Move over vaporetti — there’s a new barge in town. Slated to gracing the banks of the Grand Canal in Venice over the past five days was a project by The Garage Center for Contemporary Culture, entitled “Commercial Break.” The exhibition is organized by Neville Wakefield, a contemporary art writer prolific curator globally. Powered by POST Magazine, “Commercial Break” considers itself to be a provocative architectural intervention in a city where no advertising is traditionally displayed. Unfortunately, as Artinfo reported, the city pulled permits a few days before and the videos were instead screened at the project’s Bauer Hotel party. The woman behind the “GCCC” is Dasha Zukhova, girlfriend of Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich; it is the institution’s second project in Venice. All videos are now viewable on the exhibition’s website.
Among videos featured is one by  Richard Phillips, starring Lindsey Lohan.
More text and images after the jump…
The exhibition’s curator, Neville Wakefield. Image courtesy Frieze Art Fair 2008.
Wakefield is the author of ‘Postmodernism: the Twilight of the Real’ (1990), and contributor to Artforum, Art+Auction, Art in America, I-D, Interview, The New York Sunday Times, American, British and Italian Vogue, High Times, ACNE Paper, and many others. He has been greatly responsible for curating the Frieze art fair in London. As well as contributing to monographs on many significant artists including Matthew Barney, Dan Colen, Vija Celmins, Daido Moriyama, Richard Prince, Ed Ruscha and Rachel Whiteread, Wakefield co-edited the highly influential ‘Fashion: Photography of the Nineties’ (1996), was creative director of Tar Magazine and continues to work as creative director for Adam Kimmel Projects and creative consultant for Calvin Klein.
In 2005 he co-founded ‘Destricted’, an ongoing series of pornographic films by artists such as Marina Abramovic, Larry Clark, Gaspar Noe which shook critics at Edinburgh, Lorcarno, Sundance and Cannes. Since then he has also served as Senior Curatorial Advisor for PS1 MoMA and Curator of Frieze Projects at the Frieze Art Fair. Recent shows include ‘Matthew Barney: Prayer Sheet with Wound and Nail’ (Schaulager 2010) and the upcoming ‘Jack Smith: Thanks for Explaining Me,’ at Barbara Gladstone.
A still from Marilyn Minter’s Green Pink Caviar (2009). All video stills courtesy Commercial Break.
The “Commercial Break” project also boasts an iPad application (created by POST), “the world’s first magazine created specifically for the iPad” which will grant readers access to artists and films for the duration of the project.
Among participating artists of Commercial Break are: Aaron Young; Adam McEwen; Adel Abdessemed; AES + F; Agathe Snow; Agnieszka Kurant; Ahmet Ogut; Aida Ruilova; Aleksandra Mir; Alex Hubbard; Andrea Chung; Annika Larsson; Anton Ginzburg; Ari Marcopoulos; Assume Vivid Astro Focus; Baptist Coelho; Barbara Kruger; Blue Soup Group; Brendan Fowler; Bruce High Quality Foundation; Cevdet Erek; Christian Jankowski; Collier Schorr; Cyprien Gaillard; Dan Colen and Nate Lowman; Daniel Newman; Dima Gutov; Dmitry Bulnygin; Dominic Nurre; Dzine; Electroboutique; Eloise Fornieles; Erika Verzutti; Gardar Eide Einarsson; Gelitin; Gillian Wearing; Hanif Kureshi; Hank Willis Thomas; Hans Op De Beek; Helmut Lang; Heman Chong; Hu Jieming; Huang Kui; Ilya Korobkov; Janaina Tschäpe; JD Walsh; Jen DeNike; Jennifer Wen Ma; Jeppe Hein; Jitish Kallat; Johan Grimonprez; John Pilson;Jonathan Horowitz; Josephine Meckseper; Julião Sarmento; Kaari Upson; Karen Kilimnik; Kon Trubkovich; Kris Martin; Lais Myrrha; Lara Favaretto; LaToya Ruby Frazier; Liz Cohen; Liz Magic Laser; Lu Yang; Marcel Odenbach; Marco Brambilla; Marcos Chaves; Maria Petschnig; Marilyn Minter; Martin Murphy; Martynka Wawrzyniak; Matias Faldbakken; Matthew Day Jackson; Maurizio Cattelan; Melodie Mousset; Meredith Danluck; Michael Sailstorfer; Mika Rottenberg; Mike Bouchet; Miltos Manetas; Monica Narula; Munir Kabani; Narendra Yadav; Natalie Czech; Nicolas Provost; Norma Jeane; Olaf Breuning; Olympia Scarry; Paola Pivi; Paolo Canevari; Pascual Sisto; Pavel Buchler; Peter Coffin; Pinar Yolacan; Prasad Raghavan; Rashaad Newsome; Raymond Pettibon; Richard Phillips; Rirkrit Tiravanija; Riyas Komu; Rodrigo Matheus; Ruangrupa; Ruben Bellinkx; Ryan Gander; Ryan McNamara; Ryan Trecartin; Samar Jodha; Sara Ramo; Sarah Morris; Scott King; Sergey Bratkov; Shreyas Karle; Shwetal Patel; Slater Bradley; Stefan Brüggemann; Sudarshan Shetty; SUPERFLEX; Terence Koh; The Propeller Group; Thiago Rocha Pitta; Tintin Wulia; Tom Sachs; Tony Oursler; Uri Aran; Valeska Soares; Vanessa Beecroft; Wilfredo Prieto; Wilhelm Sasnal; Xu Tan; Yi Zhou; Yoshua Okon; and Zhou Xiaohu.
Hosted by Dasha Zhukova, Alexander Dellal, Neville Wakefield, and Garage Projects at the Bauer Hotel, the list of star-studded attendees who were present at the official party is equally as long. It includes Terence Koh, Richard Phillips, Josephine Meckseper, and Aaron Young. Other notable attendees from the music, fashion, and design world were Courtney Love, members of Maroon 5, Olympia Scarry (Wakefield’s girlfriend), Charlotte Casiraghi, Riccardo Tisci, Margherita Missoni, Eugenie Niarchos, and Tatiana Santo Domingo.
Marysia Wawrzynia’s Chocolate
The scene outside the party for Commercial Break, image courtesy Artinfo.
Dasha Zhukova with Olympia Scarry and friend, image courtesy Artinfo.
Guests at the party: Princess Charlotte Casiraghi, Margherita Missoni, Derek Blasberg, Eugenie Niarchos, and Tatiana Santo Domingo, image courtesy Artinfo.
Richard Phillips and Josephine Meckseper
– J. Lindblad
Related Links:
Exhibition Site [Commercial Break]
Institution Site [Garage Center for Contemporary Culture]
Video Teaser [POST Magazine, via Youtube]
Dasha Dasha Dasha [WSJ]
Stampede of the Glitterati: Stars Swarm Dasha Zhukova’s “Commercial Break” Party at the Bauer Hotel [Artinfo]
Artifacts: Lindsey Lohan, Art Star [NYT – T Magazine]
Visiting Artist: Martynka Wawrzyniak [NYT – T Magazine]
