On Site: Liam Gillick
on view through September 2005
Artist Visits February 24
Milwaukee Art Museum
700 N. Art Museum Drive
Milwaukee, WI 53202
T 414-224-3200, 414-224-3284
www.mam.org
An installation by British artist Liam Gillick is now on view in the Milwaukee Art Museum’s new Santiago Calatrava-designed Quadracci Pavilion. The Museum’s addition was completed in October 2001 and named by Time magazine “Best Design of 2001.”
Gillick’s work is the third project in the On Site series, in which an artist creates a new work of art specifically for the Milwaukee Art Museum’s galleria space. Previous artists include Andrea Zittel and Richard Long.
The Museum’s installation-Ovningskorning (Driving Practice Parts 1-30), 2004-is the beginning of an idea that will be explored in greater depth in future exhibitions and subsequent work. In 2000, Gillick was part of a competition to redesign the Town Square of Kalmar, Sweden, the town where in the 1960s, with considerable pride, Volvo instituted its socialistic approach to car manufacturing. While the factory was already closed when Gillick first visited Kalmar, it has become the starting point for his investigation into what might have happened after the experiment was concluded.
The installation text is the first 30 lines of this story. The preamble consists of 30 lines because the galleria has 30 arches. The story has yet to begin, and like all good experiments, it will be shaped by the conditions in which it is presented. As you walk down the galleria you may notice that some of the details of the story are missing, though the substance of it will seem more concentrated.
While text has always been an important starting point for Gillick’s work-he has written three novels, each of which then instigated various sculptural and installation works-it has as of late become a physical part of the work.
Artist’s Visit
Liam Gillick will visit the Milwaukee Art Museum Thursday, February 24 at 6:15 p.m. He will address his work in general as well as the work he created specifically for the Museum.
Liam Gillick
Gillick is best known for his concurrent and ongoing work as a critic, curator, writer, designer and artist. His work often investigates the relationships of power found within the world of politics and decision-making. Using a combination of text, design and installations, Gillick raises questions about the way economic and social reality effect our lives. His interests generally lie in exploring alternate systems of negotiation and proposing open-ended questions so as to allow for the possibility of new and non-ideological answers.
Milwaukee Art Museum
The Milwaukee Art Museum’s far-reaching holdings include more than 20,000 works spanning antiquity to the present day. With a history dating back to 1888, the Museum’s primary strengths are in 19th- and 20th-century American and European art, contemporary art, American decorative arts, Old Master works, and folk and self-taught art.
The Museum is located in downtown Milwaukee, Wis., along the shore of Lake Michigan. The Museum is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., except for Thursdays when the Museum stays open until 8 p.m.
The Museum will feature Degas Sculptures February 19-June 5, 2005. For information about the Museum and its exhibitions, visit www.mam.org
Press Office:
Vicky Reddin, 414-224-3243, vicky.reddin@mam.org
