/projects/offtherecord/downloads.html

May 2006 - until such time as the project ends itself.