VOLTA NY celebrates its听10th听anniversary this year running until 5 March at听Pier 90 in New York.听Since its debut in 2008, Artistic Director re-conceived the format as a rigorously curated, boutique event. With a focus on solo artistic practice,听VOLTA NY听is dedicated to showcasing emerging artists from across the world, championing听cutting-edge practitioners听补苍诲听rising stars.
In a video series, Wendy Vogel,听the organiser behind听YOUR BODY IS A BATTLEGROUND –听the second iteration of VOLTA NY鈥檚 critically acclaimed Curated Section –听discusses the exhibition and its aims.听The thematic show听brings together eight artists who traverse听the precariousness of the body and identity in a time of political turmoil.
The show鈥檚 title is inspired by Barbara Kruger鈥檚 photomontage听Untitled (Your Body Is a Battleground), produced for the 1989 Women鈥檚 March on Washington. In that image, Kruger superimposed the words “Your body is a battleground” over a black-and-white image of a woman鈥檚 face, printed in both positive and negative exposures. Kruger鈥檚 work updated the 1970s feminist mantra, “the personal is the political”, for the 1980s era of slick sloganeering and media appropriation. Considering the recent turnout for political demonstrations, Kruger鈥檚 work reads as a vital precedent for contemporary art that protests the erosion of civil rights.
The video series also includes short interviews with artists including听Tirtzah Bassel, whose听luminous paintings capture figures either at ease in their anonymity, and听Langdon Graves, who discusses听her听exploration of听colour.听Pacifico Silano听gives an insight into his practice听of听using听imagery sourced from vintage gay pornography magazines, preserved in Plexiglas slabs, which thereupon become stand-ins for gay men lost to the AIDS epidemic.
Finally,听Kathleen Vance unveils her site-specific project Traveling Landscape: Precious Cargo, presented by ROCKELMANN & (Berlin, booth D5). By modifying reclaimed vintage luggage with artificial and real flora (moss, dirt, water) in miniature dioramas within, the Brooklyn-based artist considers a multitude of salient topics, from pristine green spaces to land proprietorship and water rights.
Watch听the artist film interviews听.
VOLTA NY, until 5 March,听Pier 90, West 50th Street, 12th Avenue, New York, NY 10019.听See more:听.
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Credits
1. Videos courtesy of VOLTA NY and GalleryLOG.
2. Image:听Polly GouldMount, Erebus and Northern Islets 2013, Silvered hand-blown glass. Presented by Danielle Arnaud London, London.
