On the Ground : Naoshima Island, 2013

August 30, 2013

An island known for contemporary art located in the Seto Inland Sea in Japan. One of the most magical places I have been to.

In 1988 Soichiro Fukutake announced that he had a plan to make Naoshima an 'Island of Art'. the scheme was to place works of art and construct museums on the island to make the whole area an exhibition site. The remnants of old houses that used to be prosperous roughly two hundred years ago were remodelled into exhibition spaces.

The Chichu Art Museum

The Chichu Art Museum (which literally means "art museum in the earth") is a museum built directly into a southern portion of the island of Naoshima. Designed by Japan's most prominent architect Tadao Ando, It exists as part of an ongoing initiative to "rethink the relationship between nature and people" and is one of several arts-related sites on the island. The site features permanent installations by Walter De Maria and James Turrell, as well as painted works in the Water Lilies series by Claude Monet.

Lee Ufan Museum

Opened in time for the 2010 Setouchi Triennale, the Lee Ufan Museum is one of the more recent additions to Naoshima. On display are large installations made of stone, concrete and huge slabs of iron, as well as a number of paintings from earlier in his career. The museum is also designed by Ando.

Benesse House Museum

Tadao Ando Museum

A Tadao Ando-designed inner space, framed by unadorned concrete walls, infuses this about 100-year-old traditional wooden house in Honmura with new life. Here, contrasting elements of past/present, wood/concrete, and light/shadow overlap in a microcosm of Ando's architectural style.

On the Ground: 2nd Aichi Triennale, 2013

August 20, 2013

Japan

Awakening — Where Are We Standing? — Earth, Memory and Resurrection.

The 2nd Aichi Triennale, curated by Taro Igarashi, runs from August 8 – October 27, 2013. In addition to the venues in the main city of Nagoya, for the first time the event also takes place at various locations in Okazaki. It is the first major exhibition in Japan since the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. The title “Awakening — Where Are We Standing? — Earth, Memory and Resurrection,” in Japanese literally means ‘shaking earth,’ yet the curators stress that the triennale is not intended to be explicitly about the event, but aims to spark a wider discussion about human irresponsibility, loss, tragedy and renewal - as Igarashi says “it is a critical situation where the place we stand and our identities are fluctuating.” It is an ambitious undertaking with 76 participating artists, 50% of those international, leading it to be considered the largest contemporary art event in Japan.

Part of a series titled “Blue Print” by the architectural group Open United Studio, which aims to evoke the memories of various global cities. Fushimi Underground Shopping Street.

Choja-machi site, Nagoya.

Scattered with signboards stating “Choja-machi textile town,” the area’s past as one of the three thriving textile towns after the war is evident. Although it was affected by the recession, in recent years the area has seen studios and galleries breathing a new life into it and the vacant buildings are now being used to exhibit art.

Wall painting on the former Tamaya building by Portuguese artist Rigo 23 who was inspired by a 1952 photograph of Nagoya workers perched on ladders. Choja-machi site.

Marlon Griffiths (b.1976) working in his open studio. Griffiths started out designing Mas (masquerade) costumes for the Carnival in his hometown of Trinidad and Tobago. Choja-machi area. — Marlon Griffiths (b.1976) working in his open studio. Griffiths started out designing Mas (masquerade) costumes for the Carnival in his hometown of Trinidad and Tobago. Choja-machi area.

Aichi Arts Centre and Aichi Prefectural Museum, Nagoya.

The Aichi Arts Center. Comprised of twelve floors above ground and five floors below ground it also houses an art museum, rental gallery, art theaters, the Aichi Prefectural Arts Promotion Service, and the Art Library. The Aichi Prefectural Museum i… — The Aichi Arts Center. Comprised of twelve floors above ground and five floors below ground it also houses an art museum, rental gallery, art theaters, the Aichi Prefectural Arts Promotion Service, and the Art Library. The Aichi Prefectural Museum is located on the tenth floor.

Romanian artist Dan Perjovschi’s The Top Drawing, 2013 on the window of the 11th floor-viewing balcony of the Aichi Arts Center. — Romanian artist Dan Perjovschi’s *The Top Drawing,* 2013 on the window of the 11th floor-viewing balcony of the Aichi Arts Center.

