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A proposal by Yuko Hasegawa, Agustín Pérez Rubio and Octavio Zaya
Exhibition Title: Trial Balloons / Globos Sonda
Curators: Yuko Hasegawa, Agustín Pérez Rubio y Octavio Zaya
Assistant Curator: Tania Pardo
General Coordination: Marta Gerveno
Production: MUSAC
Venue: MUSAC, all the exhibition spaces
Dates: May 6 & September 10, 2006
A proposal produced by MUSAC and curated by Yuko Hasegawa (Artistic Director of the
21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa), Agustín Pérez Rubio (Chief
Curator, MUSAC) and Octavio Zaya (independent curator, Co-Editor of ATLÁNTICA
magazine and member of the Advisory Committee of the MUSAC Collection), along with
Tania Pardo as Assistant Curator. Trial Balloons is an exhibition meant to explore
the diverse and complex artistic trends currently engaging and concerning a
selection of international art practitioners who have been working since the dawn of
the current century. This group show, which comprises the work of 48 artists and
other creators &including designers, architects, musicians and performers- will
occupy all of MUSAC´s halls and exhibition spaces.
The show will be inaugurated on the 6th of May and it will close on the 10th of
September. For the opening, MUSAC is publishing an exhibition guide including a
brief note on each of the artists selected (list enclosed) and the conceptual
framework in which the exhibition is presented. During the second week of July, the
museum will present the catalogue of the show, which will include illustrations of
all the installations of the works at MUSAC and the theoretical texts by the
curators. The show´s logo has been designed by Vasava and the catalogue is a joint
publication by ACTAR and MUSAC.
In the words of Agustín Pérez Rubio, Chief Curator of MUSAC and one of the three
curators of this new exhibition, - Through this project, in addition to rejoicing
after its first year since its inauguration and celebrating the good results
obtained, which are even much better than originally expected, MUSAC aims to make a
little more headway without losing sight of its original purpose, its idea of
collection; in short, to embrace the museographic plan upon which it is sustained.
Thus, embodying quite a venture, Trial Balloons tries to reflect in two directions:
on the one hand focusing on the re-generation of the artistic event wherein the
museum is the foremost protagonist, and on the other hand, probing our obsessions
with everything that is emerging and innovative, the fleetingness and speed
characteristic of contemporary society, and more specifically with regard to
contemporary art. It is very important that MUSAC, as an institution, endeavours to
meet this sort of challenge, being true to the present, and demonstrating itself as
a new museum model for the twenty-first century. The project therefore goes a step
further by making a self-reflection about the institution as creator of energies and
communities within a sector such as art.�
The proposal stems from the very definition of trial balloons, non-manned balloons
that automatically measure temperatures and winds and provide other environmental
data at different altitudes, and from the social and political use of the term,
which means to tentatively put forth an idea or anticipated plan to test public
reaction. Considering what is inherent in the term and its shifting into other
applications, and within the context of some important trends and practices
developed over the course of the last five years in the contemporary art world, the
curators strive to elaborate, according to Pérez Rubio, - a metaphor that forges
paths, experiences sensations, individualises collectives, and once again considers
those other realities lost after the years of documentary and verite art. The very
atmosphere of the project is that which joins these balloons, taking into account
that perhaps the obsession with the new and the conspicuousness of a still unknown
present already weighing us down are very much alike, which should rise and grasp
these or other ideas, concepts and personalities emerging from the broad scenery of
contemporary art�.
For Octavio Zaya, curator of the Shirin Neshat exhibition which MUSAC presented last
autumn, and member of the museum´s acquisitions committee, - Trial Balloons is
neither a homogeneous entity nor a consciously directed ‘movement´. It is instead a
space, a ‘condition´, a predicament where competing intentions and effects, diverse
social and intellectual tendencies and lines of force converge and clash. Trial
Balloons is an open project and therefore unstable, contradictory, partial and
going in several directions. There are no hierarchies no preferences because it
flirts and weaves itself equally with the unquestionable, the unpredictable and with
failure. Trial Balloons is a process of the potential, of the still possible;
scenarios we can speculate with and structures that can be crossed out, changed,
interchanged and reinterpreted. They are not fixed representations but spaces of
spontaneous encounters and collaborations. Trial Balloons is a polyphony of this
moment. This is not an efficient project but one full of complexities, accidents,
and errors, and unresolved, doubtful and undefined questions.
