Aleksandra Mir
The Space Age
November 28, 2013–February 16, 2014
Gerard Herman
Anger Ram Herd
November 28, 2013–March 23, 2014
Opening: Wednesday November 27, 8pm
M – Museum Leuven
L. Vanderkelenstraat 28
3000 Leuven
Belgium
M – Museum Leuven is pleased to present two new solo exhibitions: Aleksandra Mir and Gerard Herman.
The Space Age is an exhibition by Aleksandra Mir (b. 1967, Lubin) concentrating on a body of work about space exploration the artist has developed over the past 15 years. Based on a number of historical events, such as the discovery of the laws of physics, the early experimental spaceship launches, and the first successful moon landing, Mir’s public events, films and works on paper investigate the complex relationship between science and religion—an ambivalence underscored by her interplay of facts and fiction.
Mir uses science fiction to metaphorically reflect on life on earth. What is the purpose of leaving and going so far away? How far away from home can you go, and still be relevant to the people you left behind? What happens to the ego when tangible references vanish? Is the risk worth it? Is scientific discovery a way to meet or to challenge God? And is extreme solitude a path to self-realization or simply a process to verify one’s existence among others?
The exhibition at M – Leuven brings together for the very first time Mir’s early work First Woman on the Moon (1999) with Gravity (2006), The Dream and the Promise (2008–09), The Seduction of Galileo Galilei (2011) and the more recent Satellite Crashes down in Porto Alegre, Brazil (2013).
The exhibition will be accompanied by a fully illustrated poster book with an essay by Martin Herbert published by Sternberg Press.
Curator: Eva Wittocx
Aleksandra Mir lives in London. Recent solo exhibitions and projects include Discoteca, Magazzino, Rome; Visionaries of St. Pauli, Betongalerie, Hamburg (2013); Justice, Triple A, Los Angeles (2012); The Seduction of Galileo Galilei, Mercer Union, Toronto and Whitney Museum, New York (2011); Triumph, Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt (2009); Switzerland and Other Islands, Kunsthaus, Zurich (2006). Group exhibitions include Energy and Process, Tate Modern, London (2013); 9 Bienal du Mercosul, Porto Alegre (2013); Monuments, Lismore Castle (2013); Pursuit of Perfection, South London Gallery (2012); ArtandPress, Martin Gropius Bau, Berlin (2012); Once Upon a Time, Deutsche Guggenheim, Berlin (2011); Plus Ultra, MACRO Testaccio, Rome (2010); 53 Venice Biennale (2009).
The work of Belgian artist Gerard Herman (b. 1989, Ghent) is difficult to pigeonhole in a single genre or medium. Generally speaking, his everyday life and environment form the point of departure of his graphic work, installations, performances, audio compositions, animated films and radio broadcasts.
By using his mother tongue and an indispensable measure of humour, his works appear to offer bite-sized responses to human experiences like failure and success. And yet, they are not definitive: each work is merely an impulse that may generate further meanings.
Anger Ram Herd is Gerard Herman’s first solo museum exhibition. The title is an anagram of his name and in that sense accords with his fascination for language and wordplay. Besides texts, the artist also associates music with his own visual language, giving his work a poetic and multi-layered quality.
For Anger Ram Herd, Gerard Herman created almost exclusively new work, tailored to the exhibition rooms at M. The exhibition thus opens a new chapter in an artistic practice that constantly reinvents itself.
Curator: Valerie Verhack
Press contact: Annelies Evens: annelies.evens [at] leuven.be / T +32 (0) 16 27 29 36
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M has the support of the City of Leuven, Province Flemish-Brabant and the Flemish Community.
