Valentin Carron to represent Switzerland at the Venice Biennale
Valentin Carron will represent Switzerland at the 55th International Art Exhibition – la Biennale di Venezia in the Swiss Pavilion in the Giardini.
Pavilion of Switzerland at the 55th International Art Exhibition - la Biennale di Venezia
Valentin Carron
Curator: Giovanni Carmine
Valentin Carron has been nominated by the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia to represent Switzerland at the 55th International Art Exhibition - la Biennale di Venezia from 1 June to 24 November 2013 in the Swiss Pavilion in the Giardini. His exhibition is complemented by an accompanying talks and events programme entitled "Salon Suisse" at the Palazzo Trevisan degli Ulivi.
For Valentin Carron, sculpture is central to his work. The formal vocabulary of his pieces is inspired by the imagery of the Canton of Valais where he has spent almost all his life, borrowing and adapting the internationally renowned vocabulary of the style of his alpine home region and making it peculiarly his own. Through stylistic and material tensions, his art casts doubt as to the authenticity of the vernacular, whilst developing a highly personal artistic discourse.
For the Swiss Pavilion the artist has teamed up with Giovanni Carmine, director of Kunst Halle Sankt Gallen. Carron's exhibition is conceived as a specific, autonomous whole, encompassing wall and floor-based sculptural pieces, installation and readymade artwork. Greeting the visitor at the door of the pavilion will be a wrought iron snake whose form (over 80 metres long) winds through the architecture like a drawn line. Carron's serpent is a two-headed beast that becomes a decorative element in the modernist architecture of the Swiss Pavilion, designed in 1952 by Bruno Giacometti. The intervention defines a path through the pavilion, treating its architecture respectfully whilst also querying the status of works of art and function of sculpture. The gesture is typical of Carron's practice which fearlessly employs archaic symbols, archetypal forms and references to art history.
Further works in the exhibition include "windows" - wall-based artworks inspired by the public and religious architecture of the 1950s which recall modernist abstract paintings but are in fact made out of fibre-glass; a collection of flattened musical instruments cast in bronze, hung so as to punctuate the space; and a Piaggio Ciao scooter transformed by its context into a pop ready-made. These apparently nonsequitous elements create a 2/3 disconcerting and ambivalent effect in which nothing is quite what it seems and all is thrown into question, amounting, in the words of the curator, Giovanni Carmine, to "an elegant discussion on the complexity of defining sculpture".
"Salon Suisse": platform for lively international exchange
This year the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia presents the first "Salon Suisse" to take place as an official collateral event to the 55th International Art Exhibition - la Biennale di Venezia. An accompanying talks and event programme, the "Salon Suisse" was initiated at last year's architectural biennale. It takes place at the Palazzo Trevisan degli Ulivi in the heart of Venice's old town, offering a platform for exchange on contemporary art and thought in a relaxed atmosphere. Inspired by the tradition of art and literary salons in past centuries, "Salon Suisse" aims to encourage an international dialogue among artists, specialists, scholars, students and other interested visitors from all over the world. The "Salon Suisse" 2013 is curated by Berne-based art historian Jörg Scheller who put together a challenging programme of events focusing on the legacy of Enlightenment in the globalized art world and looking at the history of the Biennale. Five series of events will take place over the entire duration of the biennale with leading academics and arts practitioners. All events are free of admission and open to everyone. Partner of "Salon Suisse" is Laufen Bathrooms AG.
For further information please visit: www.biennials.ch
The artist, Valentin Carron
Valentin Carron (b. 1977 in Martigny, Switzerland) is one of the most compelling Swiss artists of his generation. He has had recent solo exhibitions at Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France, 2010; La Conservera, Murcia, Spain, 2009; Kunsthalle Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland, 2007 and at the Swiss Institute, New York, USA, 2006. A solo exhibition at Kunsthalle Bern, Switzerland, is planned for 2014.
The curator, Giovanni Carmine
The curator of Valentin Carron's exhibition at the Swiss Pavilion is Giovanni Carmine (b. 1975 in Bellinzona, Switzerland), who has been director of Kunst Halle Sankt Gallen since 2007. Before joining the Kunst Halle, he worked as an 3/3 independent curator and art critic and in 2011 he was artistic coordinator of ILLUMInations, the 54th edition of the Biennale di Venezia, and co-editor of the Biennale catalogue.
