Aperiatur Terra Anselm Kiefer until 17.03 White Cube, London

White Cube Mason's Yard is pleased to present a new body of work by the internationally acclaimed artist Anselm Kiefer. The exhibition will be staged both at White Cube Mason’s Yard and the Royal Academy of Arts. The title of the exhibition, Aperiatur terra, is a quotation from the Book of Isaiah, which translates as ‘let the earth be opened’ and continues ‘and bud forth a saviour and let justice spring up at the same time’. These contrasting themes of destruction and re-creation, violent upheaval and spiritual renewal underpin much of Kiefer’s work. The focal point of the exhibition is Palmsonntag, an installation in the ground floor gallery comprised of eighteen paintings, hung as a single entity on one wall, with a thirteen-metre palm tree laid on the gallery floor. As its title suggests, the work evokes the beginning of Christ’s journey into Jerusalem prior to his arrest, Passion, death and resurrection. The paintings read almost as the pages of a book opened to reveal multiple layers and narratives. As is common in Kiefer’s practice, organic materials form the palette through which landscapes are created. These are then overlaid with texts which do not point to one single interpretation but rather suggest a rich, philosophically charged and resonant multiplicity of meaning and experience. Palm Sunday has a pivotal place in Christian theology but has rarely formed the subject of major painting. It adds a further dimension to Kiefer’s already diverse and complex range of sources in his art, which have included Teutonic mythology and history, alchemy, Greco-Roman mythology, ancient Gnosticism and Kabbalistic mysticism. In the lower gallery, three epic canvases are hung to create a single installation. Each is a vast panoramic landscape whose visceral surface appears strewn with flowers or perhaps on fire, at once apocalyptic and redemptive. References are made to the poetry of Victor Hugo, the fall of Troy, the Nazi campaign on the Russian front and to the prophet Isaiah amongst others, a range of sources that suggest an ongoing pattern of veneration, degeneration and renewal. As an extension of the exhibition at Mason’s Yard, the Royal Academy of Arts is displaying two of Kiefer’s monumental towers, entitled Jericho, for the first time in Britain. These five and six storey concrete constructions continue a series begun in the artist’s extensive studio-without-walls in Barjac, Provence. To some, these ‘twin towers’ evoke the precariousness and the bombast of great Empires past and present; to others they read as a bridge between the earth and the heavens. In his catalogue essay for the exhibition, the Royal Academy’s Exhibitions Secretary Norman Rosenthal quotes from Walter Gropius and Bruno Taut: ‘To build in fantasy, without regard for technical difficulties; to have the gift of imagination is more important than all technology, that always adopts itself to man's creative will today, a true architect really does not exist, all of us are only the forerunners of the one who will some time again deserve to be called architect, a name signifying Lord of Art, who will make gardens of the desert and will heap wonders to the sky.’ Anselm Kiefer was born in 1945 in Donaueschingen in Southern Germany. He has lived and worked in Barjac in the south of France since 1991. Kiefer is regarded as one of the most important and influential artists working today. Exhibitions of his painting, sculptures, drawings and installations have been staged extensively over the past four decades and his work is included in the world’s most prestigious public and private collections.

Flash Art jan-febr. 2007

Almost two years after the last Special Focus China, Flash Art uses the Shanghai Biennial as a springboard to newly report on the Chinese art scene and its artists, galleries and not-for-profit spaces with a new FOCUS CHINA. Andrea Bellini comments on the Shanghai Biennial that opened in early September and, along with Giancarlo Politi, does “China Planet” a round up of interviews with some of the key figures in contemporary Chinese art. September was a dense moment for Asian biennials indeed: reviews of the Singapore and Gwangju biennials by Sonia Campagnola, and of the Taipei Biennial by Susan Kendzulak in the Spotlight section, provide complementary points of view on ‘Asian fever.’ This issue’s covers are dedicated to two US-based artists: Mark Grotjahn and Seth Price. Maurizio Cattelan supplied Seth Price with unexplained quotes that operate as parameters for a peculiar series of reflections on international politics. Mark Grotjahn, on the other hand, gave a rare interview when he answered questions by Jan Tumlir about the origins of his work, its points of reference and its significance. “New Tendency” is a feature written by Getulio Alviani, one of the protagonists of this ‘70s art movement that generated a variety of declinations in names and smaller movements, from Kinetic to Optical art. Alviani, an Italian artist and theoretician, brings to light this fascinating fragment of art history. This issue also provides insights into the work of Danish artist John Kørner, whose paintings are examined in a feature by Angela Rosenberg, and Polish artist Robert Kusmirowski, in a feature by Katerina Gregos that points out the role of 20th century history in his complex installations. This issue’s Reprint is devoted to Gordon Matta-Clark. In this feature article Ted Castle considered the many diverse aspects of Matta-Clark’s ‘social’ work and personality. The reprint of this essay is in the occasion of the comprehensive retrospective that the Whitney Museum is dedicating to him. In the regular column “New York Tales,” Andrea Bellini proposes a round up of some of the most exciting shows recently opened in New York. The Collecting column features a conversation with Jason Rubell, who explains his and his family’s engagement in collecting and the role of their private foundation in Miami. The January-February issue also includes a report on the 27th Bienal de São Paulo, provided by Rodrigo Moura, and a review of Sevilla’s BIACS2 by Joaquín Barriendos. Ouverture is dedicated to Huma Bhabha and Global Art reflects upon a work by Pietro Roccasalva, recently presented in Turin, Italy. Group shows reviews include: Liverpool Biennial 2006; Skier at the Bottom of a Well, Colección Jumex, Mexico City; 2006 Momentum: Nordic Festival of Contemporary Art, Moss, Norway; SCAPE: Don’t Misbehave! Christchurch, New Zealand. Solo show reviews include: Raha Raissnia, Stefan Brüggemann, Tierney Gearon, Angela Strassheim, Edgar Arceneaux, Charles Gute, Jonathon Keats, Christoph Büchel, John Stezaker, Giuseppe Gabellone, Julian Rosefeldt, Helen Maurer, Hildur Bjarnadóttir, Daniel Dewar & Grégory Gicquel, Eugénie Goldschmeding, Karla Black, Kristina Girke, Allan McCollum, Mungo Thomson, Luca Vitone, Maja Bajevic, Jason Rhoades, Leda Papaconstantinou, Mark Raidpere, Anthony Goicolea, Geoffery Farmer, Tom Nicholson.

