Art is always on in Italy, though those unfamiliar with the Italian art scene may not have contemporary art front of mind when visiting the country. Right now, among the many must-see art exhibitions in Europe this summer, there are several shows in Italy of works by artists on Hauser & Wirth’s roster. It’s an exciting time for contemporary art lovers in Italy, as from North to South, artists are engaging with the country’s heritage: think Louise Bourgeois’ works mounted in Europe’s first orphanage (designed by Brunelleschi) or Sonia Boyce pieces interacting with Italian folk songs in a medieval palace. To help you maximize your time in the country, we’ve compiled a list of the Italian venues hosting exhibitions of Houser & Wirth artists this summer.
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William Kentridge at Arsenale Institute for Politics of Representation, Venice
For his exhibition at Arsenale Institute for Politics of Representation in Venice, South African artist William Kentridge has collaborated with renowned curator Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev (formerly of dOCUMENTA 13) to premiere his new nine-episode video series, Self-Portrait as a Coffee-Pot. The series consists of thirty-minute episodes directed by Kentridge and shot in his Johannesburg studio during and in the aftermath of the pandemic and completed in 2023. “Filming began in the first lockdown, and the studio mimicked the closed spaces of COVID,” Kentridge said in a statement, “but the studio is also an enlarged head, a chamber for thoughts and reflections where all the drawings, photos, and detritus on the walls become these thoughts.”
Conceived to circulate online, on mobile or on television, the series connects people to the solitude of the artist’s studio, opening it to the world as a hymn of artistic freedom, encouraging us to pursue creativity as a tool of self-resistance and self-affirmation in difficult times. The videos eventually reveal how the action of mark-making is essential for the construction and awareness of the self: as he’s freely drawing and painting, manifesting this deep connection between brain and hand, between traces and the rhythm, Kentridge proves how art-making can be a critical form of mental gymnastics or yoga for the brain. Something that is becoming even more important in an era in which A.I. and the increasing use of social media threaten to atrophy our cognitive and emotional abilities.
“Self-Portrait as a Coffee-Pot” is on view at the Arsenale Institute for Politics of Representation in Venice through November 24.
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To view full article, read more at: https://observer.com/2024/07/hauser-and-wirth-artists-showing-in-italy-2024/
