Mathias Poledna
December 7, 2014–February 8, 2015
Opening: Sunday, December 7, 4–7pm
with conversation between curator Solveig Øvstebø and writer Andrew Weiner at 5pm
The Renaissance Society
at the University of Chicago
5811 South Ellis Avenue, 4th floor
Chicago, IL 60637
Hours: Tuesday–Friday 10am–5pm
Saturday–Sunday noon–5pm
The Renaissance Society presents a major commission by Los Angeles-based artist Mathias Poledna. For this exhibition, Poledna has created an installation that juxtaposes a new moving image work with a comprehensive reimagining of the venue’s setting.
Poledna’s art most commonly takes the form of highly concentrated film works that unfold a complex tension between the visuals and their critical and cultural implications. His work, as Michael Bracewell writes, suggests “a form of conceptualism, philosophical in basis, which attempts to engage with paradox as a means of enquiry.” Poledna’s concise presentations underscore a mode of production in which he frequently involves specialist collaborators in order to articulate a highly specific frame of vision.
Poledna’s exhibition coincides with the Renaissance Society’s Centennial anniversary in 2015 and marks the final presentation in the institution’s first 100 years. For his project Poledna proposes the notion of iconoclasm and its various historical contexts as a conceptual backdrop for two new works: a 35mm film installation, co-produced with the Renaissance Society and presented here for the first time, and a substantial alteration to the gallery space.
Together, their presentation foments a multi-layered conversation between histories of the site; concepts of public space and private property; and the paradoxical legacies of historicism and modernism in architecture and design. More broadly, the exhibition reflects Poledna’s ongoing interest in the production and circulation of images within spectacle.
A comprehensive catalog that documents and critically reflects on the exhibition will be published in spring 2015. Conceived by the artist, it features new essays by Amy Knight Powell, Associate Professor of Art History at University of California, Irvine; Bennett Simpson, Senior Curator at MOCA Los Angeles; and Andrew Weiner, Assistant Professor of Art Theory and Criticism at NYU Steinhardt, New York.
The Renaissance Society is an independent, non-collecting museum of contemporary art located on the campus of the University of Chicago. It is committed to supporting ambitious artistic experimentation, primarily through the commissioning of new works, and to fostering a rigorous, interdisciplinary discourse around it. In addition to the gallery program, it hosts an eclectic range of concerts, performances, lectures, screenings, and readings.
All exhibitions and events are free and open to the public.