Within this context, in the confusing and unbalanced situation caused by the flood
of information brought by mass media as well as the globalization that threatens to
homogenize cultures, Yuko Hasegawa wonders, - How can one maintain the freedom of
spirit and relate one´s self to the outer world?â€? - The artists in this exhibitionâ€?
--answers the Artistic Director of the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art of
Kanazawa, Japan herself-- will present us their simple solutions to these questions.
Their sharp manner of observation on something usual, ordinary, and vernacular is
beautifully balanced with their unusual and extraordinary transformation through
their outstanding manner of intervention or juxtaposition. That will not create a
pre-established harmony, but instead, a richly transformed expression will be
generated through the exposition of their naked sensibility to the reality while
taking nourishment from it. It can be called ‘the survival of sensibility.´â€?
LIST OF PARTICIPATING ARTISTS
DINO ALVES
1967, Anadia-Aveiro, Portugal
Lives and works in Lisbon, Portugal
AMID* architecture [cero9]
Cristina Díaz Moreno + Efrén García Grinda
1971, Madrid, Spain + 1966, Madrid, Spain
Lives and works in Madrid, Spain
JULIETA ARANDA
1975, Mexico DF, Mexico
Lives and works in New York, USA
AVAF & Assume Vivid
Astro Focus
Born anytime between the 20th and the 21st century in various parts of the world
Nomads
AVPD
Aslak Vibæk + Peter Døssing
1974, Svendborg, Denmark + 1974, Juelsminde, Denmark
Lives and works in Copenhagen, Denmark
EELCO BRAND
1969, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Lives and works in Amsterdam, The Netherlands
TOBIAS BUCHE
1978, Berlin, Germany
Lives and works in Berlin, Germany
DOUBLE STANDARDS/CHRIS
REHBERGER
1970, Ruit a.d. Fildern, Germany
Lives and works in Berlin, Germany
DR. HOFMANN
León, Spain
Lives and works in León, Spain and Madrid, Spain
SMADAR DREYFUS
1963, Tel Aviv, Israel
Lives and works in London, UK y Tel Aviv, Israel
HADASSAH EMMERICH
1974, Heerlen, The Netherlands
Lives and works in Maastricht, The Netherlands and London, UK
INAZIO ESCUDERO
1972, Bilbao, Spain
Lives and works in Bilbao, Spain
HEBA FARID
1966, El Cairo, Egypt
Lives and works in El Cairo, Egypt
LARA FAVARETTO
1973, Treviso, Italy
Lives and works in Torino, Italy
GUNDA FÖRSTER
1967, Berlin, Germany
Lives and works in Berlin, Germany
FUNKY PROJECTS
2000, www.funkyprojects.com
Based in www.funkyprojects.com
RYAN GANDER
1976, Chester, UK
Lives and works in London, UK
ERIK GÖNGRICH
1966, Kirchheimbolanden, Germany
Lives and works in Berlin, Germany
JESPER JUST
1974, Copenhagen, Denmark
Lives and works in Copenhagen, Denmark
KING/DÁAZ DE LEÓN
Jay King + Mario Díaz de León
1978, Cincinnati/OH, USA + 1979, St Paul/MN, USA
Live and work in New York, USA
ELLEN KOOI
1962, Leeuwarden, The Netherlands
Lives and works in Haarlem, The Netherlands
KYUPI KYUPI
A Visual + Performance Unit formed by Yoshimasa Ishibashi (Director) + Mazuka Kimura
(3D Artist) + Mami Wakeshima (Performer) + Koichi Emura (Graphic Designer, Drawing
Artist)
Founded in 1996, Kyoto, Japan
Based in Kyoto, Japan
LANG/BAUMANN
Sabina Lang + Daniel Baumann
1972, Bern, Switzerland + 1967, San Francisco/CA, USA
Live and work in Burgdorf, Switzerland
TONICO LEMOS AUAD
1968, Belém, Brazil
Lives and works in London, UK
PABLO LEÓN DE LA BARRA
1972, Mexico DF, Mexico
Lives and works in London, UK
SHU-MIN LIN
1963, Taipei, Taiwan
Lives and works in New York, USA and Taipei, Taiwan
JEN LIU
1976, Smithtown/NY, USA
Lives and works in New York, USA
KATARINA LÖFSTRÖM
1970, Falum, Sweden
Lives and works in Berlin, Germany and Stockholm, Sweden