Lighting Design workshop by Jonathan O’Hear
Swiss Lighting Designer Jonathan O’ Hear is in India on the invitation of Attakkalari Center for Movement Arts, Bangalore and Gati Dance Forum in Delhi to conduct workshops on 'Light as an artistic medium.
Swiss Lighting Designer Jonathan O' Hear is in India on the invitation of Attakkalari Center for Movement Arts, Bangalore and Gati Dance Forum in Delhi to conduct workshops on 'Light as an artistic medium.
Pro Helvetia - Swiss Arts Council in collaboration with Attakkalari Center for Movement Arts, Bangalore presents an advanced workshop in Lighting Design by Swiss Lighting Designer Jonathan O'Hear.
Date: 25 & 26 May 2013
Time: 10:00 am to 6:00 pm
Venue: Attakkalari Center for Movement Arts, 24-04, 1st Cross, Wilson Garden, Bangalore 560 027, India.
Entry: by registration only. For more details call 7406865628 / 08022122684
or contact Vijay Saravanan C R, Production Coordinator at vijay(at)attakkalari.org
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After the workshops in Bangalore, Swiss lighting designer Jonathan O’ Hear will be Delhi at the invitation of Gati Dance Forum to conduct workshops on ‘Light as an Artistic Medium.’
Date: Sat & Sun, 8 & 9 June 2013
Entry: By registration only
To register for the workshop please email gatidance@gmail.com with your name, phone number and email address.
This is a non-technical lighting design workshop for choreographers, aspiring lighting designers or anyone who is curious about understanding light. The discussion will include light in nature and in art focusing on its emotional and psychological effects on human beings. This workshop is an attempt to understand how one can use light as an artistic medium for stage performances, as objects, and in life. In concordance with the multifaceted nature of light, the workshop will be a mix of theory, observation and sensing.
For more information please contact: www.gatidance.com
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Jonathan O'Hear trained as a film-maker in Vancouver in the 80's where he acquired a taste for manipulating light, sound and video in various contexts. After receiving his diploma in Video and Film Production, from the Vancouver Film School and Columbia Academy, Vancouver, Jonathan O'Hear returned to Geneva and worked as a sound and lights operator, and then as lighting and video designer. He then moved to Brussels where he continued lighting design and consequently worked as an independent multimedia designer. Jonathan now lives in Geneva and has worked for choreographers such as Foofwa D'Imobilité (Neopost Ahrrrt), Rebecca Spinetti (Cobalt) and director, Georges Guereiro (Baraka cie) on all their productions. Jonathan has been the lighting and video designer for over a hundred productions in New York, Geneva, Paris and Brussels in venues such as Baryshnikov Arts Center, Dance New Amsterdam, Association de la Danse Contemporaine, Bercy, Le théâtre des Amandiers, Palexpo, La Comédie de Genève, le Botanique, le Théâtre Varia and many others. He has also been the director of photography for a dozen short movies and music and sports video clips.
Off late, Jonathan has been working on Design and production of interactive video for live performances and development of a video compression system for low bandwidth. He has been experimenting with the use of new technologies and human interference such as generating an organic form of light movement and using a track pad to move and reshape it live during the performance.
Today he lives in Switzerland and works primarily as a lighting designer for the performing arts.
Announcing awardees of Studio Residency 2014
Pro Helvetia New Delhi announces the names of the artists who have been awarded Studio Residencies for 2014 / 2015.
Announcing recipients of Studio Residencies in 2013/2014 Pro Helvetia - Swiss Arts Council announces the names of Indian and Swiss artists who have been selected by the jury to avail of the Studio Residency it offers.
South Asian artists:
Ehsan Ul Haq (visual art) / Pakistan
Sujit Mallik (visual art) / India
Taran Khan (literature) / India
Swiss artists:
Christoph Draeger (visual art)
Christophe Polese (music)
Michael Pelzel (music)
The applications received from the above artists were in concurrence with Pro Helvetia - Swiss Art Council's current mandate. The jury made its decision depending on the application's individual merit as well as on being able to find an appropriate host in Switzerland. Besides, preference is given to artists who are able to demonstrate the possibility of generating follow-up projects.
