Parkett 94:
Tauba Auerbach, Cyprien Gaillard,
Ragnar Kjartansson, Shirana Shahbazi,
& Urs Fischer
With a special 12-page insert
by Charles Atlas and two conversations
on performance.
For info on books, subscriptions, and
artists’ editions, and to connect
on Facebook, please visit
www.parkettart.com
Cyprien Gaillard portrays the ecstasy of decay and demolition, both architectural and social. In their analyses of his work, Tom McDonough looks at the history of imploding buildings, while Bridget Alsdorf reflects on human self-destruction, and sci-fi novelist Mark von Schlegell imagines a parallel dystopian world. In his edition “An urgent message about the great organ,” Cyprien Gaillard, a poet of ruins, focuses on salvage and salvation in a sculpture that makes the ephemeral permanent.
“Architecture in the work of Cyprien Gaillard generally appears only in its undoing, in its collapse. His videos, photographs, and sculptures constitute a veritable catalogue of implosions and their aftermaths.”
–Tom McDonough, Parkett 94
Ragnar Kjartansson plays with repetition and duration in a variety of media. Drew Daniel examines “the quality of quantity” in his musical performances, Markús Þór Andrésson probes the optimistic melancholy of his theatrical works, and Kitty Scott describes the performativity of his painting process. In Theater piece, his series of hand-painted, snow-capped mountains for Parkett, Ragnar Kjartansson like in his stage sets combines painting and performance.
“Kjartansson presents a paradox: Precisely because the act of painting is for him a performance, he claims, the final object is more ‘honest.’”
–Kitty Scott, Parkett 94
Tauba Auerbach’s stunning paintings and sculptures illustrate mathematical theory with technical precision. In this issue, Joanna Fiduccia considers the artist’s three-dimensional work, David Reinfurt studies her font designs, and mathematician Byron Cook explains the logical principles that underlie her entire practice. In Tauba Auerbach’s 24-sided Hour Glass for Parkett, time is manifested in physical form.
“For all their seductive beauty, Auerbach’s sculptures, objects, and books challenge our way of thinking.”
–Joanna Fiduccia, Parkett 94
Shirana Shahbazi’s photographs explore the divisions among genres such as landscape and still life, portraiture and abstraction. Tirdad Zolghadr observes the “figurative pull of abstraction” in her images, which lead Lukas Bärfuss through a chain of personal associations, while Jörg Heiser reviews the artist’s compositional display strategies. In her edition for Parkett Shirana Shahbazi blends traditionally distinct categories, depicting a rocky landscape viewed through a prism of colors.
“Words never come easy to abstraction, and the juxtaposition of Shahbazi’s older and newer images makes the older ones look verbose by comparison…The later work, by contrast, makes no effort to be forthcoming. Never explain, never complain.”
–Tirdad Zolghadr, Parkett 94
Over the course of his prolific career, Urs Fischer has created a continuous stream of iconic images. A studio visit with the artist leads Nicholas Cullinan to ruminate on how Fischer undermines notions of medium-specificity and signature style. For his special 30-year anniversary edition, Urs Fischer made a group of three painted sculptures inspired by fashion photography, depicting a model in alternate poses and varying degrees of undress.
“Fischer’s work … seems to be more concerned with a superabundance of ideas and objects that allows the collaborative, the convivial, the ludic, and the downright messy.”
–Nicholas Cullinan, Parkett 94
Also in this issue: US senior editor Nikki Columbus moderates two conversations on performance. For “Performance Record,” Performa founder RoseLee Goldberg talks with Parkett’s editor-in-chief Bice Curiger and editor Jacqueline Burckhardt about how the medium has changed over the past 30 years. In “Attention Must Be Paid For,” writer-director Annie Dorsen, artist Ryan McNamara, and choreographer Mårten Spångberg reflect on how new media has transformed spectatorship. The insert is designed by legendary video artist Charles Atlas.
For further info on Parkett’s books, subscriptions, artists’ editions and more, and to connect on Facebook, please visit www.parkettart.com.
Small Is Beautiful
Exhibition at Parkett’s Space in Zurich (Löwenbräu) extended
February 15–July 15, 2014
The exhibition at Parkett’s Space in Zurich presents small- and miniature-format works made by artists for Parkett since 1984. On view is a never before seen selection of 80 works, many smaller than a hand and rarely larger than a Parkett page. For more information, please visit website.
