ROB PRUITT | MASSIMO DE CARLO

Press Release:

Massimo De Carlo gallery in London inaugurates its new season with The Suicide Paintings by American artist Rob Pruitt. Pruitt in his third show at Massimo De Carlo presents new paintings that explore infinite space and blankness, purity and pollution, and optimism and desperation. The work in the show represents a culmination of previous bodies of work, from his fountains to face paintings. While so much of Pruitt’s previous work has dealt with cultural subject matter, in this new body of work, content has been drained, leaving only a psychological and emotional residue.

In the new paintings, two gradient fields of colour are juxtaposed, creating a picture within a frame. The images suggest both heavenly and hellish vistas, evoking everything from the clouds in a Botticelli painting to the screensaver on an iPad. While the gradient fields suggest depictions of space and the changing times of day, they are also a visual metaphor for transitioning psychological states.

Composing a full room installation, a number of chromed TV Sets: having become useless as means of information and entertainment, replaced by flat screen TVs, these objects from the 80s and the 90s survive through their shape, reconstructed with a glamorous and glittery patina. Even this body of works refers to the classics: these TV sets deliver a strong sense of nostalgia.

These new sculptures are standing on hundreds and hundreds of black and white cubes. Part sculptures themselves, and part plinths for the other works in the show, these cubes are configuring a new modular system of exhibiting Rob Pruitt’s sculptures through a new radical, pixelated signature pedestal. These cubes can even take the form of a new floor for one of the rooms in the basement of the gallery, as if Carl Andre had suddenly turned digital.

Link: Rob Pruitt at Massimo De Carlo

Artist: Rob Pruitt
Venue: Massimo De Carlo, London
Exhibition Title: The Suicide Paintings
Date: October 14 – November 30, 2013

Full gallery of images, press release and link available after the jump.

Images courtesy of Massimo De Carlo, London. 

TURNER PRIZE 2013 NOMINEE | DAVID SHRIGLEY

A visit with Turner Prize 2013 nominee David Shrigley in his Glasgow studio, and in Derry~Londonderry with the installation of his new work.

David Shrigley was nominated for his solo exhibition at Hayward Gallery David Shrigley: Brain Activity which included not only his well-loved drawings but also photography, sculpture and film. The Hayward exhibition revealed his black humour, macabre intelligence and infinite jest.

Filming at his studio in Glasgow, Shrigley talked to TateShots about the problems of being taken seriously, saying: ‘As a professional artist there’s probably a lot of people who don’t really take my work seriously. Obviously I am serious in the sense that I’ve spent my entire life in this comic endeavour.’

The Turner Prize 2013 exhibition is on from 23 October 2013 — 5 January 2014.

The winner will be announced at an awards ceremony on Monday 2 December 2013.

GER VAN ELK | LUTTGENMEIJER

Artist: Ger van Elk

Venue: Lüttgenmeijer, Berlin

Exhibition Title: Seven Automatic Landscapes

Date: September 14 – November 2, 2013

Full gallery of images and link available after the jump.

http://www.contemporaryartdaily.com

KONRAD LUEG | GREENE NAFTALI

Full gallery of images, press release and link available after the jump.

Artist: Konrad Lueg

Venue: Greene Naftali, New York

Date: October 10 – November 16, 2013

Images:

Images courtesy of Greene Naftali, New York

Press Release:

Greene Naftali is pleased to announce an exhibition of paintings and works on paper by Konrad Lueg (1939-1996), his first solo gallery exhibition in the United States.

Konrad Lueg was a seminal figure of the German postwar art scene, first as a painter and later as legendary gallerist Konrad Fischer. In the early 1960s, Lueg developed the concept of “Capitalist Realism” with Gerhard Richter, Sigmar Polke, and Manfred Kuttner as a response to a rapidly developing consumer society following Germany’s economic miracle. His critique of painting and consumerism included staging impromptu exhibitions in untraditional spaces — in a building slated for demolition, for example, or a furniture store among saleable household items.

After graduating from the Düsseldorf Akademie in 1962, Lueg experimented with casein color to create distinctly flat and polished surfaces, setting him apart from the artistic trends at the time. He tested this technique on various subjects including people, landscapes, everyday objects, and recognizable icons. Betende Hande (1963), for example, zooms in on a dizzying array of bright yellow fingers closely entwined and rendered in extreme close-up. Lueg’s use of primary colors reference the cooly flat advertisements of the day and points to his radical distancing of painting from the illusory.