Song Dong with his installation “Wisdom of the Poor” 2010-2013, a work the artist has been developing for years which looks at the importance of borrowing. He believes people work in the same way as politics, moving their borders and terri… — Song Dong with his installation “Wisdom of the Poor” 2010-2013, a work the artist has been developing for years which looks at the importance of borrowing. He believes people work in the same way as politics, moving their borders and territories to claim more power. Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art.

Han Feng, Floating City, 2008. Tracing paper (laser print) and fish tackle thread. 150 x 600 cm. Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art. — Han Feng, *Floating Cit*y, 2008. Tracing paper (laser print) and fish tackle thread. 150 x 600 cm. Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art.

Architecture historian and member of ROJI, Fujimori Terunobu’s Flying Mud Boat, 2010. Installed outside the Nagoya City Art Museum. — Architecture historian and member of ROJI, Fujimori Terunobu’s Flying Mud Boat, 2010. Installed outside the Nagoya City Art Museum.

Toyo Logistics Building, Nayabashi area

A warehouse with a structure originally built for a bowling alley. This is the last time it is being used by the triennale.

site-specific installation Lane 61, 2013. Wilson explains that bowling acts as a metaphor for life; the ball rolls down knocking everything over, yet the pins always come back up. Toyo Logistics Building. — site-specific installation *Lane 61*, 2013. Wilson explains that bowling acts as a metaphor for life; the ball rolls down knocking everything over, yet the pins always come back up. Toyo Logistics Building.

A dramatic foam landscape continually changes in shape by the Japanese artist Nawa Kohei. Third floor of the Toyo Logistics Building.

Okazaki area

30 minutes by train from Nagoya and located in the center of the former Mikawa Province, Okazaki city was once a bustling castle town. This is the first time the area has been used for the triennale.

LA-based artists Alain Guerra and Neraldo de la Paz, collectively known as Guerra de la Paz, pictured in front of Secret Garden, 2013 on the unused top floor of a shopping mall in the Higashi Okazaki Station. While they generally… — LA-based artists Alain Guerra and Neraldo de la Paz, collectively known as Guerra de la Paz, pictured in front of *Secret Garden*, 2013 on the unused top floor of a shopping mall in the Higashi Okazaki Station. While they generally source their materials from the waste bins of second-hand goods shipping companies in Miami’s Little Haiti, for their site-specific work at the Aichi Triennale they use clothes from the factories in Ozahaki. Okazaki site.

Secret Garden, detail. — *Secret Garden,* detail.

Palestinian-born UK-based artist Bashir Makhoul's installation Ghost, Exit Ghost, 2012 - a 100m long cardboard maze that eventually leads to an Arab town or refugee camp. Images of East Jerusalem and a Palestinian refugee camp change as th… — Palestinian-born UK-based artist Bashir Makhoul's installation Ghost, Exit Ghost, 2012 - a 100m long cardboard maze that eventually leads to an Arab town or refugee camp. Images of East Jerusalem and a Palestinian refugee camp change as the viewer walks past. Okazaki CIBICO.

On the Ground : Sharjah Biennial 11, 2013

June 4, 2013

Sharjah Biennial 11. Re-Emerge: Towards a new Cultural Cartography

External View of the Sharjah Art Museum. Photo: Lucy Rees.

Inspired by the courtyard in Islamic architecture — in particular the historical courtyards of Sharjah, where elements of both public and private life intertwine — the curator Yuko Hasegawa proposes a new cultural cartography that reconsiders the relationships between the Arab world, Asia, the Far East, through North Africa to Latin America.

Zeinab Alhashemi. Circumvolution State of Mind. 2013. Site-specific installation, metal string, traditional fish trap. Photo: Lucy Rees.

Courtyard in Sharjah Heritage Area. Photo: Lucy Rees

External view of Thilo Frank's Infinite Rock. 2013. Mixed media, steel, aluminum, fabric, glass mirrors, wood, rope, light, swing. Photo: Lucy Rees. — External view of Thilo Frank's *Infinite Rock*. 2013. Mixed media, steel, aluminum, fabric, glass mirrors, wood, rope, light, swing. Photo: Lucy Rees.

