Mona Hatoum, Light Sentence (1992), Courtesy of Centre Pompidou

In her major retrospective exhibition, showcasing thirty-five years of ambitious and uncomfortable works, Beirut-based artist Mona Hatoum traces the scope her creative career, addressing her own political and aesthetic concerns in relation to nationality, identity, and spatial politics.  Drawing inspiration from her Middle Eastern roots and the thematic interests of Surrealism, Minimalism and conceptual art, her exhibition shows over 100 works created from the mid-1970’s to the present day, including performances, installation, video, photography and sculpture. (more…)

Image: Frieze London Courtesy Frieze

Exhibitors are gearing up for the tenth edition of Frieze London, which takes place in London’s Regent’s Park from October 11–14th. The fair kicks off with a vernissage on the evening of Wednesday, October 10th, once again housed in a temporary structure designed by architects Carmody Groarke.

Although mostly composed of UK and US galleries (almost exclusively from London and New York) account for 45% of the main fair, fair organizers are broadening the scope this year, with new sections and exhibitors from 35 countries, making it the most international event to date organized by Frieze.

Image: Mona Hatoum, KAPANCIK, 2012 Courtesy White Cube Gallery

(more…)

Mona Hatoum, Suspended (2011). All images via White Cube.

Installed on three floors of White Cube Mason’s Yard in London is an exhibition showcasing new work by Mona Hatoum titled Bunker, now on view through April 2nd. Hatoum recently made headlines by joining a group of artists in threatening to boycott the Guggenheim due to allegations that the museum is mistreating laborers constructing the Abu Dhabi branch. While Bunker does not specifically address the boycott, the themes of displacement and violence permeate this latest body of work.

Mona Hatoum, Bunker (2011)

More text and images after the jump…

(more…)

Mona Hatoum. Via Art Daily

Palestinian-British artist Mona Hatoum has just been announced the 2011 winner of the Joan Miró Prize. This prestigious €70,000 award is granted biennially, with the ceremony taking place at the Fundació Joan Miró auditorium in Barcelona on April 7 this year, with the artist’s following exhibition taking place there in June 2012. The jury made the decision unanimously, stating that Hatoum “has pioneered in opening up art practices to non-Western realities while showing the connections between Western high culture and transnational political and cultural events. After Hatoum, the art world has become a far more open and less self-centred arena, a process that is still in expansion and consolidation. Hatoum’s commitment to human values of concern to all cultures and societies is similar to Miró’s view of mankind after his experience of three devastating wars,” according to Art Daily.

Andre Ricard, Joan Miró Trophy (2007). Via Fundació Joan Miró

More text and images after the jump…

(more…)

Mona Hatoum, Current Disturbance (2010) via www.aliraqi.org

Current Disturbance is a singular installation that fills a room at the Whitechapel Gallery in London, the third in a series of four displays from the Daskalopoulos Collection in Greece. Using Marcel Duchamp’s infamous “Fountain” as a starting point, “Keeping It Real: An Exhibition in 4 Acts” seeks to explore the line between art and reality and the relationship between the artist and the tactile world.  British – Palestinian artist Mona Hatoum‘s light-filled creation was first shown in 1996 at the Capp Street Project, San Francisco and is now being shown through March as a part of Whitechapel Gallery’s initiative to open private collections for public viewing. The installation is comprised of stacked wire cages, a multiplicity of light bulbs and the amplified sound of the electric currents coursing through the enclosed system. The interminable low buzz emitting from the structure, combined with the arbitrary flickering of light bulbs conveys a certain sense of discomfort and oppression that provides an open-ended commentary much in keeping with Hatoum’s widely political body of work.

more images and story after the jump…

(more…)

Eva Rothschild at Tate Britain. Via Art Knowledge News.

The Duveen Comission series presents a hitherto relatively unknown artist, Eva Rothschild, at the Tate Britain.  The exhibition consists of just one work, which fills the 70-meter space.  Accordingly, the piece explores volume and space, as it (per Tate) “fills and disrupts the grandeur of these neoclassical galleries with a chaotic, energetic presence.”  Says the artist, “I’m hoping to create something that will agitate the architecture of the Duveens Galleries, tangling with your perception of the space.”

Related links:
Tate Britain: British Art from 1500
Tate: Tate Britian Duveens Commission 2009 Supported by Sotheby’s
Lost in triangulation [The Guardian UK]
Eva Rothschild’s Tate Britain girders get an angle on high-minded art [Times UK]
Eva Rothschild to Create Tate Britain Duveens Commission 2009 [FineArtPublicity]
Little-known artist takes over the Tate [The Independent]

Eva Rothschild at Tate Britian, via The Guardian.

(more…)

Mona Hatoum’s Impenetrable, from her show “Interior Landscapes.” Courtesy Fondazione Querini Stampalia, Venezia.

Mona Hatoum’s solo show “Interior Landscapes” runs from June 4 to September 30 at the Palazzo Querini Stampalia.  Curated by Chiara Bertola, the exhibition shows 29 works, most of them new, by the artist.  The show is part of an ongoing series of projects entitled “Conservare il futuro (Preserving the Future)” that explores the relationship between historic and contemporary art.

Related links:
Fondazione Scientifica Querini Stampalia
Mona Hatoum [White Cube]
Mona Hatoum [Alexander and Bonin]

(more…)