October 21, 2017–February 25, 2018
Remai Modern is a new museum of modern and contemporary art opening October 21, 2017 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. Remai Modern aims to be a direction-setting and prescient museum, committed to affirming the powerful role that art and artists play in questioning, interpreting and defining the modern era.
The inaugural exhibition, Field Guide, animates the entire building with a spirit of active engagement, curiosity and disruption. Curated by Gregory Burke, Executive Director & CEO, and Sandra Guimarães, Director of Programs & Chief Curator, Field Guide introduces the museum’s program philosophy and direction. Works from the permanent collection are placed in dialogue with contemporary projects, commissioned pieces and immersive installations, rethinking the idea of “modern” from multiple cultural, geographic, historic and contemporary perspectives.
The exhibition is in part presented on Remai Modern’s newly-designed website, which will host two new works by artist Ann Lislegaard. Lislegaard is best known for her digital animations and sound-and-light installations, which often draw inspiration from and operationalize ideas from science fiction film and literature. The first piece, Come the Future—a digital variation of the artist’s recent neon installation work—will be featured on Remai Modern’s website as of October 20th, 2017, coinciding with the opening of the new museum. The second piece, Every Thought is Alive, Awakening of a Cyborg II, will be online on October 23rd, 2017. Both of Lislegaard’s online works extend Field Guide’s ethos of questioning the urgencies of the contemporary moment.
Come the Future and Every Thought is Alive, Awakening of a Cyborg II are presented as part of the museum’s ongoing program of original web commissions. Presented exclusively for online viewing, these digital pieces achieve a mobility which facilitates direct and personal encounters between art and local and international audiences. Through these commissions, the website becomes a means to extend Remai Modern’s physical space, onsite programming and presence well past the museum’s walls.
Field Guide is anchored by several major artist projects—by Tanya Lukin Linklater and Duane Linklater, Ryan Gander, and Thomas Hirschhorn—that propose new social, personal and political engagements with the museum and its audiences. A complete list of artists featured in the exhibition includes: Laurent Aksadjuak, Francis Alÿs, Kenojuak Ashevak, Kader Attia, Irene Avaalaaqiaq Tiktaalaaq, John Baldessari, Rosa Barba, Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster & Tristan Bera, Lori Blondeau, Eli Bornstein, Robert Boyer, Neil Campbell, Tammi Campbell, Emily Carr, Robert Christie, Abraham Cruzvillegas, George Csató, Ruth Cuthand, Stan Douglas, Jimmie Durham, Geoffrey Farmer, Charles Gaines, Ryan Gander, General Idea, Rodney Graham, Jack Goldstein, Lawren Stewart Harris, Thomas Hirschhorn, Robert Houle, Edward John Hughes, Pierre Huyghe, Alexander Young Jackson, Franz Johnston, Ignac Konrad, Cornelius Krieghoff, Gabriel Kuri, Jean Paul Lemieux, Tanya Lukin Linklater & Duane Linklater, Ann Lislegaard, Arthur Lismer, James Edward Hervey MacDonald, John Massey, David Brown Milne, Paulo Nazareth, William Noah, Kenneth Noland, Daphne Odjig, Jessie Oonark, Gabriel Orozco, Philippe Parreno, William Perehudoff, Pablo Picasso, Edward Poitras, R. H. Quaytman, Walid Raad, Michael Rakowitz, Li Ran, Raqs Media Collective, Allen Sapp, Ahlam Shibli, Nancy Spero, Daniel Steegmann Mangrané, Hito Steyerl, George Tataniq, Althea Thauberger, Eli Tikeayak, Rosemarie Trockel, Luc Tuymans, unknown artists, Kara Uzelman, Anton Vidokle, Jeff Wall, Ian Wallace, Lawrence Weiner, Pae White, Christopher Williams, Luke Willis Thompson, and Haegue Yang.
Field Guide opens Remai Modern’s doors with diverse perspectives and propositions for a 21st century museum. Remai Modern’s opening weekend will feature a live installation by Maria Hassabi, STAGING (2017) – undressed, animating the building and exploring the relationships between body, still image, and sculptural object. On Saturday, the museum will open and close with traditional Indigenous and Métis performances. On the evening of October 21, a celebratory, museum-wide party will culminate with an experimental audiovisual performance by Stine Janvin, Fake Synthetic Music.
Field Guide has been generously supported by The Frank & Ellen Remai Foundation, the City of Saskatoon, the Canada Council for the Arts, the Saskatchewan Arts Board, SaskCulture, KPMG, Rawlco Radio, RBC, TD Canada Trust and many private donors.
