Rabih Mroué Interviews. Nadim Samman (Ed.). Hatje Cantz

Posted in Exhibition catalogue, politics on July 16th, 2022
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A leading voice in Lebanon’s cultural diaspora, Rabih Mroué’s acclaimed body of work addresses the contested memory of historical events that include the Lebanese civil war, the Arab Spring, and the Syrian Revolution. Spanning theater, art, and literature, his diverse oeuvre is situated at the intersection of personal and political imaginaries, media critique, and concepts of authorship: Through scripted conversations, confessions, reports, and questions, Mroué ceaselessly interrogates ways of speaking.

Published to coincide with his major solo exhibition at KW Institute for Contemporary Art, marking his receipt of the 2020 Schering Award for Artistic Research, this anthology of interviews frames the past 20 years of Mroué’s practice. Additionally, a suite of newly commissioned interviews and an introductory essay by the curator Nadim Samman draw a portrait of the artist.

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The Recovery of Discovery. Cyprien Gaillard. Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther König

Posted in Exhibition catalogue on September 13th, 2012
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The Recovery of Discovery, Cyprien Gaillard, published by Verlag der Buschhandlung Walther König.

Die Erhaltung eines Monuments scheint auch immer seine Zerstörung zu beinhalten. Um städtische Architekturen, Kulturdenkmäler und Reliquien zu bewahren, erfolgt nicht selten ihre Überführung an andere Orte. Der Transfer ändert nicht nur die Geschichte des Ursprungsortes, sondern führt auch zu einer brachialen Umdeutung des vor der Zerstörung Bewahrten. Für seine Ausstellung in den KW Institute for Contemporary Art schuf Cyprien Gaillard (geboren 1980 in Paris) eine neue, raumgreifende Arbeit, die erst durch die aktive Mißachtung ihrer Form die Komplexität ihrer Bezüge aufzeigt. Gleich einer öffentlichen Amnesie, verloren in der ausweglosen Interaktion mit dokumentiert in einer langen Kleinbildserie die völlige Zerstörung der Pyramide.
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Preserving a monument goes hand in hand with destroying it. In order to preserve architecture, cultural monuments and relics, they are often relocated, allowing urban displacement to arise – leading to the disappearance of the concept of autonomous geography and archeology. The dislocation of a monument does not only alter the history of its original location, but also leads to a radical re-interpretation of the monument itself. For his exhibition at KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Cyprien Gaillard created a new work containing complex implications, which will only be revealed through an act of complete defiance. Similar to public amnesia, lost in the hopeless interaction with the monument, the gradual destruction
becomes a part of the aesthetic of resistance. The catalogue which is published on the occasion of the exhibition “Cyprien Gaillard. The Recovery of Discovery” at KW Institute of Contemporary Art in Berlin, depicts the gradual destruction of the sculpture and includes contributions by Hal Foster, Marion von Osten, and Susanne Pfeffer as well as a conversation with Cyprien Gaillard and Susanne Pfeffer.

D 22€

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