Mona Hatoum in Art in America

2009 Faye Hirsch:

"Mona Hatoum, who exhibits a tableful of her crystal Murano-made grenades in 'Glass Stress,' is present (like many of the other artists in the show) at another venue, in this case a non-biennial exhibition at the Fondazione Querini Stampalia (through Sept. 20). 'Interior Landscape' is a retrospective of 29 works from the past 12 years that are, like the grenades, lovely and ominous in equal measure. The motorized rotating brass lantern in Misbah (2006) casts stars and soldiers, cut out of its surface, as spinning light silhouettes on the walls; suspended barbed wire forms a minimalist cube (Impenetrable, 2009) that builds danger into abstraction. A large globe glowing fiery orange (Hotspot III, 2009) enflames the nations of the earth, traced out in wobbly neon lines. There are also small objects, such as balls of human hair and a silicone rubber brain, which have been placed in glass vitrines alongside the museum's decorative art objects, like moody intruders at a fete galante."

Hirsch, F. "Be afraid, be in love: collateral exhibitions in venice." Art in America, September 2009. p. 113.

GlassStress in NYT

2009 Roderick Conway Morris:

"VENICE — Glass has unique illusionistic possibilities, making it, in theory, an ideal medium for artistic expression. Yet modern artists have experimented with it only intermittently. However, as two exhibitions in Venice reveal, glass is now being taken up by an increasingly wide spectrum of contemporary artists.

In 1972, glass ceased to have its own section at the Venice Biennale, when the inclusion of what were considered “decorative arts” was abandoned. But at this year’s event, glass has made a comeback in two separate shows: “Glasstress,” an official parallel exhibition at Palazzo Cavalli Franchetti on the Grand Canal, and “Fa come natura face in foco,” which borrows a line from Dante’s Divine Comedy (“Do as nature does in the flame”) to evoke the fiery glass furnaces of Murano, at the Padiglione Venezia in the Biennale’s Castello Gardens (both until Nov. 22).

[...]

In 1971, Duchamp’s cones, an element in “Large Glass,” inspired Richard Hamilton’s “Sieves (with Marcel Duchamp),” in which the artist creates the appearance of conical objects arching freely through the air by painting them on a plate of glass barely visible from a distance.

Hamilton’s piece is one of a number of works in “Glasstress” that use glass to play with our perceptions of reality, posing some entertaining and thought-provoking conceptual conundrums.

[...]

Robert Rauschenberg’s “Untitled” (1971), a pair of clear blown-glass car tires, represents an amusing departure from his usual modus operandi. Rauschenberg’s sculptures were typically constructed out of scrap metal and found objects from junkyards (of the kind featured in the current “Gluts” show at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection on the other side of the Grand Canal from Palazzo Cavalli Franchetti). But these tires have an almost ghostly, dreamlike unreality.

Ms. Peabody’s “My Sidewalk” (2009), a mysterious, occluded narrative installation, is composed of paving stones made of mirrors on which she has engraved images of childhood objects and memories — a comb, a teddy bear, a manhole cover. But the last paving stone is shattered to fragments, suggesting perhaps dissolution and broken hopes. Mona Hatoum in her “Nature Morte aux Grenades” (2006-7) has covered a table with what from a distance look like rather cheerful colored-glass ornaments, but which on closer inspection turn out to be hand grenades.

Bizarre, esoteric, but curiously engaging: that describes the South Korean artist Hye Rim Lee’s “Crystal City Spun,” a 3-D video animation, where glass objects and their reflections are perfectly digitally crafted, but entirely illusory. The balletic performance they put on, to pulsing music, features Toki, a pirouetting dancer in vertiginous stiletto heels with an impossibly pneumatic figure; and a friendly dragon, backed by a spinning chorus of bouncing pink glass rabbits, vibrators and other phallic sex aids.

[...]

Visitors to “Fa come natura face in foco” at the Padiglione Venezia are greeted by Dale Chihuly’s flamboyantly colorful “Mille Fiori Venezia,” an open-air installation of weird and wonderful forms, made up of around 500 individual pieces of glass. In a side room off the main gallery is a display of groundbreaking historic objects by some of the most innovative glass artists of the first half of the 20th century, notably Vittorio Zecchin, Napoleone Martinuzzi, Carlo Scarpa and Ercole Barovier.

Outstanding among the new exhibits in the main pavilion show are those by Yoichi Ohira. [...] In his “Submerged Crystal” series here, which he describes as “sunk vases in thick clear crystal,” he creates intriguing impressions of one vessel suspended in another, an ethereal illusion of precarious equilibrium that could only be created in glass.

Fa come natura face in foco. Padiglione Venezia, Castello Gardens, Venice. Through Nov. 22."