Thilo Frank's Infinite Rock. 2013. Mixed media, steel, aluminum, fabric, glass mirrors, wood, rope, light, swing. Photo: Lucy Rees. — Thilo Frank's *Infinite Rock*. 2013. Mixed media, steel, aluminum, fabric, glass mirrors, wood, rope, light, swing. Photo: Lucy Rees.

The opening of SB11 marked the inauguration of SAF's five new multi-functional art spaces, which have been in development since 2009. With approximately 20,000 square feet of interior space, connected by open-air courtyards and roof-top terraces, these new spaces will provide venues for SAF's growing activities and the increasing needs of its community.

Francis Alys, Don’t Cross the Bridge Before You Get to the River. 2008.  Videos, paintings, drawings, sculpture and photographic installation. In collaboration with Julien Devaux, Rafael Ortega, Felix Blume, Ivan Bocara, Jimena Blasquez, Robert… — Francis Alys, Don’t Cross the Bridge Before You Get to the River. 2008. Videos, paintings, drawings, sculpture and photographic installation. In collaboration with Julien Devaux, Rafael Ortega, Felix Blume, Ivan Bocara, Jimena Blasquez, Roberto Rubalcava, Begoña Rey, Abbas Benhnin and the kids of Tarifa and Tangier. Courtesy the artist. Photo: Haupt & Binder.

Monir Farmanfarmaian, Untitled 8 and Untitled 1. Mirror and reverse glass painting on plaster and wood. Photo: Haupt & binder.

Wei Liu: Merely a Mistake II. 2009-13 Exotic Lands. 2013. Installation with doors and door frames. New SAF spaces. Photo: Haupt & Binder. — Wei Liu: Merely a Mistake II. 2009-13 Exotic Lands. 2013. Installation with doors and door frames. New SAF spaces. Photo: Haupt & Binder.

Near the Sharjah heritage area on Bank Street, works could be found in the Sharjah Islamic Bank—a 1970s building soon to be demolished for reconstructing heritage housing. Sara Ramo's site-specific installation made an interesting use of the top floor.

External view of the Sharjah Islamic Bank. Photo: Haupt & Binder.

Sara Ramo, The Garden From Free Zone. 2013 Site-specific installation, varied objects found inside the bank building and the basement of the Culture Department located in the Free Zone of Sharjah. Photo: Haupt & Binder.

On the Ground : 'Birth of a Museum' in Abu Dhabi, 2013

May 3, 2013

Model of Saadiyat Island Cultural District. The completed cultural district will include the Zayed National Museum, Louvre Abu Dhabi, Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, Maritime Museum, and a Performing Arts Centre. The district already includes the Manarat Al … — Model of Saadiyat Island Cultural District. The completed cultural district will include the Zayed National Museum, Louvre Abu Dhabi, Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, Maritime Museum, and a Performing Arts Centre. The district already includes the Manarat Al Saadiyat (open since 2009) and the UAE Pavilion (2011). Photo: Lucy Rees

I recently attended the opening of the much anticipated exhibition, “Birth of a Museum,” on April 22, 2013 in the galleries of Manarat Al Saadiyat - the exhibition centre on Saadiyat island where the Louvre Abu Dhabi is currently under construction.

It is the first large-scale presentation of a selection of the museum’s permanent collection. Divided into 10 thematic sections, on display are 130 of the 460 artworks already acquired.

Following a number of delays and setbacks with the museum’s construction, the exhibition gives the viewer a hint of what is being created prior to the museum’s actual opening in 2015.

Designed by Jean Nouvel, the construction of the building began in 2009 and was initially expected to open in 2012. HE Sheikh Sultan bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan, Chairman of Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority, says the exhibition aims “to evoke the Louvre Abu Dhabi’s ambiance and aesthetics, and to begin to tell the story of the birth of this museum.”

The exhibition runs from April 22 - 20 July 2013 in Abu Dhabi and will then be presented at the Louvre Paris in October 2013.

