Marinus Boezem in group exhibition 'Air' at Museum Kranenburgh, Bergen
Marinus Boezem in group exhibition 'Air' at Museum Kranenburgh, Bergen
Air: it seems so ordinary. But given some thought, it is a fascinating phenomenon. For this exhibition, guest curator Colin Huizing invited internationally acclaimed artists who question and make tangible the wonder of air. They allow you to experience the beauty and essence of air, or draw attention, directly or indirectly, to the imperilled state of the air in the atmosphere. In doing so, they heighten our awareness of the world in which we live. Especially now, where breathing in clean air can no longer be taken for granted.
From around 1960, artists began considering new ways of thinking about reality and envisaging new possibilities for art. Instead of depicting reality, they began presenting reality itself as art, connecting art and life, and speculating on the very nature of an artwork. Everything can serve as a subject. And when artists apply this approach to something invisible, the results are all the more compelling.
How can something so naturally occurring and invisible as air be presented as art? How do you make air visible? And how can you get people to think about something that is, in fact, invisible? These are the underlying questions that inform the exhibition Air and its three themes: life, phenomena, and complications. The exhibition’s route takes you along experiences, phenomena, performances, observations, and objects that inspire you to reflect on air. Today’s artists, unlike their 1960’s predecessors, are faced with the precarious state of the environment as a consequence of our prosperity.
Artists in the exhibition
Marina Abramović & Ulay | Jan Andriesse | Marinus Boezem | Elspeth Diederix | Zoro Feigl | Roger Hiorns | Chaim van Luit | Jan van Munster | Yoko Ono | David Rickard | Jeroen de Rijke, Willem de Rooij | herman de vries | Marijke van Warmerdam | Ai Weiwei
Colin Huizing
Colin Huizing is an independent curator and producer of exhibitions. Previously he worked as senior curator at the Stedelijk Museum Schiedam. Huizing co-curated the exhibition herman de vries – to be all ways to be for the Dutch pavilion at the 2015 Venice Biennale.
Especially now, where breathing in clean air can no longer be taken for granted.
8 Juli - 29 November 2020