Archival art made a big comeback this year and so did relational aesthetics, but did that result in any memorable exhibitions? These are our favourite six shows, selected by our art editor, Jeni Fulton
Installation view of Ian Cheng, curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist, Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Turin
Ian Cheng at Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Turin, and at Pilar Corrias, London
Cheng’s “Emissary in the Squat of the Gods”, is a memorable piece, precisely because it sits in a no-mans-land between video, performance and Artificial Intelligence algorithm. The trilogy features two interlacing stories: one of an ancient, pre-conscious society facing an existential threat, and the other of an emissary of this society and his quest to develop consciousness. The avatars have needs-based AI and can communicate via 50 syllables. Their interaction becomes increasingly complex as time goes by, and the artwork thereby iterates through stages of development. Read the full review
Tetsumi Kudo, Graft ’72 , 1972, photography by Jessica Eckert. Courtesy of Hauser & Wirth and Andrea Rosen Gallery
Tetsumi Kudo at Hauser and Wirth, London
“Kudo’s works looked less like sculpture than like movie props from lurid science fiction films […] I admired them greatly,’” Mike Kelley wrote in 2008. This year Hauser and Wirth dedicated two exhibitions to the Japanese pop pioneer, who died in 1990, enabling a reassessment of the artist’s works. Kudo’s lurid installations and micro-landscapes offer an expanded perspective on Pop art’s roots. Read the full review
Emmanuelle Lainé, Don’t Cheat me out of the fullness of my capacity!, 2014. Courtesy of the artist and the Lyon Biennale
The 13th Lyon Biennial
Transcending its somewhat facile title, “La Vie Moderne”, Ralph Rugoff’s biennial was a delight to behold, uniting older voices deserving of greater recognition such as Laura Lamiel, with positions from Taiwan to Mali. Consisting of four central themes framing curator Ralph Rugoff’s reading of “The Modern”, it offers a wide-ranging overview of the currents in contemporary art: the economy and its close relatives, consumption and waste, immigration and national identity, and our relationship to “nature”. Read the full feature
Daniel Steegmann Mangrane, “16 mm”, Shooting in the Brazilian Rain Forest, Spiral Forest (Kingdom of All the Animals and All the Beasts is My Name) Exhibition
Daniel Steegmann Mangrané: “Spiral Forest” at Esther Schipper, Berlin
Rio-based Steegmann Mangrané combines his love with the formal aspects of analogue photography, cutting edge tech and the botany of the Brazilian rainforest in this exhibition. For one of the works in Spiral Forest, he rendered the rainforest as an Oculus Rift application, which meant that visitors stumbled through the gallery, tethered by the headset’s cable as they navigated their verdant virtual environment.
“Taweret”, Marguerite Humeau, polystyrene, white paint, artificial prosthetics, plastic container, water pumps, water, rapamycin, resvetarol 90 x 180 x 230 cm (including stand) + 72 x 58 x 58 cm (container) 2015
Marguerite Humeau: “Echos” at Alex Duve, Berlin
In “Echoes”, Marguerite Humeau’s first solo exhibition at Duve gallery, she continued her investigation into alternative histories and the fiction of reality. Mixing black mamba venom with hippopotamus milk and alligator blood to create ecosystems for creatures from Egyptian mythology, her work acts as a fulcrum for new narratives. Read the full review
Camille Henrot, The Pale Fox, 2014 – 15,
Installation view at KÖNIG GALERIE.
Courtesy the artist and KÖNIG GALERIE, photography by Ulf Saupe
Camille Henrot: “The Pale Fox” at Johann König, Berlin
In his latest book, the critic Hal Foster describes the “archival impulse” as being a key feature of contemporary art. The Pale Fox is a stellar example: artist Camille Henrot juxtaposes mnemonic maps, made with old National Geographic photographs, found books on duck mating habits, eighties girly posters, found photographs, old maps – whatever ephemera attracted her attention. These are arranged in no apparent order or hierarchy, in a room carpeted in ultramarine blue. A remote controlled snake runs around the exhibition. Read the interview with the artist
Text by Jeni Fulton
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