Monday, October 5, 2009

Tal R and Sol LeWitt



Sol LeWitt
"Seven Wall Drawings"
Curator Elisabeth Millqvist

It's all about the drawn line. 10 000 straight lines, 22 meters of scribbles and indigo snap lines cover the walls from floor to ceiling at Magasin 3. For six weeks 14 assistants have drawn full time on the existing walls and transformed the space. They have realized this exhibition of seven wall drawings by Sol LeWitt devised during the period 1971-1993. The exhibition includes drawings executed in pencil as well as ink washes mixed to the deepest of purples and burnt umber.

Every drawing is based on verbal or written instructions; no decisions are made in the process. LeWitt's role can be likened to that of a composer, the person from his studio in charge of the work is the conductor and the artists executing the work make up the orchestra. With his 'wall drawings' rendered directly onto the wall LeWitt changed our concept of what art is – its appearance and who creates it. He succeeded in the challenging task of combining art that puts the idea first with an exciting visual form and continues to be a central figure for young artists to this day. With the line in focus the exhibition emphasize the creativity within a restriction.

LeWitt was a pioneer among the Minimalists and Conceptual artists who were so groundbreaking at the end of the 60s and beginning of the 70s. In 1968 he made his first wall drawing in graphite and restricted himself to horizontal, vertical and diagonal lines. Right up to his death he investigated every line combination imaginable while over the years expanding his formal language to encompass geometric shapes and color.


This is the most extensive exhibition of LeWitt's wall drawings in Scandinavia to date. The American artist was born in 1928 and passed away in 2007. A number of retrospective exhibitions focusing on his wall drawings have taken place in the USA since 2000, most notably at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (2000), Dia Beacon, New York (ongoing) and the ambitious large-scale presentation at Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, North Adams (2008-2033). In Europe important solo exhibitions are the wall drawing retrospective at Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam in 1984, which was followed by an exhibition at Kunsthalle Bern in 1989 amongst others.

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Tal R
"Old Confused"
Curator Richard Julin

Opening on October 2, Magasin 3 will be hosting an exhibition with the
Danish artist Tal R.

Tal R is probably best known as a painter but works in a number of media:
sculpture, drawing, printmaking, installation, video and textiles. Currently
he is also developing the clothing brand MoonSpoon Saloon.

Richard Julin, the exhibition's curator says:
"We are showing a unique spacial arrangement with new paintings, sculptures,
drawings, carpets and a great many other objects. In short, Tal R's œvre as
it presents itself this very moment, including a new performance with
MoonSpoon Saloon".

See video from Tal R's studio
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=135492127020

Tal R was born in Israel in 1967 and grew up in Denmark. He lives in
Copenhagen, where he also has his studio. His most recent solo exhibitions
include: CAC Malaga, (2009), Kunsthalle zu Kiel (2009), Bonnefanten Museum,
Holland (2008), Camden Arts Centre, London (2008), Louisiana Museum for
Moderne Kunst, Denmark (2007). He holds a guest professorship at
Kunstakademie Düsseldorf.

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