pdf - extraspazio

e x t r a s p a z i o
via san francesco di sales 16 a
00165 roma
+39 06 68210655
[email protected]
www.extraspazio.it
tuesday - saturday 3,30 – 7.30 pm
a g g e t t i, p r o g e t t a z i o n i, p r o i e z i o n i, p r o m i n e n z e, p r o t u b e r a n z e, s p o r g e n z e
allsopp & weir | alighiero boetti | carola bonfili | natasha bowdoin | joe duggan
masashi echigo | laurent grasso | pieter hugo | lorenzo lupano | mike pratt
13 december 2010 - 12 february 2011
“Jeder tiefe Geist braucht eine Maske: mehr noch, um jeden tiefen Geist wächst fortwährend eine Maske, dank
der beständig falschen, nämlich flachen Auslegung jedes Wortes, jedes Schrittes, jedes Lebens-Zeichens, das er
gibt.” (Friedrich Nietzsche, Jenseits von Gut und Böse, Zweites Hauptstück. Der freie Geist). *
Allsopp & Weir (London, 1977|1973) state a demanding ambition to see all of Time collapse in the present
moment and ask their collaborator Michael Taylor to visualise this intention with ritual, systematic and obsessive
drawings of whirling triangles. Grotesque apparitions flank these sort of mandalas, with the intention of distracting
evil spirits (or unbelievers?) from their rites.
Almost as if wanting to paraphrase the title of his 1979 work, Alighiero Boetti (Turin, 1940 - Rome, 1994) “killed time”
one day in the early nineties by building a paper aeroplane painted in watercolour.
Sinusoidal forms rise like flames from the axonometric drawings of Carola Bonfili (Rome, 1981). Lit fireplaces or
sacred hearts? The titles keep the passion under control: Hypocaloric; Hypochondriac; Hypometric.
Her installation Kipplelake is currently on display at the MACRO, Rome.
Natasha Bowdoin (West Kennebunk, USA, 1981) is fascinated by the figure of the “trickster” which she
discovered through stories by native Americans: a being who has the ability to transform himself, assuming
various physical shapes and thus becoming a metaphor of artistic creativity. In the collage Flock, he takes the
form of a flock of paper fragments.
It’s a turkey’s leg sticking from the bag in this morgue shot by Joe Duggan (Limerick, Ireland, 1973). Duggan
suggests going without the bird this crisis-ridden Christmas and making do with his photograph.
Empty spaces as shadows, silhouettes in the artist’s mind: these sculptures by Masashi Echigo (Toyama, Japan,
1982) were created from disused archive furniture which he reduced to volumes of pure “immanence” (hence
the title) for his recent installation at the Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna in Rome.
The outline of the neon cloud with the word “Projection” is by Laurent Grasso (Mulhouse, France, 1972). It
recalls the form of a brain while the word refers to the system of projecting mental images that constitute the
foundation of real experience and consciousness. The possible translations of the word projection led us to the
title of the exhibition. The work Projection was in the show Notre Histoire at the Palais de Tokyo, Paris.
The photo of a cardboard bed by Pieter Hugo (Johannesburg, 1976) was taken in 2006 in Musina and reflects
the situation in this northern town of South Africa, on the border with Zimbabwe: as in every community that is
going through a dramatic phase of transition, it becomes a symbol of the ability to plan even in precariousness.
* In Beyond Good and Evil (Chapter Two – The Free Spirit) Friedrich Nietzsche maintains that “every profound
spirit needs a mask: and further, around each profound spirit a mask grows continually, thanks to the constantly
false, meaning superficial, interpretation of his every word, step and sign of life.”
Behold Lorenzo Lupano (Rome, 1970) proposes to dress up as a turnip head (Raphanus sativum).
Whereas the understatement masks employed by Mike Pratt (Sunderland, Great Britain, 1987) are the writings
that often appear in his large format pictures, for example I’m With Stupid. In his studies on paper in the show,
Reclining Figure 1, 2 and 3, the subjects seem not so much reclining as ready to leap forth like pop-ups.
Peter Allsopp (born in London in 1977) and Andy Weir (born in London in 1973), together since 2003, live and work in
London. Among their solo ehibitions we mention: Some Time Repeating An Embarassed Word, studio 1.1, London
(2007); allsopp&weir: and while we were on air, Goethe2, Bolzano (2005); among their group exhibitions: Remote
Vision, Arts Santa Monica, Barcelona (2010); Bloomberg New Contemporaries 2008, A Foundation, Liverpool (2008);
Real Estate: Art in a Changing City, ICA, London (2005); Videokunstwoche, Neuer Berliner Kunstverein, Berlin (2005).
Alighiero Boetti was born in Turin in 1940 and died in Rome in 1994. His work has been exposed in museums e galleries
all over the wolrd and it is included in the most important public and private collections. Among his survey exhibitions
we mention: ALIGHIERO & BOETTI. Mettere all'Arte il Mondo, MADRE, Naples (2009); Quasi Tutto, Galleria d'Arte
Moderna e Contemporanea, Bergamo (2004) ; Alighiero Boetti. Niente da vedere niente da nascondere, XLIX
Esposizione Internazionale d’Arte - La Biennale di Venezia, Venice (2001).
Carola Bonfili was born in Rome in 1981. Lives and works in New York. Among her solo exhibitions we mention:
Millenium Combo (2008) and Shit&Shine (2006), e x t r a s p a z i o, Rome. Among the group exhibitions she took part
in we mention: Roommates|Conquilini, MACRO, Rome (2010); La Danse Macabre, Nomas Foundation, Rome (2010);
Interplay. Premio Termoli 2009, Galleria Civica d’Arte contemporanea, Termoli (2009); Emerging Talents, Strozzina –
Centro di cultura contemporanea, Florence (2009); Iscrizioni, Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Guarene
d’Alba (2007).
