PLAY TIME
contemporary art biennale
27 September–30 November 2014
La Halle de la Courrouze
Museum of fine Arts of Rennes
Frac Bretagne
& associated venues
Rennes
Brittany
France
www.lesateliersderennes.fr
“Play is a thing by itself. The play-concept as such is of a higher order than is seriousness. For seriousness seeks to exclude play, whereas play can very well include seriousness. […] Play may rise to heights of beauty and sublimity that leave seriousness far beneath.”
–Johan Huizinga, Homo Ludens (1938)
Appropriating the title of Jacques Tati’s masterpiece, the fourth edition of Les Ateliers de Rennes – biennale d’art contemporain takes a Hulotesque stroll through the field of contemporary artistic practice. Exploring notions of work, play, idleness and the time we devote to each, PLAY TIME is structured around three international group shows that take place at La Halle de la Courrouze (a former military arsenal), at the Rennes Museum of Fine Arts and at the FRAC Bretagne. PLAY TIME approaches the exhibition simultaneously as a playground and a place of work, a space and time of possibility in which artists and audience can play together.
Artists
Michael Beutler, Cosima von Bonin, Nicolas Chardon, François Curlet,* Sam Curtis, Dewar & Gicquel, Jimmie Durham, Priscila Fernandes, Robert Filliou, Marianne Flotron, Fucking Good Art, Ane Hjort Guttu, Gaspar Libedinsky, Erik van Lieshout, Maider López, Erwan Mével, Gareth Moore, Oscar Murillo, Rivane Neuenschwander & Cao Guimarães, Bruno Peinado, Hans Schabus, Katarina Šević & Tehnica Schweiz, Pilvi Takala, Jay Tan, Koki Tanaka, Thomas Tudoux
*Artists invited by François Curlet
Lilian Bourgeat, Michael Dans, Denicolai & Provoost, Vincent D’Houndt, Florence Doléac, David Dubois, Michel François, Gaillard & Claude, Pierre Huyghe, Ann Veronica Janssens, Sven ‘t Jolle, Emilio López Menchero, M/M (PARIS): Mrzyk & Moriceau, Jean-Marc Paquot, Tobias Rehberger, Hugues Reip, Franck Scurti, Pierre Tatu, Christophe Terlinden, Donelle Woolford
Associated exhibitions
The biennale also comprises six monographic exhibitions in contemporary art spaces across Rennes and the region of Brittany:
–Oscar Murillo at 40mcube (Rennes)
–Gareth Moore at La Criée centre d’art contemporain (Rennes)
–Fucking Good Art at Le Cabinet du livre d’artiste (Rennes)
–Priscila Fernandes at Phakt Centre Culturel Colombier (Rennes)
–Koki Tanaka at Passerelle (Brest)
–Ane Hjort Guttu at Le Quartier (Quimper)
Selected events
(for the full programme, see calendar)
25 September
Opening of four associated exhibitions in Rennes (see list above)
26 September
Professional preview and opening of PLAY TIME (by invitation only)
27 September
Opening of Koki Tanaka at Passerelle (Brest)
30 September
Symposium: “The Rules of the Game: From a participative art to a public work”
Organised by the University Rennes 2, featuring Ane Hjort Guttu, Tehnica Schweiz and Koki Tanaka
2 October
Artist talk by Thomas Tudoux
3 October
Opening of Ane Hjort Guttu at Le Quartier (Quimper)
5 October
Koki Tanaka’s precarious tasks #12 Walking with dogs
2 November
Lecture: “Laziness: history of a mortal sin” by André Rauch
4 November
Conversation between François Curlet and Jean-Marc Huitorel
6 November
Lecture: “Artistic Playgrounds” by art historian Vincent Romagny
18 November
IKT Lab: “Curator Without a Parachute”
Curatorial symposium featuring Laurence Gateau, Florence Ostende, Emilie Renard, Nav Haq, Xenia Kalpaktsoglou, Ralph Rugoff; conceived by Zoë Gray, Sophie Kaplan and Catherine Elkar
A collaboration with Frac Bretagne, La Criée and IKT
19 November
Performance: Alfred Palestra by Katarina Šević & Tehnica Schweiz
27 November
Artist talk by Bruno Peinado
Publications
The artist duo Fucking Good Art have created the publication It’s Playtime: 4 Conversations exploring ideas of work, play and leisure, which functions as an artistic reader for the biennale. (ISBN 978-90-817756-2-5)
Beaux-Arts Magazine will publish a special edition for PLAY TIME featuring interviews with curator Zoë Gray and the artists François Curlet, Michael Beutler and Pilvi Takala.
Contacts
info [at] lesateliersderennes.fr / T +33 (0) 2 99 83 95 63
Press: 2e Bureau—Martial Hobeniche, m.hobeniche@2e-bureau.com
Organization: Art Norac / Curator: Zoë Gray / Implementation: le troisième pôle
Supported by
Les Ateliers de Rennes – biennale d’art contemporain is supported by the city of Rennes, Rennes Métropole, the culture and communication ministry (DRAC Bretagne), the regional council of Brittany and the department of Ille-et-Vilaine.
This edition is also supported by Loc Maria Biscuits, CFA Grand Ouest, Le Monde, France 3 Bretagne, Ouest France, Beaux-Arts Magazine, Mondriaan Fund, Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen (ifa), Japan Foundation, Kunststiftung NRW, Office for Contemporary Art Norway (OCA), Pro Helvetia (Fondation suisse pour la culture) and Centre national des arts plastiques.
