Known for his provocative installations that bend both reality and perception, Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson (previously featured on Hi-Fructose) aims to emphasize the relativity of reality. In his latest of many ambitious projects, he situates his works in the stunning baroque space of the Viennese Winter Palace of Prince Eugene of Savoy in an aptly titled exhibition, “Baroque Baroque”. While the relationship between his contemporary work and the extravagant exhibition space might not be clear at first, it comes into focus as both the art and its setting reflect a “prolific process of constant reformulation.” The double title emphasizes how the exhibition is a reformulation of a reformulation- a space of altered expectations and aesthetics.
“I find it inspiring that the baroque exhibited such confidence in the fluidity of the boundaries between models of reality and, simply, reality,” Eliasson says of the project. “The presentation of my works at the Winter Palace is based on trust in the possibility of constructing reality according to our shared dreams and desires and faith in the idea that constructions and models are as real as anything.”
Through his ambitious and unconventional use of mirrors, the viewer experiences a unique intersection between “reality” and “reflection.” A site-specific installation entitled “Wishes versus wonders,” 2015, is perhaps the highlight of the exhibition: half of a circular brass ring is mounted on a large mirror such that its reflection completes the circle- it seems to hover over the parquet floor, transcending the space between the actual and the artificial.
With influences as diverse as the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the James Turrell Skyspace at MoMA PS1, New York, and the quicksilver-like policeman in Terminator 2, Eliasson’s work can be seen as bridging the gap between high and low “culture.” In taking over the opulent Viennese palace, he transforms a place of exclusivity into a space where human beings can encounter the limits of their own perception.
To mark the Mexican holiday of Día de Muertos, artist Raymundo Medina of the Jaén Cartonería family collective dreamed up enormous skeletons that appear to be emerging from the pavement. The massive cardboard works can be found in Santa Cecilia Tláhuac, Mexico. The artist often works with Yaocalli Indians in erecting these creations, Miguel Angel Luna says. The annual holiday runs through tomorrow.
Before the cyanotype was popularized by artists like Robert Rauschenberg, Susan Derges and Florian Neusüss in the 1960s, it was used by architects, astronomers and botanists. It is therefore fitting that contemporary artist