Natasha Bowdoin was born in West Kennebunk (USA) in 1981. Lives and works in New Jersey. Among her solo
exhibitions we mention: Panta rei, e x t r a s p a z i o, Roma (2008) and Myths and Fables, Julie Chae Gallery, Boston
(2007); among her group exhibitions: 2010 Core Exhibition, Laura Lee Blanton Gallery, The Glassell School of Art,
Houston (2010); A Torrent of Words: Contemporary Art and Language, John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan,
USA (2010); 2009 Core Exhibition, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (2009); 2007 Joan Mitchell MFA Grant Recipient Show,
The Cue Art Foundation, New York (2008); Paper [space], Philadelphia Art Alliance, Philadelphia (2008).
Joe Duggan was born in Limerick, Ireland in 1973. Lives and works in London. Among his solo exhibitions we mention:
Dear God, e x t r a s p a z i o, Rome (2009); The Family Man, Limerick City Gallery of Art, Limerick (2007); Joe Duggan,
e x t r a s p a z i o, Rome (2005). The most important group exhibitions he took part in are: Noughties but Nice: 21st
Century Irish Art, Limerick City Gallery of Art, Limerick and other venues in Ireland (2009); Welcome to the
Neighborhood, Askeaton Contemporary Art, Limerick (2009); Failure, Kilkenny Arts Festival 2006, St Francis Abbey
Brewery, Kilkenny, Ireland (2006); Short Stories, FotoMuseum, Antwerp, Belgium (2004); Public Image, MOCA,
Washington D.C. (2003).
Masashi Echigo was born in Toyama, Japan in 1982. Lives and works in Tokyo. Among his solo exhibitions we mention:
Stories, e x t r a s p a z I o, Rome (2010); Immanence, Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna, Rome (2010); The absence,
Lokaal 01, Antwerp, Belgium (2010); Masashi Echigo, De Overslag, Eindhoven, The Netherlands (2009); Appearance,
Factory Kunsthalle Krems, Austria (2009); Encounter, Kusthuise SYB, Beeterzwaag, The Netherlands; Among the group
exhibitions he took part in: The Fifth Element, Gdansk, Poland (2010); Watou kunst en Poezie Zomer: Past in Present,
Watou, Belgium (2010); Guest ROOM #10, Museum Het Domein, Sittard, The Netherlands (2010); The Morning News,
BE- PART Platform voor actuele kunst, Waregem, Belgium (2010).
Laurent Grasso was born in Mulhouse, France, in 1972. Lives and works in Paris. Among his solo exhibitions we mention:
NOMIYA, Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2010); The Horn Perspective, Espace 315, Centre Pompidou, Paris (2009); GAKONA,
Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2009); Laurent Grasso, Prefix, Institute of contemporary Art, Toronto (2008); L’atelier d’hiver de
Laurent Grasso, Domaine Pommery, Reims (2008); Laurent Grasso, e x t r a s p a z i o, Rome (2005); Radio color studio,
De Appel Foundation, Amsterdam (2005). Among his group exhibitions: Dreamlands, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris
(2010); Fiction vs Réalité, Fondation Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbon (2007); Notre histoire, Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2006).
Pieter Hugo was born in Johannesburg in 1976. Lives and works in Cape Town. Among his solo exhibitions we mention:
On reality and Other Stories, Brass, Brussels and Galerie Municipale du Château d'Eau, Toulouse (2010); Nollywood,
Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane (2010) | e x t r a s p a z i o, Rome | Australian Centre for Photography, Sydney
(2009); The Hyena and Other Men, Herzliya Museum of Contemporary Art, Israel (2010) | Foam_Fotografiemuseum,
Amsterdam (2008); Messina|Musina, National Gallery, Cape Town | Standard Bank Gallery, Johannesburg (2008) |
e x t r a s p a z i o, Rome (2007). Among his group exhibitions: Breaking News, Ex Ospedale Sant’Agostino, Modena
(2010); Disquieting Images, Triennale di Milano, Milan (2010); A Life Less Ordinary: Performance and display in South
African art, FFotogallery, Cardiff (2010); Street & Studio: An Urban History of Photography, Tate Modern,London (2008).
Lorenzo Lupano was born in Rome in 1970. Lives and works in Rome. Among his solo exhibitions we mention: Tendre
Torture, True Hate, La Rochelle (2008); Hai visto mai, Officina 14, Rome (2007); Terrapieno, L’Affiche, Anteprima, Miart,
Milan (2006). Among his group exhibitions: Hangar .09 Flying Circus, Creative Room, Rome (2009); 2Video ad
Altomonte, Palazzo Battaglia, Altomonte (2009); Roma Caput Pop, Mondopop, Rome (2008); Lorenzo Lupano, Lucio
Mele, Fabio Viale, Il Segno, Rome (2006); Il museo dei balocchi, GAMUD, Udine (2006).
Mike Pratt was born in 1987 in Sunderland, GB. Lives and works in Newcastle. Among his solo exhibitions we mention:
Cumberland Sausage, e x t r a s p a z i o, Rome (2010); HUBBA HUBBA, Satellite, Newcastle (2009); Paint It Black and
Give It a Name Show, Fourth Floor Gallery, Northumbria University, Newcastle (2008); among his group exhibitions:
Captain of all Pleasures, EMBASSY Gallery, Edinburgh (2010); Psychic Geography, Workplace Gallery, Gateshead, GB
(2010); Some People Deserve Everything They Get, Royal Standard, Liverpool (2009).