JUAN LÓPEZ
1979, Alto Mailaño/Cantabria, Spain
Lives and works in Barcelona, Spain
MONA MARZOUK
1968, Alexandria, Egypt
Lives and works in Alexandria, Egypt
TAKAGI MASAKATSU
1979, Kyoto, Japan
Lives and works in Kyoto, Japan
ÁNGEL MASIP
1977, Alicante, Spain
Lives and works in Bilbao, Spain
JOSEPHINE MECKSEPER
1964, Lilienthal, Germany
Lives and works in New York, USA
SHAHRYAR NASHAT
1975, Teheran, Iran
Lives and works in Paris, France
ALEXANDRA NAVRATIL
1978, Zurich, Switzerland
Lives and works in Barcelona, Spain and Zurich, Switzerland
OLIGATEGA NUMERIC
Artist community formed by Mateo Amaral + Maximiliano Bellmann + Alfio Demestre +
Mariano Giraud + Leandro Tartaglia
Founded in 1999, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Based in Buenos Aires, Argentina
ANGEL NÚÑEZ POMBO
1969, Madrid, Spain
Lives and works in Ponferrada/León, Spain
PSJM
Pablo San José + Cynthia Viera
1969, Mieres/Asturias, Spain + 1973, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain
Lives and works in Madrid, Spain
FERNANDO RENES
1970, Covarrubias/Burgos, Spain
Lives and works in New York, USA
FRANCESC RUÁZ
1971, Barcelona, Spain
Lives and works in Barcelona, Spain
MARKUS SCHINWALD
1973, Salzburg, Austria
Lives and works in Vienna, Austria
STEVEN SHEARER
1968, New Westminster, Canadá
Lives and works in Vancouver, Canadá
SUPERM (Slava Mogutin &
Brian Kenny)
Slava Mogutin + Brian Kenny
1974, Kemerovo/Siberia, Russia + 1982, Heidelburg, Germany
Lives and works in New York, USA
KOUICHI TABATA
1979, Tochigi, Japan
Lives and works in Tokyo, Japan
TOPACIO FRESH
1973, Rosario, Argentina
Lives and works in Madrid, Spain
BANKS VIOLETTE
1973, Ithaca/NY, USA
Lives and works in New York, USA
NADAV WEISSMAN
1969, Hifa, Israel
Lives and works in Tel Aviv, Israel
TINTIN WULIA
1972, Bali, Indonesia
Lives and works in Maribymong, Australia and Bali, Indonesia
CURATOR´S BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
YUKO HASEGAWA
Yuko Hasegawa, Artistic Director at the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art,
Kanazawa, graduated from Kyoto University in 1979 with BA in Law. After graduating
from Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music with BFA, she obtained a MFA
from the same university in 1989. While she was Curator at the Contemporary Art
Gallery, Mito Arts Foundation, she received a grant from the Asian Cultural Council
for a visiting curatorship at the Whitney Museum of American Art. She also served as
Curator at Setagaya Art Museum in Tokyo. In August 1999, she was appointed as Chief
Curator of 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa. She worked closely
with SANAA in designing the museum and forming the collection and became Artistic
Director of the same museum in April 2005. Ms. Hasegawa is a board member of the
International Committee for Museums and Collections of Modern Art (CIMAM). She was
also appointed as Artistic Director of the 7th International Istanbul Biennial, 2001
and as Co-Curator of the 4th Shanghai Biennale, 2002. Recent exhibitions curated by
Ms Hasegawa include De-Genderism & détruire dit-elle/il at the Setagaya Art Museum
(1997); Fancy Dance, a show of 13 Contemporary Japanese Artists after 90´s, at Sonje
Art Museum, Kyonju, and Sonje Art Center, Seoul (1999); The Encounter in the 21st
Century: Polyphony & Emerging Resonances, the inaugural exhibition of 21st Century
Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa (2004); and Matthew Barney & Drawing Restraint
at 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa (2005) and also at Leeum,
Samsung Museum of Art, Seoul, Korea and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (2006).