HE Mubarak Al Muhairi, Director General, Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority, HE Zaki Nusseibeh, Adviser Ministry of Presidential Affairs and Rita Aoun-Abdo, Executive Director, Culture Sector, Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority. Photo… — HE Mubarak Al Muhairi, Director General, Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority, HE Zaki Nusseibeh, Adviser Ministry of Presidential Affairs and Rita Aoun-Abdo, Executive Director, Culture Sector, Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority. Photo: Lucy Rees

Standing outside the Manarat Al Saadiyat. Photo: Lucy Rees

UAE Nationals and diplomats line up for the “Birth of a Museum” opening, Abu Dhabi. Photo: Lucy Rees.

Pablo Picasso, Portrait of a Lady, 1928. A practically unknown work, it has never been exhibited before, and only mentioned in A Life of Picasso: The Triumphant Years 1917-1932 by John Richardson. It was purchased by the Louvre Abu Dhabi in 2012. P… — Pablo Picasso, Portrait of a Lady, 1928. A practically unknown work, it has never been exhibited before, and only mentioned in A Life of Picasso: The Triumphant Years 1917-1932 by John Richardson. It was purchased by the Louvre Abu Dhabi in 2012. Photo: Lucy Rees

Architect Jean Nouvel and friend at the exhibition opening. Photo: Lucy Rees.

Opening night at the Manarat al Saadiyat exhibition centre. Photo: Lucy Rees

Bactrian Princess. Central Asia, late third millennium BCE – early second millennium. Chlorite for the body and headdress, calcite for the face. 25cm.

Read my article about the exhibition in Flash Art International here

On the Ground : Gallery hopping in Dubai

April 27, 2013

After a fantastic couple of days in Abu Dhabi for the "Birth of a Museum" exhibition opening (April 22 – 20 July 2013), I headed north to Dubai where I planned to spend just one night. Having never been before, upon arrival I immediately realised that I needed more time.

DIFC

First stop was a visit the commercial galleries at the DIFC - a Federal Financial Free Zone administered by the Government of Dubai. Free zones in Dubai stimulate business growth by providing ownership, tax incentives and assistance in setting up companies in the UAE.

Nestled among the banks and financial institutions are 12 galleries including:

Cuadro Fine Art Gallery

Farjam Collection

Opera Gallery

the Empty Quarter Fine Art Photography

Alserkal Avenue

I then spent the afternoon at Alserkal Avenue with the director of Cultural Development, Vilma Jurkute. Developed by Mr. Abdelmonem Bin Eisa Alserkal, the industrial precinct featuring desiccated row of warehouses has become a vibrant cultural hub in Dubai housing 25 creative spaces including art galleries, a private art museum and auction house.

Among the galleries are:

Ayyam Gallery

Carbon12

Etemad Gallery

Gallery Isabelle Van Den Eynde

Green Art Gallery

Grey Noise

Lawrie Shabibi

Salsali Private Museum

There are plans in place to expand the Avenue by 2014.

Update: The district laid its first foundation for its 250 000 sq. ft. expansion in Al Quoz in November 2013 doubling its size with a private investment of 50 Mln AED (13.8 Mln USD) by Alserkal family.

The Third Line, Dubai

After a quick visit to the Gold Souk I attended the opening of an exhibition by New York-based Egyptian photographer Youssef Nabil (b.1972).

His most recent show "Time of Transformation" at The Third Line, Dubai (April 24 - June 12, 2013), reveals Nabil's anguish about the changes taking place in Egyptian society after the recent revolution.

Youssef Nabil (b.1972) pictured at the opening of his exhibition, Third Line Gallery, Dubai. Photo: Lucy Rees.

Above, he stands in front of two works from “The Veiled Women” series where he asked well-known women artists, actors and musicians such as Catherine Deneuve, Isabella Rosselini and Alicia Keys to pose for him wearing the traditional Middle Eastern veil.

In the above “Transformation” panels, Nabil asked performance artist Marina Abramovich and actress  Idasabelle Huppert too act out their interpretation of what the artist is feeling. Photo: Lucy Rees. — In the above “Transformation” panels, Nabil asked performance artist Marina Abramovich and actress Idasabelle Huppert too act out their interpretation of what the artist is feeling. Photo: Lucy Rees.