ARTEFIERA ART FIRST 2007 DISCOVERING THE LATEST TRENDS IN INTERNATIONAL ART Bologna, 26 - 29 January 2007

ARTEFIERA ART FIRST is a unique event where visitors can explore the latest trends in the world of modern and contemporary art through the proposals of more than 200 leading international galleries. At the same time it is a major opportunity to directly experience art in the exhibition centre and in the city of Bologna, which is hosting a wide range of initiatives specially for the more than 40,000 visitors to the show.

Organised by BolognaFiere, the 31st edition of the pre-eminent Italian exhibition of contemporary and modern art will be held in Bologna from 26 to 29 January 2007 and will feature an increasing number of events and initiatives.

The participating Galleries from all over the world will be selected by the International Committee and will provide a preview of the most innovative trends alongside the works of the leading Italian artists, who are also prominent figures at a world level.
Most importantly, however, ARTEFIERA ART FIRST is a meeting point between Italian and international art, a role that lends much to its appeal and makes it of great interest to collectors.

This edition of ARTEFIERA ART FIRST will be strongly exhibit oriented and will host more than 200 galleries (35% of which are from outside Italy) and about sixty publishers, museums and institutions. The Galleries are meticulously selected by the International Committee and the event continues to pursue its goal of creating exhibit spaces that enhance the works on display.

Participants include LONGSTANDING AND FIRST-TIME EXHIBITORS
ARTEFIERA ART FIRST 2007 will see the participation of both longstanding and first-time exhibitors. One prestigious new entry is the JAMES COHAN GALLERY from New York, which will exhibit an installation by Bill Viola, an artist who garnered enormous success at the last Venice Biennale.

BOLOGNA ART FIRST, ART IN THE CITY OF BOLOGNA
At ARTEFIERA ART FIRST, international visitors will be able to admire modern/contemporary art works at the finest venues in the city of Bologna. The first BOLOGNA ART FIRST initiative in 2006 was highly successful and the event will be repeated at ARTEFIERA ART FIRST 2007 with an even broader programme.

From 25 January onwards, the works selected by the Artistic Committee from the projects submitted by exhibiting Galleries will offer art enthusiasts a fascinating journey through the world of modern art and the architecture of the past.
The venues will include the Museo Civico Archeologico, Palazzo del Comune, Museo Civico Medievale, Palazzo Re Enzo, Cortile dell’Archiginnasio, Museo della Musica, Museo della Sanità di Santa Maria della Vita, Oratorio dei Filippini, Museo Ebraico, Musei Universitari, Accademia di belle Arti e Pinacoteca Nazionale and Palazzo Magnani.
The BOLOGNA ART FIRST 2007 Artistic Committee comprises: Gianfranco Maraniello (Director of GAM Bologna), Gaetano Maccaferri (collector), Marino Golinelli (collector) and Silvia Evangelisti (Artistic Director of ARTEFIERA ART FIRST).

A.B.O. (Art Before Obvious) AT ARTEFIERA ART FIRST 2007
For the 2007 edition of ARTEFIERA ART FIRST, Achille Bonito Oliva has organised three days of meetings for the A.B.O. (Art Before Obvious) stand where internationally renowned artists will put questions to other leading players in the art industry. This initiative underscores the fact that contemporary artists are both creators and thinkers and that, instead of providing answers, art constantly poses questions about the world in all its aspects.

"Going Public '06. Atlante Mediterraneo" 18.01.2007

Book presentation: "Going Public '06. Atlante Mediterraneo" at Tapies Foundation/Barcelona

The book gathers the results of 18 mounth of public art and territorial project, the site specific artistic interventions, and the researches of partners and contributors from six mediterranean cities: Istanbul, Beirut, Nicosia, Tel Aviv, Alexandria, Barcelona.
250 pages, it+eng