The Luminous Interval
D. Daskalopoulos Collection
12 April–11 September 2011
Guggenheim Museum Bilbao
Avenida Abandoibarra, 2
48001 Bilbao Bizkaia
Spain
Sponsored by Iberdrola
The Luminous Interval: The D.Daskalopoulos Collection is the first large-scale presentation of one of the world’s most significant private collections of contemporary art. Sponsored by Iberdrola and occupying the museum’s second floor and part of the first, the exhibition features approximately 60 works by some 30 artists, encompassing a wide range of mediums with a special emphasis on sculpture and environmental installations. Grounded in an assembly of works dating from the 1980s and 1990s by eminent figures such as Louise Bourgeois, Robert Gober, Mike Kelley, Martin Kippenberger, Paul McCarthy, Annette Messager, and Kiki Smith, but also foregrounding projects by younger talents, such as Paul Chan, Guyton\Walker, Nate Lowman, and Wangechi Mutu, the exhibition immerses visitors in a focused survey of some of the most salient artistic developments of the past few decades. The Luminous Interval: The D.Daskalopoulos Collection is curated by Nancy Spector, Deputy Director and Chief Curator, Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, and Katherine Brinson, Assistant Curator, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum.
The exhibition’s title is derived from the writings of the Greek philosopher Nikos Kazantzakis (1883–1957), whose thinking has been particularly influential for the collecting practices of Dimitris Daskalopoulos. Kazantzakis envisioned life as a “luminous interval” during which struggle and disintegration are necessary prerequisites to creative production and renewal. The Luminous Interval: The D.Daskalopoulos Collection explores this coexistence of hope and despair within the human condition, with a particular focus on concepts of alienation, trauma, corporeality, and cultural identity.
The D.Daskalopoulos Collection reflects the tenor of the times, and many of the works in the exhibition confront both the crises and triumphs of contemporary life. While much of the art on view derives from or alludes to specific geopolitical or social contexts, Dimitris Daskalopoulos appreciates in this work its capacity to simultaneously broach universal themes, especially the unquestionable resilience of the human spirit.
The D.Daskalopoulos Collection
Actively engaged in arts patronage, Athens-based Dimitris Daskalopoulos has amassed one of the world’s most significant private collections of contemporary art, composed of more than 400 works by 170 artists. He has lent over 140 artworks to more than 120 international museums in both Europe and the United States in the past 15 years. The D.Daskalopoulos Collection gives particular prominence to large-scale installation and sculptural works as well as to film and video. Many of its ambitious and important pieces will be on display at the Guggenheim Bilbao for the first time since being acquired by the collection. Daskalopoulos is currently actively searching for a suitable site in Athens with a view to opening a permanent space for his collection in 2013/14. His objective is to create a public place to promote the idea, relevance, and enjoyment of contemporary art, with a significant emphasis on interactivity and learning.
