Guangdong Times Museum
Duration:April 19 – May 4, 2014
Curator: Nikita Yingqian Cai
In April 2014, Open Studio in Times Museum is pleasant to present Vladimir Nikoliæ, proposed by Maja Ćirić as the first artist in the Gift Exchange network. Vladimir Nikoliæ lives and works in Belgrade, in his body of works, there exists a complex of escaping the defining context of the art system as well as responding to its intrinsic question of what art is. By shifting perspectives in between representation, subjective narratives and spectatorship, he makes us aware of “those voices surrounding an artwork”. During Nikolic’s one-month residency in Times Museum, a transitional solo featuring some of his previous works is presented in the east wing gallery. A workshop titled “compose in the Painting Space” will be conducted twice with participants from different groups to enact and perform the multiple meanings of painting space. By activating every individual as an agency of interpretation, and by blurring the tipping point between individual and collective experience, the constructive moments of art and art history are thus to be unfolded.
Solo exhibition of Vladimir Nikoliæ: April 19-May 4, 2014 in the east wing
“Compose in the Painting Space” Public Workshops:
“Dancer Workshop” : 2:30-5:00pm April 26 2014 in the east hall
“ Family Workshop” : 2:30-5:00pm, May 1, 2014 in the east hall
“Compose in the Painting Space” Display of workshop outcomes: May 3-May 19, 2014, location TBC
Workshop “Compose the Painting Space”
In his work Painting (2009), Vladimir Nikoliæ chose to hide himself behind the elements and symbols of Avant-garde art. In the context of a painting, what would you choose to present yourself and hide from? You’re invited to develop your own painting by working closely with the artist and entering the three-dimensional possibilities of a two-dimensional painting. The process and outcome of your creation will be documented and shown in the public space of Times Museum.
Artist’s Biology
Vladimir Nikolić (1974) lives and works in Belgrade. Selected solo shows include: Voice-over, NT Gallery, Bologna, 2009; Voice-over, Salon of Museum of Contemporary Art Belgrade, 2009; Autoportraits, HO Gallery, Marseille, 2008; Rhythm, Gallery 2META, Bucarest 2002. Selected group shows include: 4th Athens Biennale, Athens, 2013; How to Tell a Story, Depo art gallery, Istanbul, 2013; The Power to host, ISCP, New York, 2011; Plug in II, Musée de l’île d’Oléron, Saint-Pierre d’Oléron, France, 2011; Mediations Biennale/Erased Walls, Poznan, 2010; Okolnosti, 50th Octobar Salon, Belgrade, 2009; Beyond Theory, Sushi Gallery, San Diego, 2008, New Europe, The Kitchen, New York, 2006; New Past, Maronnier Contemporary Art Center, Seoul, 2004; In the Gorges of the Balkans – A Report, Kunsthalle Fridericianum, Kassel, 2003,etc.
Open Studio inTimesMuseum is structured against museum norms to showcase the creative process of artists. By inviting 3 to 4 artists to work outside of their studios every year, it provides them with the setting, resources, funding, assistance and documenting for the works-in-progress. By activating communities and venues alternative to the conventional studios, the exploratory and thought-provoking process can be made accessible to the audience. Open Studio strives to create new relationships between the artist, artworks and its process, museum and the audience
Gift Exchange Residency is developed by Maja Ćirić and Biljana Ćirić and was inspired by the Kula Exchange, a ceremonial exchange system conducted in Papua New Guinea. Gift Exchange Residency explores the notion of gift through cultural exchange that would stimulate centrality of peripheral exhibitions, by drawing unpredictable connections between different locations and productions, future collaborations might thus be developed. The selection of artists is conceived through nominations by curators from the country of the artist’s origin, while the final decision is made by the curator related to the host institution. “Gift Exchange” doesn’t only symbolize a gift for the ones granted residency but also a gift for the host cities and institutions. In both ways the residency will contribute to the mutual understanding of different localities. “Gift Exchange” is also initiated by Biljana Ćirić during the exhibition One Step Forward Two Steps Back – Us and Institution, 2013 presented at Times Museum. According to instructions of the piece Give More Than You Take, Ćirić was supposed to propose a replacement for 500 kg of berries that the artist Pratchaya Phinthong has picked. Biljana Ćirić proposed a residency that will start in 2014 and will continue till symbolic weight of artists fulfills 500 kg. By establishing an artist residency network, the existence of the artwork was thus extended beyond the exhibition period.
