Ocula Report 4th Kochi-Muziris Biennale: Possibilities for a Non-Alienated Life 15 Feb 2019 : Natalie King for Ocula 'Poems are like sentences that have taken their clothes off.' Marlene Dumas' poetic and sensual refrain accompanies her figurative watercolours on view in Possibilities for a Non-Alienated Life, the fourth edition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale (KMB) in the southern state of Kerala, India (12 December 2018–29 March 2019).Dumas' new series...
Ocula Conversation Ellen Altfest The paintings of Ellen Altfest are ethereal in their detail. Fields of minutiae come together as pulsating images; small brushstrokes of oil paint accumulate over a series of months to single out seemingly innocuous subjects, such as a hand resting atop patterned fabric (The Hand, 2011) or a deep green cactus reaching upwards from beneath a bed of...
Ocula Report Colomboscope 2019: Cross Currents and Dissonance 8 Feb 2019 : Nada Raza for Ocula On the rooftop of the former Rio Hotel complex in Colombo, it was hard to ignore the high-rise buildings, still under construction, blocking all but a sliver of what used to be an open view over Slave Island, once an island on Beira Lake that housed slaves in the 19th century, and now a downtown suburb. The hotel was set alight during the...
Anne-Charlotte Finel, Fosse (2018). HD video, colour, music by Luc Kheradmand. 1 min 43 sec. Courtesy SCAI the Bathhouse.
SCAI THE BATHHOUSE is a contemporary art gallery known for introducing Japan's avant-garde artists to the world as well as for helping exceptional artists from abroad to establish a presence in Japan. SCAI has a strong track-record of large-scale exhibitions presenting artists such as Lee Ufan and Tadanori Yokoo who led the genesis of Japanese contemporary art, and Toshikatsu Endo, Tatsuo Miyajima, and Mariko Mori who brought Japanese contemporary art to the world's attention in the latter half of the '80s and the '90s by showing their works in international exhibitions. Through their association with SCAI, international artists such as Anish Kapoor and Julian Opie have produced new series of works inspired by Japanese traditional culture and crafts.
SCAI also works to discover and promote young artists. Recent successes include stars of international biennales and of well-acclaimed exhibitions at major art museums, such as Kohei Nawa, Nobuko Tsuchiya, Toru Kamiya, Katsuhiro Saiki, Jeppe Hein, Dzine, and Brian Alfred.
In addition to gallery exhibitions, SCAI has also been responsible for numerous site-specific projects, including public art by Tatsuo Miyajima and Louise Bourgeois at Roppongi Hills, and Julian Opie's commissioned work at Omotesando Hills.
SCAI THE BATHHOUSE opened in 1993 with the completion of the renovation of Kashiwayu, a venerable public bath with a 200-year history. The outside of the bathhouse possesses an elegant atmosphere, with its tiled roof and towering chimney. Take one step inside and you find yourself in a very unique exhibition area, a neutral space with white walls, a concrete floor and natural light descending from the high ceiling. Located in the traditional shitamachi (downtown) Yanaka district, SCAI THE BATHHOUSE lies in middle of an art zone, conveniently close to Ueno where many museums and art universities can be found. The gallery is a six-minute walk from the South Exit of JR Yamanote Nippori Station, and a seven-minute walk from Nezu Station on the Chiyoda Line.
Tatsuo MiyajimaTime Bagworm - no.5, 2018 L.E.D., IC, electric wire, steel, stainless steel wire, cable tie, switching supply
Tatsuo MiyajimaMoon in the ground no.2, 2015 Stainless mirror, waterproof light emitting diode, IC, electric wire, iron
Ocula Photolog FIAC Paris 2018 19 October 2018 'For the 2018 selection, held in Paris from 18 to 21 October, FIAC brought together 195 galleries from 27 countries in the nave and exhibition rooms of the Grand Palais. The fair presented the finest examples of artistic creation since the turn of the twentieth century; modern masters through to the latest trends, notably represented in the...
Ocula Photolog Art Basel in Hong Kong 2018 29 March 2018 'The sixth edition of Art Basel in Hong Kong brought together a uniquely global mix of galleries spanning six continents, outstanding artworks by established and new artists from across theworld and a singular gathering of international collectors and institutions.' –Art Basel in Hong Kong (29–31 March 2018).
Ocula Conversation He Xiangyu Artist, China He Xiangyu's second solo exhibition, Evidence, at White Cube gallery's Bermondsey space in London (7 February–8 April 2018) is somewhat different from the artist's first exhibition with the gallery in 2014 (He Xiangyu: Inside the White Cube, 22 January–13 April 2014). Gone is the crystallised residue of 127 tonnes of Coca-Cola that the artist...
Ocula Photolog Art Basel in Miami Beach 2017 14 December 2017 'Drawn from 32 countries across North and South America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa, the exhibitors will present artworks ranging from Modern masterpieces and historical projects to new works by both established and emerging artists. –Art Basel in Miami Beach (7–10 December 2017).
Related Press Artes Mundi 8: Filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul wins £40,000 prize BBC News : 24 January 2019 Indie Thai filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul has won the £40,000 Artes Mundi contemporary art prize.The judges said his film Invisibility was 'a powerful weapon in these turbulent times'.The 48-year-old gave a UK premiere to his dream-like work, projected over two screens and showing two figures rising from their beds in separate rooms.He was...
Related Press Antique photogravure process goes modern at Crown Point Press Datebook : 13 November 2018 From across the gallery, the four framed prints of architectural ruins look like vintage black-and-white photographs. But a photograph is just the start for what you are seeing at Crown Point Press.
Related Press The man with the exploding head: the director inspired by his medical condition The Guardian : 24 October 2018 Apichatpong Weerasethakul's house in northern Thailand is a luscious jungle paradise full of polished concrete and teak, palm trees and bamboo. Even the air smells zen. The house's three gatekeepers, Dracula, King Kong and Vampire, do little to disturb the peace. They are pugs – named because Weerasethakul loves horror movies – who have a...
Related Press The Meaning of the Moon, From the Incas to the Space Race The New York Times : 12 September 2018 COPENHAGEN — Outside Denmark's Louisiana Museum of Modern Art on a recent late-summer morning, a few sunstruck visitors were sprawling on the turf of the sculpture garden, between monumental outdoor works by Alexander Calder and Richard Serra.
Related Video & Audio ASIA NOW 2018 || Yuko Hasegawa (Curator) and Kohei Nawa (Artist) ASIA NOW : 22 November 2018 Yuko Hasegawa, Artistic Director of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, and Kohei Nawa discuss the artist's recent sculptures and installations, including Throne, on view under the Louvre Pyramid until January 14, 2019.
