Titel: QUASi
Artist: Berndnaut Smilde
Exhibition: September 16 – December 17, 2016
Opening: Thursday October 6 at 17.00 hrs
Location: bur0 Gr0ningen
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Forget policy, balloting, studio visits or a discussion about the why’s and how so’s at NP3:
a critical investigation by NP3 on the (im)possibilities of contemporary experimental curatorial practices.
www.ranking-the-arts.com
In three critical ‘public projects’ NP3 approached the process of the changing role of the artist and the artwork in relation to the increasing interest in the ‘role and influence of the (art)public’. NP3 initiated, from the perspective of the public, the triptych programme 1) Garde Blanche – l’art pour l’artiste (2010), 2) Crème de la Crème – la condition humaine (2011) and 3) www.ranking- the-arts.com (2012).
Everyday citizens curated NP3’s Crème de la Crème exhibition, bringing in artists of their choosing. In Garde Blanche the artist took over the curatorial baton from NP3. The citizens and artists who were the first to apply for the exhibitions, were given the spaces of their choosing, together with the financial means to realise their exhibition plan. The mighty Google search engine was appointed curator for the third project, www.ranking-the-arts.com. Artists submitted their names to a custom-made search engine, directly linked to the Google data flow that marks our information-age society. After all, Google statistics, website hits and unique visitor counts seem to rank your “importance” these days. Your Google ranking grows with every search entry bearing your details, just as your use of Google on your website, blog and youtube channel increases your digital imprint. All these factors contributed to artists rising on the ‘very important artist’ list of www.ranking-the-arts.com.
After a runtime of exactly one year, www.ranking-the-arts.com went offline and the official winner, our ‘Most-Googled Person’, was announced: Berndnaut Smilde. The development of his cumulus series, which have been purchased by the Saatchi gallery, had caused a viral stir and quickly raced Smilde into the digital limelight, earning him first place in the ranking system.
QUASi – Berndnaut Smilde
Berndnaut lives and works in Amsterdam. He graduated in 2001 from the Minerva Academy in Groningen and achieved in 2005 his Masters of Arts at the Frank Mohr Institute. Since then Berndnaut has built an international career, which in 2012 accelerated through the development of his ‘CLOUD’-works. Berndnaut shows his work in museums, galleries, art spaces and media around the world, from London to Shanghai.
In his artistic process Berndnaut researches the physical (de)construction of materials, light, space, the experience and the atmosphere in relation to the architectural environment. He developed his latest work, the site-specific installation QUASi, especially for bur0 Gr0ningen. Berndnaut constructs meaning and consciously makes new connections. The combination of everyday and unusual elements; from the volatility of cumulus-projections to the sculptural plastic foundry molds for Roman pillars. In the hallway he shows anagrams made from his own name and transforms theater decor canvas, light sources and plastic pillars to an lighted night panorama in the exhibition display. In the evening, the same display features a prismatic panorama.
Quasi is a frozen moment, the ‘Traumbild’ between presentation and representation, the visible and the invisible. He experiments with his fascination for the grey zone of it ‘is’ and ‘is not’, the in-between moment between the existing and the temporary. All elements in the exhibition QUASi form a physical construct and at the same time they remain a moment in time, the ‘quasi’ in the artistic process of Berndnaut.
www.berndnaut.nl
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bur0 Gr0ningen – Hofstraat 21 – Groningen (NL) – open: Wednesday – Saturday 12-17 hrs
and by appointment +31(0)503138260 – hier@np3.nu – follow: facebook.com/npdrie + twitter.com/npdrie
Still by Berndnaut Smilde