Kaari Upson

What is A Good Neighbor? Levels of distance + intimacy in the 15th Istanbul Biennial, Sep 16 – Nov 12

15 September 2017

The 15th Istanbul Biennial A Good Neighbour is taking place at venues across the Turkish city, opening September 16 and running to November 12.

Curated by artist duo Elmgreen & Dragset (Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset), the curatorial premise poses a series of questions asking if a good neighbor is, “a stranger you don’t fear,” “from a neighboring country,” and “leaving you alone,” to name a few. Levels of intimacy and distance are are explored through the concept of the acquaintance.

There are 55 participating artists, including Mirak Jamal, Georgie Netell & Morag Keil, Kaari Upson and Aude Pariset among others, with a highlight event including dance artist and movement therapist Tuğçe Tuna‘s new choreography ‘Body Drops’ performed by nine dancers under the dome of the hammam.

Visit the 15th Istanbul Biennial  website for details.**

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Young Americans (2015) exhibition photos

26 May 2016

Organized by Irene Gludowacz and curated by Cornelis van Almsick, Young Americans was on at Vienna’s Franz Josefs Kai 3, running from Nov 17 until Nov 30, 2015. Bringing together eight young artists from the US whose work is intimately connected to digital technologies —including Petra CortrightLuis GispertAlex ItoKen OkiishiTimur Si-QinCarter MullRyan Trecartin and Kaari Upson — the exhibition responds to the feeling of rapid change as a result of the internet and new media.

Alex Ito, 'No Title' (2015) Install view. Courtesy the artist and Franz Josefs Kai 3, Wien.
Alex Ito, ‘No Title’ (2015) Install view. Courtesy the artist and Franz Josefs Kai 3, Vienna.

Through installation, photography and video art, the works focus on the underbelly of digital narrative and the alienation that lies beneath the confident branding and flashy aesthetics. The show is accompanied with a text written by Arielle Bier that unpacks the capitalist facade, framing the artists work within the “realities of rising poverty rates, institutionalized violence, and impending environmental collapse.”

An object-heavy exhibition, the materiality has a strong relationship with the digital. Ito’s ‘No Title’ (2015) series of taxidermy mice feel inspired by memes and the humanization of animals on the net, but their physical presence looks nightmarish. Cortright’s 29-second ‘sssss//////^^^^^^^‘ (2011) video is taken from her YouTube channel, a silent video where her face slowly slips across the screen; a recognition of her own face holds more importance than dialogue. The works of Young Americans look at the space between emptiness and wholeness, and the destabilizing ground our identities are fixed to.**

Exhibition photos, top right.

The Young Americans group exhibition was on at Vienna’s Franz Josefs Kai 3, running November 17 to 30, 2015.

Header image: Ryan Trecartin (2015) Install view. Photo by Simon Veres.Courtesy the artist and Franz Josefs Kai 3, Vienna.

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