Ms Hasegawa also teaches Art History at Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and
Music.
AGUSTÁN PÉREZ RUBIO
Agustín Pérez Rubio (Valencia, Spain 1972) Art Historian, art critic and exhibition
curator, he is Chief Curator of MUSAC, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Castilla y
León. He was director of the 9th, 10th and 11th edition of Jornadas de Estudios de
la Imagen de la Comunidad de Madrid, and coordinator of the La Gallera (Valencia)
between 1998 and 2002. He was also curator for exhibitions such as Trasvases:
atistas españoles de vídeo (Buenos Aires, Mexico D.F., Lima/2000); Antro-apologías
(Luis Adelantado Gallery, 2001); Michael Elmgreen & Ingar Dragset (Estudio Helga de
Alvear, 2002); also BAD BOYS, the oficial Spanish off-biennale exhibition within the
50th Venice Biennale; Cruising Danubio, for the Sala de Exposiciones de la Comunidad
de Madrid, and Tobias Rehberger. "I de everyday. Cor I 15,31", exhibition for the
Palacio de Cristal at MNCARS.
Recently he has curated for MUSAC Vibraciones, solo exhibition about the artist Dora
García, and co-curated Fusión. Aspects of Asian Culture in the MUSAC Collection. He
also is also the curator of Showcase Project, exhibiting Locking Shocking or Vasava.
He was a regular contributor to international art magazines such as NU: The Nordic
Art Review (Sweden), Art Journal (Philadelphia), Tema Celeste (Milan), Arts
Mediterranea (Milan, Barcelona, Paris), Le Journal des Arts (Paris), The Galerie Jan
Mot Newspaper (Brussels), and, in Spain, Atlántica, Arte y Parte, Arco-Noticias, El
Periódico del Arte, Kalias, Vogue, Vanidad, etc. He was also co-curator of the
Crossroads Project for ARCO´04 and Black Box for ARCO´05, and the co-curator, with
Octavio Zaya, for the ARCO´06 Project Rooms, entitled Curva de Persecución / Pursuit
Curve. He is currently curating the first European solo-show of the artist Julie
Mehretu and a large survey of Muntean & Rosenblum´s creatios, both for MUSAC.
OCTAVIO ZAYA
Born in the Canary Islands and based in New York since 1978, Octavio Zaya is an
independent curator and art writer. Advisor of Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de
Castilla y León, MUSAC (León, Spain) and co-director of Atlántica, a bilingual
quarterly magazine of art and culture (published by CAAM, Canary Islands), he
belongs to the editorial board for NKA Journal of Contemporary African Art (Cornell
University, New York) and Lab 71 (New York), an electronic art magazine on the web,
and is a US correspondent for Flash Art (Milan, Italy).
He was one of the curators of Documenta 11 (2002), as part of the curatorial team
under the direction of Okwui Enwezor, and one of the curators of the 1st and 2nd
Johannesburg Biennial (1995 and 1997). Other exhibitions he has curated include
Interzones (Kunstforeningen, Copenhagen, 1996), In/Sight. African Photographers.
