ArtReview May 2015
In Art Previewed
Ten exhibitions on through May you won’t want to miss, in Venice, London and New York by Martin Herbert
Points of View—our writers on what’s happening in the art world and beyond:
Sam Jacob on traditions of hygiene in modernist architecture; Michael Soi on the Kenya Pavilion controversy; Lucas Ospina on altering power relations between artists and the market; Laura Oldfield Ford on a psychogeographic walk from East Ham High Street to Bethnal Green; Maria Lind in defence of the Sharjah Biennial; Laura McLean-Ferris on Lauren Bakst’s recent performance; Jonathan Grossmalerman on how to paint death.
Great Critics and Their Ideas: Kenneth Clark on art and television, interviewed by Matthew Collings
Other People and Their Ideas: Christian Jankowski, chief curator of Manifesta 11, interviewed by Tom Eccles
In Art Featured
Heimo Zobernig
Austria’s representative at this year’s Venice Biennale combines a subversion of modernist ideals and forced confrontations of art and functionality, comedy and decoration, by Joshua Decter
Tobias Zielony
The German photographer, one of five artists representing that country at the Venice Biennale, depicts people living on the margins in a way that is itself ambiguously positioned, by Kimberly Bradley
Artists with Borders
Although transnationalism seems to be one of the essential qualities of contemporary art, why is it that one of its biggest showcases insists on national representation? by Robert Barry
BLG
The Québécois collective brings its trademark mix of pranks and tomfoolery—risky materials in artmaking—to the Venice Biennale, by Craig Burnett
Sean Lynch
Ireland’s representative at this year’s Venice Biennale offers viewers a practical insight into the point of standing around and looking at art, by Chris Fite-Wassilak
Eclectic Straw Totem, an artist project by Haegue Yang
Michaël Borremans
One of Europe’s most technically accomplished painters, the Belgian artist’s enigmatic work is full of contradiction, humour, horror, beauty and a cautious approach to truth, by Martin Herbert
Lynn Hershman Leeson
The American artist’s 40-year output has pioneered investigations into the relationship between technology and the body, and now its time has come, by Karen Archey
Andrea Zittel
A look at the benefits of “doing it your own way” in the work of the Joshua Tree-based sculptor and installation artist, by Gesine Borcherdt
In Art Reviewed
Reviews from around the world
2015 Triennial: Surround Audience, at the New Museum, New York
Hassan Khan, at Museum für Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt
Bruce Nauman, at Fondation Cartier, Paris
James Benning, at Kunstverein Hamburg
Rare Earth, at Thyssen-Bornemisza Contemporary, Vienna
Neïl Beloufa, at Zero, Milan
Nadine Byrne, at Elastic Gallery, Stockholm
Peter Buggenhout, at Museum Leuven
Gonzalo Lebrija, at Galerie Laurent Godin, Paris
Maria Georgoula, at Circuits and Currents, Athens
Alex Katz, at Timothy Taylor Gallery, London
Johanna Billing, at Hollybush Gardens, London
Iman Issa, at Rodeo, London
Mark Barker, at Southard Reid, London
Lina Selander, at Iniva, London
Uriel Orlow, at John Hansard Gallery, Southampton
Hugo Canoilas, at Cooper Gallery, Dundee
Martín Soto Climent, at Clifton Benevento, New York
Alex Da Corte, at Luxembourg & Dayan, New York
Alejandro Cesarco, at Murray Guy, New York
Sebastian Lloyd Rees, at Room East, New York
SOGTFO, at François Ghebaly Gallery, Los Angeles
Mernet Larsen, at Various Small Fires, Los Angeles
Monique van Genderen, at Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects
Lulennial, at Lulu, Mexico City
Simon Linington, at Emma Thomas, São Paulo
Penny Siopis, at Iziko South African National Gallery
Sharjah Biennial 12, various venues
Books
Artwash: Big Oil and the Arts, by Mel Evans
Pablo, by Julie Birmant and Clémant Oubrerie
A Geology of Media, by Jussi Parikka
The Container Principle, by Alexander Klose
The Strip: A new work from Hervé Di Rosa, introduced by Paul Gravett
Off the Record: Gallery Girl – in Venice
