Kara Walker. “The Theater” from “Rise Up Ye Mighty Race,” 2012. Courtesy the artist and the Art Institute of Chicago.
In this week’s roundup, Kara Walker exhibits in Chicago, Ann Hamilton shows new prints inspired by textile techniques, Fred Wilson receives the New York City Mayor’s Award for Arts and Culture, and more:
- Kara Walker has an exhibit on view at the Art Institute of Chicago. Titled Rise Up Ye Mighty Race, it includes five large framed graphite drawings and 40 small framed mixed media drawings along with cut paper silhouettes. The title of the show refers to comments made by Barack Obama in his 1995 book, Dreams from My Father, about the challenges of community organizing in Chicago. The exhibition closes August 11.
- Ann Hamilton and artist Cynthia Schira have realized a collaborative exhibition at the Spencer Museum of Art (Lawrence, KS). An Errant Line: Ann Hamilton / Cynthia Schira—which consists of room-sized, site-specific installations—makes use of digital technologies as a means of exploring the fundamental nature of cloth, and the ways museums organize and maintain material legacies. Hamilton and Schira consider the role of the hand and human practices that reveal and conceal. Their installations are on view through August 11.
- John Baldessari has work on view at Galerie Michael Janssen (Singapore). Keep It Simple. Keep It Fresh. comprises a series of collaborative works by Meg Cranston and John Baldessari where Baldessari supplied the text and Cranston supplied the color. The title of their exhibition comes from Baldessari’s 1968 text Advice to Young Artists in which he states: “Whatever you decide to do, remember to keep it simple, keep it fresh, and have some idea of what you are going to do.” In a recent joint interview, published in Trebuchet magazine, the artists provide insight into color theory, the secret of emerald green, and more. Their exhibition closes March 13.
- Human Wave: The Videotapes Of Raymond Pettibon marks the first time that Raymond Pettibon‘s feature-length videos have been shown together in the UK. Crudely shot using home video equipment, each video profiles a different radical subject drawn from the last twenty years of West Coast subculture. This work is on view at Space Studios (London) until March 17.
- Trenton Doyle Hancock will show new work later this month at the Pippy Houldsworth Gallery (London). Commissioned for their space “The Box,” this unique architectural setting consists of a floating white cube set inside a black vertical opening. For this, the gallery facilitates new projects with important emerging and established artists. Hancock’s work will be presented March 16–April 27.
- Allan McCollum will present work at the MFC-Michèle Didier (Brussels, Belgium). The Book of Shapes will explore the artist’s use of shapes and forms. According to the press release, this show comes directly from The Shapes Project (2005) that was initiated by McCollum and “provides a system for producing shapes, each different, and each destined to be assigned to a single individual.” The exhibition is on view March 22–May 18.
- Fred Wilson has received the Mayor’s Award for Arts and Culture for his outstanding contribution to New York City’s cultural life. The Mayor’s Awards for Arts and Culture were created in 1976, when the Department of Cultural Affairs was founded, and given annually until 1994. Mayor Bloomberg revived the awards in 2004 to acknowledge the role the arts play in creating a vibrant and economically healthy city.
- Allora & Calzadilla are working with the Sydney Dance Company and Kaldor Public Art Projects (Australia) to create new and unique choreography for their artwork Revolving Door. This is part of Kaldor’s Public Art Project #27, entitled 13 Rooms, which “brings together 13 famous artists and more than 100 performers to present an innovative group exhibition of ‘living sculpture’ within 13 purpose-built rooms.” Revolving Door will be performed by a rotating cast of 40 local dancers over the 11 days of the exhibition. Performances take place April 11–21, 11am–7pm daily. Entrance is free to the public.
- Paul McCarthy will mount his largest United States installation to date at the Park Avenue Armory later this year. WS is a raw re-imagining of the Snow White story set in a huge artificial forest; it will appear to float like a sound stage in the armory’s cavernous drill hall.