Drawing from the American Pop Art aesthetic by which he was deeply influenced, Lueg began to replicate traditional German motifs in 1964, including everyday items such as wallpaper, towels, and napkins. These intricate works, with their rhythmic display of repeated patterns, commented on the look of German domestic life and visualized a shift to consumerism taking place in the mid-‘60s. Lueg continued to advance his painting techniques over a ten-year period, experimenting with a variety of materials and tools—luminous paint, embossed rollers, shower curtains, and commercial fabrics.

From 1967 onwards, Lueg laid his art practice to rest and transitioned into the gallery world as Konrad Fischer with his own exhibition space in Düsseldorf. As Lueg the painter questioned the social implications of visual material, so Fischer the gallerist applied the same spirit to exhibition- making, presenting artists such as Carl Andre, Sol LeWitt, and Bruce Nauman for the first time in Europe, and in so doing ushering in a new generation of artists abroad.

Link: Konrad Lueg at Greene Naftali

BEATRIX RUF | RENA GODFREY

How the curator went from a quiet existence in a small German industrial town 

to become one of the most important figures in the art world.

Beatrix Ruf

It’s the middle of the week at the end of a regular workday for Beatrix Ruf, director and chief curator of the Kunsthalle Zurich in Switzerland, an institution known for its compelling international contemporary art exhibitions. The sun is setting in the background, casting a shadow inside Ruf’s simply furnished office. Ruf looks relaxed in her black button-down shirt, as she casually picks up her lit cigarette, smoking it intermittently, discussing her passion for contemporary art, the significant role it plays in society, and her great admiration for artists. But there is nothing ordinary about Beatrix Ruf and the artists she works with.

She is applauded for her keen ability to recognize some of the rising stars in the contemporary art world, as well as nurturing existing relationships with many of the biggest names.

“Where Ruf goes, others follow.” That’s what ArtReview Magazine wrote in naming her the most influential person in the art world, ahead of celebrated artists, curators, museum and foundation directors, gallerists, and collectors including Tate Modern’s Nicholas Serota, Glenn D. Lowry of MoMA, and Hans-Ulrich Obrist of London’s Serpentine Gallery.

Under Ruf’s leadership, the Kunsthalle Zurich, (kunsthalle literally means “art hall” in German, and is distinguished for not being a collecting institution) officially reopened in the former Lowenbrau brewery last August after a remodel that took more than 10 years to complete.

The newly renovated space debuted with shows by acclaimed German photographer Wolfgang Tillmans (New World), and 27- year-old British artist, Helen Marten (No borders in a wok that can’t be crossed). Marten’s provocative exhibition which originated at the Kunsthalle Zurich, was presented at the galleries of Bard College’s Center for Curatorial Studies in New York State. Ruf helped organize and install the exhibition, which is Marten’s inaugural show in the United States. Although Ruf is credited for having “discovered” Marten, Ruf sees it differently and is quick to reject the accolades. “ I don’t believe in the discovery thing. It’s a shared moment and it’s great when it develops into an energy.”

Ruf has joined forces with many other well-known contemporary artists including John Armleder, Kai Althoff, Jenny Holzer and Marina Abramovic. She has loved working on co-creations with Philippe Parreno (No Ghost just a Shell) and together with New York-based artists Kelley Walker, Seth Price, Wade Guyton and Josh Smith, Ruf developed a long planned show in the Kunsthalle space in just 10 days.

Delighting in the continuous exchange with contemporary artists, Ruf firmly believes that institutions like the Kunsthalle Zurich need to exist without a collection. “When you take out a collection you have to prescribe to other processes and you can’t perform that flexibility which is extremely important to have in the contemporary art world,” she says.

Ruf explains that it wasn’t until the early 1980s kunsthalles in cities were set up to encourage a place where younger artists and contemporary artists could show their work. The Kunsthalle Zurich Association was established in 1985, with the plan of having a venue in Zurich that would host temporary exhibitions and educational events focused on international contemporary art. In 1996, the Kunsthalle Zurich, moved into the Lowenbrau Art complex, which also hosts a combination of contemporary art galleries, private collections, and institutions all under one roof.

