Sol LeWitt. A Tribute

Exposición / GEM - Museum of contemporary art / Stadhouderslaan, 43 / The Hague, Zuid-Holland, Holanda
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Cuándo:
17 dic de 2016 - 09 abr de 2017

Inauguración:
17 dic de 2016

Organizada por:
Kunstmuseum Den Haag

Artistas participantes:
Jose Dávila, Sol LeWitt

       

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Catálogo de "Sol LeWitt. A Tribute"

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Descripción de la Exposición

Ten years after his death, the Gemeentemuseum Den Haag is paying tribute to American artist Sol LeWitt – pioneer of Minimal and Conceptual Art – with an exhibition featuring contributions by trendsetters on the current international art scene: Jose Dávila, Susan Hefuna, Esther Tielemans and Rana Begum. Sol LeWitt Sol LeWitt (1928-2007) was one of the main founders of Conceptual Art and the American Minimal Art movement. His wall drawings and sculptures are world-famous, as is his radical view that the idea or concept of an artwork is more important than its execution. In the 1960s, his conceptual approach was a radical break with the past and an assault on the centuries-old principle of the artist as an individual genius. LeWitt’s association with the Gemeentemuseum goes back a long way: as long ago as 1968, it was the Gemeentemuseum that held Europe’s first ever Minimal Art exhibition. Two years later, it followed up with LeWitt’s first solo exhibition in any European museum. Over time, a number of the artist’s works were acquired for the museum’s collection. They include the five geometrical shapes displayed on the outer wall of the GEM and the wall paintings in the foyer of the Gemeentemuseum, executed by assistants of LeWitt. New generation The tribute show in the newly renovated GEM marks a new chapter in the relationship between LeWitt and the Gemeentemuseum. Using works on paper, designs, a wall drawing and the complex structure Serial Project No. 1 (Set B) (1966-1970), the exhibition will demonstrate the versatility of an artist who himself declared that he was in love with the Hague museum because of its architecture and wealth of Mondrians. Sol LeWitt. A tribute will bring LeWitt’s historically important works face to face with works by a new generation that is building on his legacy: four artists at the cutting edge of international developments, who experiment with pure geometrical forms, challenge the sterile, highbrow image of abstract art, or strive to achieve a pure form of art that refers to nothing other than its own visible products. Jose Dávila (b. 1974, Mexico) trained as an architect and makes sculptural installations that regularly refer to the avant-garde art and architecture of the twentieth century. His work reveals how Minimal Art has evolved and re-invented itself over time. The cultural background of Susan Hefuna (b. 1962) plays a prominent role in her installations. Taking the traditional mashrabiya window screens of the Arab world as her point of departure, the German Egyptian artist creates geometrical grid structures that recall the formal idiom of Minimal Art but also convey socio-political messages. Rana Begum (b. 1977) is a British artist with roots in Bangladesh and winner of the prestigious Abraaj Group Art Prize 2017. Her work is all about form, colour, spatial relationships and perspective. Her objects are influenced by the formal language of Minimal Art, but also flow from her childhood in Bangladesh, where she grew up among the traditional geometrical Islamic patterns and play of light in local mosques. Dutch artist Esther Tielemans (b. 1976) explores the sculptural qualities of painting. She combines the austerely geometrical and industrial characteristics of Minimal Art with a highly expressive gestural manner of painting to produce ‘three-dimensional paintings’ that engage directly with their surroundings and with the viewer.

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