1940 to the Present (Guggenheim Museum, New York, 1997), The Garden of Forking Paths
(Copenhagen, Stockholm, Helsinki, 1998), Interferencias (Canal de Isabel II, Madrid;
Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo, Sevilla; Universidad de Salamanca, 1998) and
- Eztetyka del Sueñoâ€? (with Carlos Basualdo, MNCARS, Madrid, 2001), one of the 5
exhibitions of Versiones del Sur, which he conceived and coordinated for Museo
Centro de Arte Reina Sofia. In 1997 he was the curator of "Latinoamerica in ARCO"
and from 1998 to 2002 he was a curator of the International Project Rooms of the
Madrid Art Fair, which he joined once again in 2006. He also curated solo
exhibitions of Shirana Shabazi (2004) and Fernando Renes (2005) for TRANS>area, New
York.
He was one of the curators of Fresh Cream (Phaidon Press, London, 2000) and
originator and director of Files (MUSAC, Leon, 2004). Mr. Zaya has also authored
numerous books and essays on contemporary and emerging issues and artists, including
Shirin Neshat, Cai Guo-Qiang, Zelethu Mthethwa, Candice Breitz, Milagros de la
Torre, Zhang Huan, Yutaka Sone, Juan Muñoz, Zarina Bhimji, Tania Bruguera, Barry
McGee, Laura Lima, Rona Pondick, Damian Ortega, Fernanda Gomes, Carmela García,
Bjarne Meelgard, William Eggleston, Shoja Azari, Gregory Green, Shahryar Nashat,
etc.
During 2005 Zaya presented several exhibitions, including After the Revolution
(Contemporary Artists from Iran) (Koldo Mitxelena, San Sebastian, 2005, and later
traveling to Kunstforeningen, Copenhagen, 2006), Carmela García: The Hole in Space,
curated for the Government of Canary Islands (CAAM, Gran Canaria, and Centro Juan
Ismael, Fuerteventura, 2005), and Shirin Neshat: The Last Word (MUSAC, 2005 and
CAAM, 2006). He is currently curating an exhibition on the works of Jesper Just and
a largue survey of the video-installations of Candice Breitz. In addition, Octavio
Zaya is organizing the 1st Biennial of Photography in Petach-Tikva, Israel.
TANIA PARDO
Tania Pardo (Madrid, Spain 1976) Art Historian, art critic and exhibition curator,
is currently based in León, where she is Exhibitions, Projects and Grants
Coordinator and Laboratorio 987 curator of MUSAC, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de
Castilla y León, exhibiting Hot or not by Silvia Prada; Sonidos lejanos / Distand
Sounds by Fikret Atay; Esconde la mano by Abigail Lazkoz; Between us by Ryan
McGinley; Muchos ruidos y pocas nueces II by Wilfredo Prieto; and Untitled by Monika
Sosnowska.
Recently she has coordinated at MUSAC Enrique Marty. Flaschengeist, The German´s
Cottage, curated by Estrella de Diego.
As an art critic, she has been a regular contributor to Exit Express, Exit Books,
Revista Internacional Lápiz, Cimal, Arco-noticias, Matador, El Correo de Arco, ¿Qué
hago yo aquí?, etc. She was also editor at El Periódico del Arte. She has also
authored numerous essays on exhibition catalogues. She has been developed other
activities in the contemporary art field cordinating exhibtion catalogues, lectures
and seminars, an also related with the comunication and press for several art
institutions. She has given lectures and seminars about Contemporary Art, and been
part of some jury for emerging art grants and prizes such as Premios Generación Caja
Madrid, Premio Descubrimientos de PhotoEspaña or Premio de Videocreación
Iberoamericana MUSAC-Casa de América, etc.
Note edited and supervised for diffusion by Trial Balloon´s Curatorial Team
href='http://www.musac.es/archivos/1146156412nota_98__trial_baloons_eng.pdf'>Press
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