Published by Motto Books

Catalogue of Theodora Allen’s solo exhibition Saturnine
Kunsthal Aarhus
14.05–18.07.2021

On a summer evening in July 1610, under the humid Padua sky, Galileo peered through his crude telescope to discover the rings of Saturn, the furthest planet then known. While Galileo set his sight on Saturn, it came into view slowly. Ancient Greek and Roman theory, and later medieval psychology, had correlated four planets with each of the elements and temporal ‘humours’; Jupiter’s persuasion prevailed in the blood and affected a sanguine nature; Mars ruled aggression; the moon was cause for an apathetic disposition. The fourth and final humour, inspired by ringed Saturn, was responsible for melancholy. It is for this reason we have the term ‘saturnine’ to describe sadness. The sight of Saturn is one of sorrow.

Kunsthal Aarhus presents Saturnine, the first institutional solo exhibition of Los Angeles-based contemporary artist Theodora Allen. Interweaving the artist’s emblematic use of symbols, the exhibition engages with a history of Saturn, the celestial body said to have been the cause of a melancholic disposition – from ancient myth and the Middle Ages through to the present. At times appearing as itself, a large ringed orb, and at others as affect, the figure of the planet joins Allen’s representations of recurrent motifs that are informed by cultural and emotional influence.

Alongside Saturn, depictions of markers such as serpents, wildfires, moths, hourglasses and hallucinogenic plants present a language that is seen rather than uttered. Within the emblematic tradition – a form positioned squarely between visual arts and literature, grappling equally with both image and text – Allen’s compositions exist as propositions of impossibilities. As concepts, they transport the viewer elsewhere: into different times, different narratives. Steeped in mythmaking and iconography, the paintings are resonant with the visionary work of poets and painters in early Symbolist graphic arts, as well as resurgences of this aesthetic in the zeitgeist of 1970s California, addressing cyclical, enduring themes of human versus nature that withstand in our contemporary moment.

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In the exhibition “The scene in which I find myself / Or, where does my body belong” Ruth Buchanan presented 50 years of collecting at the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, Aotearoa New Zealand. This show had one core question: where is power centered? Through asking this question Buchanan and the institution have encountered celebratory moments of risk and experimentation and at the same time come face-to-face with the ways in which individual perspectives are encoded into institutions, and society at large, to form what is recognised as important and valuable. The project has made visible what Audre Lorde describes as the problem of the “mythic norm”. The symposium, “Uneven Bodies” acted on the imbalances exposed in the exhibition and invited discussions on considered approaches that weave in and out of the institution in order to re calibrate the ways in which we produce, engage with, and can shape collections. The content is gathered together in its entirety for this reader and acts as a transcript of a live event and holds onto that liveliness through the variety of forms and tones taken in each of the papers. At the same time, each contribution offers in its own way a template for how we can imagine collecting for the future; full of powerful languages we still need to learn how to speak, together.

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Motto Books will participate at the 3rd edition of BOOKED: 2021 Art Book Fair @ Tai Kwun Contemporary. Hong Kong. From 25 to 28 February 2021.

“Je pense aux Bains Douches,
l’endroit où j’ai appris à vivre”*

Issue no. 4 of CURA. Clubbing fanzine is out now! Titled HUBERT and edited by Julie Boukobza, it is dedicated to the iconic Parisian club Les Bains Douches and to its unforgettable founder. Through the words of his two daughters, Julie Boukobza and Lily McMenamy, and an amazing collection of private photographs, published for the first time, the fanzine features an unconventional portrait of one of the protagonists of the clubbing scene and of the place he created.
*(Guillaume Dustan, Nicolas Pages, 1999) Quote sent by Constance Debré

This publication dedicated to the clubbing scene is a special project conceived, designed and published by CURA.

Guest Editor: JULIE BOUKOBZA
Texts: JULIE BOUKOBZA, LILY MCMENAMY
Cover image: CARSTEN HÖLLER

Year: 2021
Edition of 499

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**Edition limited to 200 copies in glossy full-color sleeve**

Planam present the first 7” edition issued in its catalogue, the split-single with consonant musicians Sonic Boom and Papiro. Originally produced as contribution for “Soft Need 23”, a book on Burroughs/Gysin edited by Udo Breger, this 7“ included in the book’s ultra-limited deluxe version is hereby available in its shiny and beautifully repackaged edition. Former Spacemen 3 mastermind and alchemist producer Sonic Boom (aka Pete Kember, E.A.R., Spectrum) offers an unreleased instrumental version of ”Just a Little Piece of Me“, an overture for West-Coast-Style synthesizer and harp, starring a repeating ardent theme. Papiro, who was also responsible for the vivid cover artwork, engraves his side with the electronic lullaby ”Dream Journal (for Udo)“, written purposely for Breger, as the title suggests, and released exclusively for this single. Papiro and Kember are known for their gallant trips between experimental and meditative abstract worlds. This single shows their ability to touch the soul during these ventures.

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Motto is pleased to announce our new collaboration with Polígrafa, Barcelona.

Michael Snow – Sequences – A history of his art, Gloria Moure (Ed.)
Medardo Rosso. Pioneer of Modern Sculpture, Gloria Moure (Ed.)
The Architecture of Life, Iwona Blazwick (Ed.)
Sigmar Polke: Paintings, photographs and films, Gloria Moure (Ed.)
Gordon Matta-Clark – Experience becomes the object, Pedro Donoso (Ed.)
The Feeling of things. Writings on architecture, Adam Caruso (Ed.)
Marcel Broodthaers – Collected Writings, Gloria Moure (Ed.)
Eduardo Chillida. Open-Air Sculptures, Giovanni Carandente (Ed.)
TAKING
 THE COUNTRY’S SIDE. AGRICULTURE AND ARCHITECTURE, Sébastien Marot
ECONOMY OF MEANS, Éric Lapierre
NATURAL BEAUTY, Sébastien Marot
INNER SPACE, Mariabruna Fabrizi and Fosco Lucarelli
QUADERNS #270: Europa Europa, Moisés Puente (Ed.)
QUADERNS #271: About Buildings & Food, Xavier Monteys (Ed.)
QUADERNS #272: Cosmetic Techniques, Nuria Casais, Ferran Grau (Eds.)

All photos are courtesy of the artist and Eirikur Mortagne

List of works:

 1. a Lanscape

 2. Lights

 3. Self-Portrait with Moustaches

 4. Self-Portrait with Moustaches

 5. Various Pens

 6. New Painting

 7. New Painting

 8. New Painting

 9. New Painting

10. Moustaches

11. New Painting

12. New Painting

13. Beer Painting

14. New Painting

15. New Painting

16. New Painting

17. New Painting

18. New Painting

For the next weeks, we’ll try to send online orders as efficiently as possible. (some information here)

Order 2 books and get 1 surprise book for free.

Order 5 books, and get 2 surprise books for free.

Every order above 50€ gets a free Erik Steinbrecher ephemera or poster.

We offer free delivery in Berlin, within reasonable distance, until we can’t do it.

Write us with any requests to: support (at) mottodistribution.com