Published on February 26th, 2013 | by Sarah
0No Country: Guggenheim’s Global Art Initiative
The Guggenheim is launching their UBS MAP Global Art Initiative with an exciting exhibit of contemporary art from South and Southeast Asia titled “No Country”. The initiative is a multi-year program presenting work from three geographical areas. The other two exhibits will be based on Latin America and the Middle East/North Africa. The first exhibition in the Global Art Initiative features work by 22 artists and collectives representing what they advertise as some of the “most compelling and innovative voices in South and Southeast Asia today.”
“No Country” displays does cover a huge variety of media and scale, and a very large geographical area as well. Unfortunately the significance of each piece is not always delineated, and viewers may feel a bit disoriented without clear guidance to help place the works in a proper context. We attended a preview of the exhibit last week, which opened and is now on display to the public, with a variety of programs supporting the endeavor.
One of the most striking pieces was a bed covered in stainless steel razor blades titled “Love Bed” by Tayeba Begum Lipi from Bangladesh (pictured, right). It was placed next to my favorite piece- a gigantic backlit photograph of a group of people holding mirrors towards the camera in front of their faces, entitled “Counter Acts” by Poklong Anading (pictured, top ). I was also excited to see a large abstract piece incorporating resin and volcanic ash by Indonesian artist Arlin Dwilhartanto addressing upheval via the 2010 eruption of a native volcano (pictured, left).
The show “No Country” will be on display until May 22 at the Guggenheim Museum, 1071 Fifth Avenue, at 89th Street.
Tags: arts, exhibition, museum, review
About the Author
Sarah Sarah Mimo is easily excitable about the arts and related events. She studied illustration at Pratt institute and has worked as a graphic designer. She currently crafts laser cut clocks (sarahmimo.com) and explores the art/design/crafting events in NYC.
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