We enter the world of technology in our 5 To See for 19-21 May. In line with ‘s celebration of photography at Somerset House, we take a look at some of the leading practitioners who are pushing the boundaries on this highly-adaptable art form. In听Reykjav铆k,听 highlights duo Steina & Woody Vasulka’s experimentation with electronic imaging since the 1970s, while听 examines the impact of the automobile on the work of internationally recognised photographers. Back in the UK,听Mat Collishaw’s new immersive installation,听Thresholds, uses the latest virtual reality technology to remind contemporary viewers of Fox Talbot’s pioneering image-making methods in the 19th century. We consider the photo-realist paintings of Jan Worst and include Daniel Buren’s newest spacial interventions.
1. Jan Worst, Interiors, , Hong Kong
The first solo exhibition of paintings by Jan Worst comes to听Hong Kong. As a meticulous and methodical painter, Worst typically produces four large-scale works听a year. On this occasion, the gallery brings together a selection of pieces听created over the last 20 years, which showcase听the artist’s dedication to a serial depiction of subject matter, painterly skill and highly charged and provocative imagery. Portraying lavish interiors and focusing on ornamental details such as the tapestries, gilded mouldings, chandeliers, antiquities and elaborate table settings, Worst’s paintings often feature a young woman, adding a sense of voyeurism to his oeuvre.
2. Steina & Woody Vasulka, ,听搁别测办箩补惫铆办
An extensive selection of video works and electronic images听by artistic couple听Steina & Woody Vasulka are on display at 叠别谤驳听颁辞苍迟别尘辫辞谤补谤测. Following their encounter in Prague in 1962, they married and moved to New York, where, in 1971, they founded the experimental group, Perception, together with Eric Segal, obtaining a grant from NYSCA, the New York State art council, which allowed them research the evolution of multimedia. This led to the development of their respective individual aesthetical styles, which effortlessly marry the disciplines of art and technology. Berg Contemporary showcases historically important prints and video works by both individually.
3.听Daniel Buren, To Align: works in situ, , New York
Bortolami opens the artist’s fourth exhibition with the gallery, and the first in its new Tribeca location. Buren transforms the space using both coloured filters and new in situ works. Throughout听his 50-year career, he听has been听known for his use of contrasting stripes as a visual tool that reveals the specific features and dimensions of a site. He alters the perception and context of one’s surroundings by modifying the navigation of space, enhancing lighting, obstructing viewpoints and highlighting architectural features. The sign of white and colour alternating stripes of exactly 8.7 cm. in width, as derived from the fabric he first used as a canvas in 1965, is a prominent component in the exhibition.
4. Mat Collishaw, Thresholds, , London
Working in collaboration with Blain|Southern Gallery, Somerset House听unveils new virtual reality artwork,听Thresholds, by Mat Collishaw during Photo London. The artist听restages Fox Talbot鈥檚 pioneering 1839 exhibition of photography with the aid of the latest VR technology. Through听Collishaw鈥檚 careful digital reconstructions, viewers are able听to travel back in time to the moment when British scientist William Henry Fox Talbot first presented his photographic prints to the public in Birmingham. Here, he听aims to inspire a similar sense of wonderment for a present-day audience using VR, the most cutting-edge visual technology available today. Tickets for听Thresholds听can be purchased at听.听The exhibition runs until 11 June.
5. Autophoto, , Paris
Fondation Cartier once again focuses on the world of cars with the exhibition Autophoto.听Staged 30听years after听Hommage 脿 Ferrari,听this new presentation revisits听photography鈥檚 relationship to the automobile;听how the car provided photographers with a new subject, a new point of view and new way of exploring the world. A total of听500 works created听by 100 historic and contemporary artists from around the world including Jacques-Henri Lartigue, Lee Friedlander, Ros芒ngela Renno and Yasuhiro Ishimoto adorn the interior of the Fondation Cartier to examine how the听automobile has reshaped our landscape,
extended our geographic horizons and altered our, and notably artists’, concept of space and time.
Credits
1. Luciano Rigolini, Tribute to Giorgio de Chirico, 2017. Appropriation (unknown photographer, 1958). Collection of the artist. 漏 Luciano Rigolini.
