Ideal Exhibition. Supergrupa Azorro
21 May – 26 September 2010
MORE IS MORE
25 June – 24 October 2010
Centre of Contemporary Art Znaki Czasu in Torun
Waly gen. Sikorskiego 13
87-100 Torun, Poland
www.csw.torun.pl
21 May – 26 September 2010
Artists: Oskar Dawicki, Igor Krenz, Wojtek Niedzielko, Łukasz Skąpski Curated / arranged by Joanna Zielińska
Ideal Exhibition is the most comprehensive presentation of Supergrupa Azorro’s output to date. The title as well as the formula of the show implies, however, ironic approach to the very idea of retrospective. The exhibition includes a selection of video works as well as an archive.
The image of the world in Azorro’s films is distorted and immersed in absurd. The artists humorously pose questions whether artists are allowed to do anything they feel like doing, whether art is over, or whether everything has been done before? Crucial for the concept of Ideal Exhibition is the creation of an archive that sheds light on their artistic work and methods, being at the same time a collection of seemingly useless artifacts and curiosities which have not been shown to the public before. The archive is an ironic comment typical of Azorro – mocking topical themes, the artists once again question the sense of artistic production and the condition of the artist in contemporary world dominated by art market.
Formed in 2001, the artistic group known as Supergrupa Azorro has been chiefly active in the realm of video art. The focus of Azorro’s works is on the art world, as seen in galleries and exhibitions, among curators or patrons. Art itself is the subject matter of their activities. The group’s activities are marked by irony, humour and, last but not least, grotesque – visible in the absurdity of presented reality and overstatement of problems. One of the main themes in their works is the avant-garde paradigm of originality and novelty in art.
The exhibition demonstrates, that the end of Supergrupa Azorro that has been talked about for some time, is mere rumour.
MORE IS MORE
25 June – 24 October 2010
Artists: Yomar Augusto, John Bock, Monica Bonvicini, Jordi Colomer, Oskar Dawicki, Merzbow, Hans Schabus, Gregor Schneider, Costa Vece Curated by: Daniel Muzyczuk, Agnieszka Pindera, Joanna Zielińska
Less is more was the motto coined by Mies van der Rohe for modernism in architecture worldwide. The phrase became the basis for rational functionalism which condemned all ornament and proclaimed it deplorable. What did modern artists and thinkers have against glut? What is the significance of excess that was to be done away with? Do chaos and excess pose danger?
The danger of uncontrolled accumulation of goods is exemplified by the tragic story of brothers Homer and Langley Collyer. In 1947, police discovered their bodies in an apartment where 130 tons of rubbish were stored. The story of the two hoarders lead to the distinction of a psychological disorder called the Collyer brother syndrome. The Collyer story is reflected in similar strategies in the field of art. One only needs to mention Kurt Schwitters’ Merzbau.
These gigantic and superhuman actions reveal an attempt to cope with psychic space by means of physical action in a real place. When someone enters such psychically organized space the borders of a private psychosis of its creator are violated. Such places are most often closed and hidden in interiors which perforce reveal the psychical landscape of their ‘architects’.
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Centre of Contemporary Art Znaki Czasu in Torun
Waly gen. Sikorskiego 13
87-100 Torun, Poland
www.csw.torun.pl
For more information:
Kasia Toczko
katarzyna.toczko@csw.torun.pl
tel. +48 56 610 97 23
mob. +48 666 871 624
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