Exhibition: CONSTRUCTING PARADISE
FEBRUARY 1 – APRIL 24, 2017
Austrian Cultural Forum New York
11 East 52nd Street, New York
Artists on view:
Paul GAUGUIN, Oskar KOKOSCHKA, Jean-Michel BASQUIAT, Mark DION, Nives WIDAUER, Kara WALKER, Mathias KESSLER, Mickalene THOMAS , Marissa LÔBO, Christian Kosmas MAYER, Hugo CANOILAS, Moussa KONE
Curated by Dieter BUCHHART │ Curatorial Advisor: Mathias KESSLER
The Austrian Cultural Forum New York is pleased to present Constructing Paradise, a group exhibition curated by Dieter Buchhart and Mathias Kessler exploring the themes and history of the “exotic” and its interpretation in contemporary art.
The rapid industrialization and urbanization in the late 19th century led society to yearn for a sense of newness and otherness in the face of the modernizing world. As artists like Gauguin became entranced by faraway places, a novel category of imagery illustrating a previously unseen and “undiscovered” part of the world began to pervade the Western canon. The idea of a “wild, untouched exotic” emerged as a product of colonialism, as many of the same justifications for colonial rule also fueled Western curiosity of these foreign lands, making way for a revised colonial narrative: creating desire-worlds that existed to fulfill Western dreams and desires.
Constructing Paradise exhibits contemporary reinterpretations of notions of the “exotic” by artists based in Austria or the United States. Taking iconic artworks such as Paul Gauguin’s Noa Noa and Oskar Kokoschka’s Tiger Cat as starting points, the show assembles a diverse range of work from early contemporary to more recent artistic responses to the modernist imprint of desire and fantasy on contemporary culture. Particularly when juxtaposed with hyperbolized images of modern-day advertising, the exhibition explores the psychological impacts of the modernist image on image culture and the Western psyche.
PAUL GAUGUIN
Noa Noa (Embaumé Embaumé), Fragrant Scent, 1893-1894
Color woodcut in red, yellow, black, and orange on heavy, tan Japan paper
14 3/4 x 9 7/8 inches (sheet)
From the Roy color edition of 25 to 30 printed in 1894
Lowenfels Collection, courtesy of David Tunick, Inc., New York
OSKAR KOKOSCHKA
Tiger Cat, 1975
Color lithograph
30 x 22 inches
Edition 39 of 150
Courtesy of Marlborough Gallery
JEAN-MICHAEL BASQUIAT
Untitled (Man Needs Milk), 1981
Mixed media on paper
12 x 8 inches
Collection of Justin Warsh
MARK DION
Humboldt cabinet, 2013
Wood, brass hinges, glass, pencil and watercolor on paper, stamp
38½ x 60 x 13½ inches (with doors closed)
© Mark Dion
Courtesy of Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York
NIVES WIDAUER
Past Pattern II, 2014
Tent poles, wooden mask, negative film sheets, microphone stand, projector, video
10 x 8 x 8 feet
© Nives Widauer
Courtesy of the artist
KARA WALKER
Untitled, 1998
Cut paper on paper
11¾ x 12½ inches
© Kara Walker
Courtesy of Sikkema Jenkins & Co., New York
Thicket Parts 1 & 2, 2009
Cut paper
Dimensions variable
© Kara Walker
Courtesy of Circa 1881
MATTHIAS KESSLER
On Top of the Endless Column, Cyberspace, 2014
3D print derived from a 3D rendered image
8 inch diameter, column: 60 x 10 x 10 inches
Edition of 3
Courtesy of the artist
Sunset in Simulacrum 02, New York, 2014
3D computer rendering printed on dye sublimation fabric,
light box with LED light and aluminum frame
40 x 51 x 3 inches
Courtesy of the artist
MICKALENE THOMAS
Le Déjeuner sur l’herbe: Les trois femmes noires, 2010
C-Print
48 x 60 inches
Edition of 5 + 2 AP
Courtesy of the artist and Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
MARISSA LÔBO
If you run the beast will catch you. If you stay the beast will devour you
(Se ficar o bicho pega, se correr o bicho come, based on a popular proverb)
Vienna, 2015
Performance, Academy of Fine Art Vienna
Video, 20 min.
C-Prints
31 ½ x 47 ¼ inches
Photo: Ana Paula Franco
CHRISTIAN KOSMAS MAYER
Les Vues de Brésil, 2007
Wallpaper
Dimensions variable
Design based on the scenic wallpaper Les Vué du Brésil (by Jean Julien Deltil, 1829, produced by the company Zuber et Cie, Rixheim, France)
Courtesy of the artist
HUGO CANOILAS
Love the sunset and dawn, because there is no use in loving them, 2015
Acrylic ink on unprimed linen
10 ½ x 19 ½ feet
Courtesy of Galerie Andreas Huber, Vienna
MOUSSA KONE
nowhere land I come from (land-route), 2016
Ink on paper
44 x 61 ½ inches
Courtesy of the artist
nowhere land I come from (sea-route), 2016
Ink on paper
44 x 61 ½ inches
Courtesy of the artist
Dieter Buchhart is a curator and art theorist. He completed his doctoral studies in art history and restoration science, and has curated numerous exhibitions in renowned international museums and art spaces. He has served as director of the Kunsthalle Krems near Vienna, and has been known for his critical work, contributing to several monographs and art publications such as Kunstforum International. As an art theorist he has contributed many catalogue essays, magazine articles, and lectures, his research focus ranging from Expressionism to contemporary art.
Curatorial Advisor Mathias Kessler received his MFA in Art Practice from the School of Visual Arts in 2012. He has exhibited internationally, including solo exhibitions at the Kunsthal Rotterdam; Site:Lab, Grand Rapids; Rosphot National Museum for Photography, St. Petersburg; GL Holtegaard Museum, Copenhagen; and Kunstraum Dornbirn. His work has also been featured in international publications and media outlets such as The New York Times, Blouin Artinfo, Eikon, Kunstforum, Camera Austria, Die Zeit, and Forbes.
JANUARY 31│EXHIBITION OPENING
6 PM – 7 PM: Artist talk with Mathias Kessler, Marissa Lôbo, Christian Kosmas Mayer, Nives Widauer and curator Dieter Buchhart
7 PM – 9 PM: Reception featuring a performance by Marissa Lôbo
Director ACFNY: Christine Moser
Curator: Dieter Buchhart
Curatorial Advisor: Mathias Kessler
Exhibition Coordination: Leonie Bockelmann
Exhibition Assistants: Paula Bodenstein & Rhian Maedel
Head of Communications: Judith Brand
Images: David Plakke
Supporting institutions of the Austrian Cultural Forum New York: Austrian Airlines, Esterhazy Winery, Stiegl