On the Ground : Gwangju Biennale, 2013

November 18, 2012

Gwangju Korea

7 September – 11 November 2012

Roundtable

Founded in 1995 by Yongwoo Lee in memory of the civil uprising of the 1980 repression of the Gwangju Democratization Movement, the Gwangju Biennale is Asia’s oldest biennial of contemporary art.

This 9th edition ROUNDTABLE is curated by a group of six Asian women: Sunjung Kim, Mami Kataoka, Carol Yinghua Lu, Nancy Adajania, Wassan Al-Khudhairi, and Alia Swastika. Derived from their working method method of being geographically distant, the theme is intended as a non-hierarchal exchange concerning global cultural production and is articulated by the following six subthemes: Logging In and Out of Collectivity / Re-visiting History / Transient Encounters / Intimacy, Autonomy and Anonymity / Back to the Individual Experience / Impact of Mobility on Space and Time.

Read my interview with the curators here

On the Ground : Doha, 2012

July 4, 2012

Earlier this year I travelled to Doha, Qatar to see Takashi Murakami's exhibition "Ego" curated by Massimiliano Gioni. While I was a first-timer to the region, Fiammetta Rocco (The Economist's Editor of Books and Art) had first visited the city 20 years ago and pointed out some of the staggering changes to the landscape. In an article, "Qatar’s culture queen" March 2012 the following excerpt is particularly insightful:

"Until the 1980s Qatar was little more than a sandy backwater. Even its native pearl industry was on its last legs. The discovery of oil and, later, of the third-largest gas reserves in the world have made the pear-shaped peninsula unusually rich. In 2010 its tiny population had the third highest per capita GDP in the world and its economy grew by 16.6%, faster than any other. But even Qatar's oil and gas will one day run out. Transforming the country from a hydrocarbon economy to a knowledge economy in time for the post-oil afterlife is the local mantra."

The Art Newspaper named Qatar the world’s biggest buyer in the art market—by value, at any rate—and is behind most of the major modern and contemporary art deals over the past six years Over the past seven years, the Qatari royal family has spent an estimated £1bn on Western art.

Massimiliano Gioni standing by the Arhat painting. © Lucy Rees — Massimiliano Gioni standing by the Arhat painting. © Lucy Rees

Takashi Murakami's Ego was a splendid affair, and the artist's largest show ever. Hosted at the Al Riwaq exhibition space adjacent to the Museum of Islamic Art, the exhibition was housed in 10 galleries. The piece de resistance was surely the 100m long Arhat Painting.

Spotted at the "Murakami Ego" opening party were mega dealer Larry Gagosian and Ukraine's Victor Pinchuk among many other curators, dealers and collectors.

Over the next three days we visited the permanent collection of the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) before checking out American sculptor Richard Serra's landmark 78-foot structure "7". Situated on a man-made 250 foot projection of land surrounded by water, the sculpture is part of the sixty-two acre park outside Qatar's Museum of Islamic Art. Made of steel, the piece is intended to eventually reach a rusted shade. Titled "7" the sculpture consists of seven steel plates-- each eight feet wide, four inches thick, and twenty-four meters high and are arranged to form three triangular openings into which the we may enter. The number 7 is said to be a digit which has had scientific and spiritual significance.

Installation view of Cai Guo-Qiang: Saraab. © Lucy Rees

Installation view of Cai Guo-Qiang: Saraab. Mathaf Museum. Doha, Qatar. © Lucy Rees

The late French American artist Louise Bourgeois had 32 pieces on display in an exhibition titled "Conscious and Unconscious" at the QMA Gallery. The first in-depth survey of the work of this artist in the middle east consisted of sculptures, installation works, gouaches, and fabric pieces dated from 1947 to 2009. "In a body of work dominated by dualities and polarities – active and passive, male and female, figurative and abstract, geometric and organic, mother and father, murder and suicide – the dynamic between conscious and unconscious is perhaps the most significant."