Nick van Woert: Nature Calls
May 30–September 7, 2014
MAMbo – Museo d’Arte Moderna di Bologna
via Don Minzoni, 14
Bologna
Italy
www.mambo-bologna.org
Curated by Gianfranco Maraniello
MAMbo – Museo d’Arte Moderna di Bologna presents the first solo exhibition in Italy of Nick van Woert, one of the most original American voices in contemporary art today.
The show is curated by Gianfranco Maraniello and forms part of a line of investigation the museum has been following since its opening, making known some of the exponents of the most advanced work being done in America today: GuytonWalker (2008), Trisha Donnelly (2009), Seth Price (2009), and Matthew Day Jackson (2011). This reflection and recognition of the artistic practices and the function of the museum are not limited solely to the United States, but have seen the promotion of some revolutionary figures who are fundamental to any understanding of the art of the last few decades: in 2007, an exhibition of Christopher Williams was held in the spaces being closed in the former Galleria d’Arte Moderna di Bologna, and this was followed in 2012 by Marcel Broodthaers (MAMbo) and in 2013 by Bas Jan Ader (Villa delle Rose).
Nick van Woert presents a selection of his most representative works on show for the first time in the Sala delle Ciminiere and adjacent exhibition spaces.
The exhibition explores numerous themes that recur in the artist’s work. Among these: the dialectic between the environment, moulded by the massive presence of humankind, and nature, governed by chance. This is an area that is strongly motivated by Van Woert’s own origins, as he was born and grew up in Reno (Nevada), a town of contrasts between the fantastical architecture of the gambling sector and the harsh reality of the surrounding desert; the conviction that a semantics of materials exists and that every material is a generator of sense in the interaction with human beings and in the relationship with the artist; the interest in architecture, originating from the family context and his studies, that led him to highlight the construction process and the structure of things without dissimulating them; the interest in figures such as Ted Kaczynski (Unabomber), in ‘return to nature’ movements, in groups focused on the preservation of the American West or Luddism, which all share the man vs. machine dynamic and the attempt to change or dissect our way of life; the use of reproductions of classical statues, surfaces that pretend to be sculptures, a symbol of decadence and concentration of fiction, ‘impostors’ that Nick van Woert uses within his artistic dialogue, literally filling them with meaning.
The exhibition is accompanied by a publication (Edizioni MAMbo) with a conversation between Nick van Woert and Aniko Berman.
Biographical notes
Nick van Woert was born in 1979, in Reno, Nevada, USA. He learned about architecture in his father’s studio, and his interest would lead him to join the degree course at the University of Oregon. As soon as he graduated, however, he decided to abandon his studies and enroll for the Master’s in Fine Arts at the Parsons New School for Design in New York, where in 2007 he graduated with an MFA. The knowledge he acquired in both academic studies proved equally essential in defining his artistic practice, as well as supplying him with some persistent elements in his work. Since 2005, Nick van Woert has been exhibiting his work, participating in numerous group shows, while in 2010 the Grimm Gallery in Amsterdam hosted his first personal show under the title of She-Wolf. Nick van Woert currently lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.
