27 Jan 2010

Kunsthaus Baselland presents solo shows by Lorna Macintyre, Laurent Montaron, Pascale Grau

The first institutional solo exhibition of Lorna Macintyre in Switzerland bears the title 'Form and Freedom', a wording which is taken from the book 'I Wanted To Write A Poem: The Autobiography of the Works of a Poet' by the American poet William Carlos Williams (1883-1963). In her work there is the interplay of sculptures, installations, found objects from nature, simple everyday objects, collages, prints and photographs. She works specifically with the respective exhibition spaces and correlates the works conceptually and scenically. Her choice of materials and vocabulary of shapes are decisively influenced by analogies between the man-made and the natural, between nature and culture and other nuances of these oppositions. Inspired by selected works of literature, the artist constantly creates a poetic course in which the signs and symbols existing in the works entangle the viewer in a network of relationships, and, at the same time, showing him alleged possibilities. For the exhibition at the Kunsthaus Baselland, the artist shows a series of new works that engage the poem 'Four Quartets' by T.S. Eliot.

Laurent Montaron is regarded as one of the most interesting upcoming artists of a younger generation both in his native France and abroad. The artist works in various media: film, video, photography and sculptures, as well as sound installations. The focus of his interest is the exploration of visual representation codes: Montaron questions the relationship and the conflicts between image and reality, of each narrative and its interpretation. The exhibition at the Kunsthaus Baselland is entitled 'Pace', named after the film installation of the same title. 'Pace' is a 16mm film projection behind a wall and a stained glass window, which shows the beating heart of a carp held in the palm of a hand. Montaron examines in equal measure the unpleasant and the beautiful, but leaves open whether this is a 'real' or a 'fictitious' image. The HD film 'Will There Be a Sea Battle Tomorrow?' (2008) is based on the social and scientific recurring interest in supernatural experiences. A machine from the Institute for Parapsychology in Freiburg, called Psi-Recorder, is in the focus of the film. This device is able to generate random numbers that can be used for experiments that investigate the phenomena of telepathy, clairvoyance, and foreshadowing. Laurent Montaron's interest in equipment and instruments from a pre-computerized, bygone time is constantly palpable. Thus, the anvil 'D' (2010) at the entrance to his exhibition appears as a visual code that refers to a completely different time, in which hooves were shod or other rectangular or round shapes were hammered. The object bears the engraved inscription: 'Is not this what we like to believe rather than being left to the night?', a phrase from the video 'Will There Be A Sea Battle Tomorrow?'. Montaron opens the exhibition with a general matter of belief, which also applies to art: Do we want to believe it, or do we prefer to leave it to the darkness of the night?

Pascale Grau shows for the first time the four completed 'Tableaux Vivants', works from the ongoing series that she started in 2005. The term 'Tableaux Vivants' describes the motionless re-enactment of sculptures and paintings by living persons. This stylistic method of image creation that combines theatrical elements with those of fine arts emerged at the end of the 18th century and is now experiencing a revival. The artist has staged 'Tableaux Vivants' in Myanmar (2005), Bolivia (2006), Switzerland (2007) and Karnataka/Southern India (2009). In each case, the aspect of different cultures and their specific traditions of dealing with images were as much of a focus as the individual experiences of the participants. At each location the artist carefully dealt with the process of pictorial composition, with each piece working together with local artists and institutions.