Shortly after Ruf took over in 2001 from the Kunsthalle Zurich’s first director, Dr. Bernhard Mendes Burgi, there was an international architecture competition to redesign the Lowenbrau Complex, including the Kunsthalle Zurich. Zurich architectural firms Gigon/Guyer and Aetlier WW were chosen to design this massive renovation. The expansion of the Kunsthalle Zurich is now a highly visible landmark with a large white cube of additional gallery space built on top of one of the existing heritage site buildings. The Kunsthalle Zurich presents approximately 6-8 different shows a year, which run for 11-12 weeks each.

In addition to her day job, Ruf is also the curator of the Ringier collection and on the board of the publishing house JRP/Ringier, and has written essays and published catalogues on numerous artists. She is a Board Member of the Schweizerische Graphische Gesselschart and of the Cultural Advisory board of CERN, Geneva. She co-created the 2008 Yokohama Trienniale in Japan, and in 2006 curated the Tate Triennial for Tate Britain. She has served as a jury member in many important commissions.

But what Ruf enjoys more than partnering with local cultural and educational institutions, or collaborating with leading international museums and galleries like Whitechapel Gallery in London, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, or the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, is the thrill of working closely with artists.

“Everything I get excited about comes from the artists. Their visions, their questions, their doubts and critiques, ” she says smiling.

Undeniably passionate and committed to creating dialogues with younger generations of artists, Ruf began an unlikely journey to becoming one of the most eminent figures in the contemporary art world. Born in 1960, in Singen, a small industrial conservative German town, Ruf calls her childhood , “the regular thing”. Her father was a politician, her mother a housewife, and Ruf was the middle in a family of three children.

Ruf’s world was transformed when a substitute art teacher in high school was assigned to her class for half of the school year. “ This teacher was hilarious, Ruf recalls, “she changed everything. She provided a glimpse into a contemporary life.” For the first time, Ruf began to consider the arts and the potential role it could play in her life.

After high school, Ruf moved to the Lake of Constance and was accepted into a conservatory in Vienna, the University of Vienna, and the University of Zurich. She studied museology and received a master’s degree in choreography and dance and a masters degree in philosophical studies. While at the conservatory, Ruf lived in a large communal house with visual artists and architects. This was a pivotal time in her life,sharing and exploring different ideas with her new peers.

“From the beginning, it was clear that I was not a classical dancer. I was always more interested in concepts of the 1960’s and 70’s and performance art. After 10 years in the choreography dance media world, it felt much clearer that curating was for me. It was natural for me to switch to the other side. I felt more at home.”

After the conservatory, Ruf started to organize regular exhibitions with a group of artists in the surrounding areas of Singen, and got to know the director of a county museum, Kunstmuseum des Kantons Thurgau at Kartause Ittingen(Museum of the County of Thurgau at Kartause Ittingen), housed in a former Carthusian cloister, on the other side of the Lake of Constance. At age 34, Ruf was offered her first job as curator there. She ended up staying until 1998.

It was a very positive experience for Ruf, a few years later she accepted a position as director/curator of the Kunsthaus Glarus, a modernist museum built in the 1950’s, with “zero” money, but with a beautiful collection.

Ruf recognizes that some of the biggest challenges that go along with her current job are the financial contraints (60 percent of the Kunsthalle’s budget is privately financed), but, at the same time she deeply appreciates how privileged she is to be able to work in an ever-changing environment.

“Institutions like Kunsthalle should do everything to keep their societal freedom. Nothing is more inspiring and exciting than to see institutions that are formed by the ideas of the artists.”

This past June marked the introduction of Reality Check, a new series of talks, lectures and encounters with the artists, critics, and curators at the Kunsthalle Zurich.

In August, six years after his first show, Wade Guyton returned to the Kunsthalle Zurich with a new show, and Lutz Bacher and Ed Atkins are slated for shows this winter and spring.

Ruf hopes that that the Kunsthalle Zurich “stays the same in that it keeps its freedom, its flexibility and its closeness to the artist.”.

But like her colleagues in the continuously evolving world of contemporary art, Ruf may at some point in the future consider working with a collecting institution. “ I do really believe that the museum is a great thing and a very important construct for the future in terms of the exchange between historical and contemporary knowledge. “

She takes a final drag on her cigarette and, through smoke, pronounces the old proverb “the more things change, the more they stay the same.”

> This article by Rena Godfrey appeared in the 2013 Winter issue of  Lifestyles Magazine. 

Read more of Rena’s articles here.

thanks to: http://www.renagodfrey.com/portfolio_2/beatrix-ruf-knows-good-art/