To mark the end of 2012, SYNAPSE.info initiated a curators’ questionnaire, sent to the first round of SYNAPSE curators, who participated in 2011. This is part 1 of 3.
Question 2. What were your two or three favorite exhibitions of 2012?
Artivistic’s Promiscuous Infrastructures (Phase 2) at Centre SKOL, Montreal, SKOL Ineffable Plasticity: The Experience of Being Human, MOCCA, Toronto.
(Alvis Choi)
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dOCUMENTA13 in Kassel
Mike Nelson, “408 Tons of Imperfect Geometry” at Malmö Konsthall
(Trine Fris Sørensen)
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Modern Monsters / Death and Life of Fiction – 2012 Taipei Biennial
Raqs Media Collective, “A Phrase not a Word” at Nature Morte, Delhi
(Leon Tan)
Clik here to view.
Raqs Media Collective, “A Phrase, Not A Word” at Nature Morte (2012)
This year Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev launched her vision for the 13th iteration of Documenta in Kassel. Of particular interest to me was the inclusion of a wide span of intellectual investigations from quite diverse systems of knowledge. Of note, was the publishing of the Documenta notebooks, of which Jill Bennett’s “Living in the Anthropocene” was one of the standouts for me.
In Asia, I am looking forward to the launch of the 7th Asia Pacific Triennial in Brisbane, Australia at the Queensland Art Gallery. A fantastic curatorial team has for years taken three years snapshots of arts practices throughout Asia and put on shows that I feel capture the pulse of this region.
(Richard Streitmatter-Tran)
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Qiu Shihua, “White Field” at Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin
Qiu Shihua’s works are landscapes of the mind suspended between perception and vision, the real and the ideal dimensions. His body of work is centered on portraying natural sights that become mental visions and bridge the gap between nature and man, reason and emotion.
Berlinde de Breyckere, “Yara – The Wound,” at Arter, Istanbul
In this solo show, Berlinde De Bruyckere presents her most iconic sculptures and drawings that refer to suffering and desire, by revealing the fragility of the body and the vulnerability of existence. Her pieces bravely venture into the abysses of the human condition and are able to combine intimate tones with universal feelings of despair, loss, as well as compassion.
“Where to?” at The Israeli Center for Digital Art, Holon, Israel
A central issue of this show is the possibility of re-imagining, of coming up with alternative forms of existence for Jews in this highly complex and controversial age. By presenting works that challenge stereotypes and pre-constituted visions, the exhibition addresses specific political and social issues that nevertheless open up the dialogue on identity at large.
(Manuela Lietti)
Qiu Shihua, “White Field” at Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin (2012)
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Taryn Simon “Photographs and Texts” at Multimedia Art Museum, Moscow
“The Big Inexplicable Paravent Illusion” at Isabella Bortolozzi Gallery, Berlin
(Elena Yaichnikova)
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
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dOCUMENTA 13
“From Trash to Treasure” at Kunsthalle Kiel
Alfredo Jaar, Nationalgalerie, Berlinische Galerie and NGBK
(Keumhwa Kim)
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Zvi Goldstein’s “Haunted by Objects” at K20 in Düsseldorf
(Luis Barrios-Negron )
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Zvi Goldstein, Installation view from “Haunted By Objects” at K20, Düsseldorf
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In Berlin Bios at Georg Kolbe Museum. I also had luck to see Brandon Ballengée’s exhibition at Ronald Feldman Gallery in NYC this Summer. While it’s certainly rather subjective to include the exhibitions I curated, I was honoured and thrilled to work with some amazing artists on ALB’s ‘Time and Technology’ series: Gretta Louw, plan b (Sophia New and Daniel B. Rogers), Shlomit Lehavi, Sam Belifante & Simon Lewandowski, Dave Hebb and Yasuhiro Sakamoto. I’m also excited about our new series ‘Synaesthesia.’” – (Christian de Lutz)
I’m increasingly infatuated by the temporary shows that have been put up by the Wellcome Collection (London), with their often surprising combination of historical artifacts and art pieces.
(Gabriel Menotti)
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Positioning Osmotic Impulses, SAVVY Contemporary
The 3rd Paris Triennial
There is no wind on the moon, SAVVY Contemporary
dOCUMENTA 13
(Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung)
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The long-awaited re-opening of the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam. The last time I entered the museum, I was 17 years old. Suddenly, the relationship between museum spaces and memories became very apparent to me.
dOCUMENTA 13. Because I was (literally) hypnotized by artist Marcos Lutyens.
Our Metamorphic Futures. Design, technical aesthetics and experimental architecture in the Soviet Union 1960–1980. Estonian Museum of Applied Arts and Design, Tallin.
(Flora Lysen)
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“Animism” at the Generali Foundation in Vienna
Susanne Pfeffer “Absalon” at Kunstwerke, Berlin
Susanne Pfeffer “One on One” at Kunstwerke, Berlin - I like it as a kind of curatorial development of Absalon’s exhibition
(Dr. Elena Agudio)