The selection in India was made by a jury comprising Girish Shahane, an art historian, curator and columnist; Zuleikha Chaudhari, theatre director, artist and light designer; S Kalidas, art critic and columnist from Delhi, and Chandrika Grover Ralleigh, Head Pro Helvetia New Delhi.
The selection has been corroborated by Pro Helvetia's Specialist Departments in Zurich. For more information on Residencies offered by Pro Helvetia click here
Performance: a male ant has straight antennae
A collaborative performance by Indian choreographer Mandeep Raikhy, Swiss light designer Jonathan O'Hear and Japanese musician Yasuhiro Morinaga.
A collaborative performance by Indian choreographer Mandeep Raikhy, Swiss light designer Jonathan O'Hear and Japanese musician Yasuhiro Morinaga.
Date: 13 June 2013
Time: 7:30 pm
Venue: Kamani Auditorium, Copernicus Marg, Mandi House, New Delhi
Entry: Tickets available on Book My Show or
at the venue on 12 & 13 June 2013
Synopsis:
a male ant has straight antennae - exploring notions of masculanity Choreography: Mandeep Raikhy / IndiaLighting Design: Jonathan O'Hear / SwitzerlandSound Score: Yasuhiro Morinaga / Japan a male ant has straight antennae is an ensemble piece that investigates physicality of the body that resides within the wide spectrum of masculinities- ranging from hyper-masculinity to effeminacy. The piece will look at the notion of masculinity through the lenses of movement, relationships, games and touch.
Mandeep Raikhy is a Delhi-based dance artist. After finishing a BA (Hons) Degree in Dance Theatre at Laban, London, in 2002, Mandeep worked with Shobana Jeyasingh Dance Company as a company dancer for many years. In 2010-11, he toured with his first full-length work, Inhabited Geometry, to various cities across the country.
Jonathan O'Hear After receiving his diploma in Video and Film Production, from the Vancouver Film School and Columbia Academy, Vancouver, Jonathan O'Hear returned to Geneva and worked as a sound and lights operator, and then as lighting and video designer. He then moved to Brussels where he continued lighting design and consequently worked as an independent multimedia designer. Jonathan now lives in Geneva and has worked for choreographers such as Foofwa D'Imobilité (Neopost Ahrrrt), Rebecca Spinetti (Cobalt) and director, Georges Guereiro (Baraka cie) on all their productions. Jonathan has been the lighting and video designer for over a hundred productions in New York, Geneva, Paris and Brussels in venues such as Baryshnikov Arts Center, Dance New Amsterdam, Association de la Danse Contemporaine, Bercy, Le théâtre des Amandiers, Palexpo, La Comédie de Genève, le Botanique, le Théâtre Varia and many others. He has also been the director of photography for a dozen short movies and music and sports video clips.
Of late, Jonathan has been working on design and production of interactive video for live performances and the development of a video compression system for low bandwidth. He has been experimenting with the use of new technologies and human interference such as generating an organic form of light movement and using a track pad to move and reshape it live during performance. Today he lives in Switzerland and works primarily as a lighting designer for the performing arts.
Yasuhiro Morinaga is a Japanese sound designer and music director and is known in the Asian independent cinema field. He is also a field recording artist specialising in outland ethnic music, oral communication, and wildlife and environmental sounds. Morinaga's eclectic approach to sound design for film has been presented in film festivals in Cannes, Venice, Berlin and Toronto. He also designed and produced sound in a project for SONY's monolithic design exhibition at Milano Salone 2010.
For more information please contact +91 9971406113 or visit www.gatidance.com
Organiser and Partners:
The production of "a male ant has straight antennae " is supported by Pro Helvetia - Swiss Arts Council, Goethe-Institut, Max Mueller Bhavan & Japan Foundation.
Gati Dance Forum, New Delhi - www.gatidance.com
Pro Helvetia - Swiss Arts Council - www.prohelvetia.in
Japan Foundation - www.jfindia.org.in
Goethe-Institut, Max Mueller Bhavan - www.goethe.de/Ins/in/ned/enindex.htm