Excerpted From:

Morris, R.C. "Contemporary Reflections in Glass." August 7, 2009. The New York Times. website accessed August 9, 2009. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/08/arts/08iht-biennale.html

Mona Hatoum @ Venice Biennale 2009

2009 Vernissage TV:



Henrichy0205yt (YouTube username) of Vernissage TV. "Mona Hatoum: Interior Landscape." YouTube video posted July 5, 2009. accessed July 19, 2009. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4jK-LZrnWA. video credit: K. Zupan-Rupp and H. Schmidt. Video taken at Venice Biennale 2009 at the Fondazione Querini Stampaglia, June 3, 2009.

2009 Mona Hatoum:

"Natura morta" 2009
Murano Glass
Photo Credit: A. Osio... La Fondazione Querini Stampalia
http://www.querinistampalia.it/eventi/view.php?cms_pk=382&dir_pk=3

Venice Projects: Glass Stress

From Berengo Fine Arts:

"Glasstress is the evocative and provocative title of this exhibition on the use of glass in contemporary art.

The exhibition proposes following the story of the increasing affirmation of glass as the stuff of modernity.

Originally a noble material used for functional purposes, over the centuries, glass has had to exert great pressure and to expend enormous effort to free itself from the clichés that have imprisoned it and have relegated its uses to limited contexts.

A state of continuous stress and tension has therefore characterized this material. Its presence in the world of contemporary art is a recent conquest.

The exhibition brings together some particularly important works from the first half of the 20th century along with works and installations by artists active in the vibrant landscape of the last few decades, in such a way as to create ensembles rich with cross-references and harmonies or ones characterized by a diversity of approaches and aims.

The arrangement of the works unfolds in neither a rigid chronological order nor a theoretically exhaustive one but rather one that is emotionally pregnant, that allows the onlooker to understand the wealth of this extraordinary material's expressive potential, a material traditionally linked to the city of Venice."

"GLASSTRESS Collateral event 53rd International Art Exhibition La Biennale di Venezia" website accessed June 9, 2009. http://www.berengo.com/?visibile_cont=&id_pagina=85&id_news=78&Lang=_2&&events-02-06-2009-GLASSTRESS-Collateral-event-53rd-International-Art-Exhibition-La-Biennale-di-Venezia.html

From ArtDaily.org:

"VENICE.- Glasstress, an official exhibition of the 53rd Venice Biennale that celebrates the use of glass in contemporary art, will be held at both the historic Istituto Veneto di Scienze Lettere ed Arti at the Palazzo Cavalli Franchetti (Campo Santo Stefano – San Marco, Venezia) and at the Scuola Grande Confraternita di San Teodoro, (San Marco, Venezia), from June 6 – November 22, 2009. The exhibition will be presented by Venice Projects, an organization dedicated to presenting the work of internationally recognized artists who work with glass. There will be a press preview on Thursday, June 4 from 11 am to 6 pm. The opening reception will be on Friday, June 5 at 6:00 pm. In addition, “Matter”, a symposium organized by Artist Rene Rietmeyer, will be held at the Palazzo Cavalli Franchetti during the Glasstress Press Preview on June 4 from 1 PM to 4 PM.

Glasstress will feature both specially commissioned new work and selected pieces by forty-five modern and contemporary artists, many of whom are working with glass for the first time. The exhibition will explore each artist’s unique approach to working with the glass, the technical limits inherent in the material, and the synthesis between the artist’s ideas and the glass master’s skills. Glasstress is organized by Murano-based art impresario Adriano in collaboration with Laura Mattioli Rossi and Rosa Barovier Mentasti. The exhibition is sponsored by The Mjellby Konstmuseum of Halmstad, Sweden in collaboration with Susan Scherman of Susan Scherman Fine Arts, San Francisco.

Glasstress represents Berengo’s dream of examining the expressive possibilities of glass by presenting a global survey and critical look at its use by modern and contemporary artists. The exhibition will showcase original and innovate work by artists, who traditionally work in other media, such as, Luciano Fabro, Louise Bourgeois, Joseph Kosuth, Kiki Smith, Fred Wilson and Tony Cragg. These artists were and are fascinated by the formal and conceptual possibilities of the material. In addition, there will be work by glass artists, such as Lino Tagliapietra, who have taken the forms and technical traditions of Murano glass production to new and exciting extremes. Dan Graham, who uses glass to create contemporary environments and installations, is also part of this important and historical presentation.

Glasstress is the link between the Venetian fine art glass movement of 1950s, Venice Projects and the 2009 Venice Biennale. As a young man, growing up in Venice, Berengo was aware that Peggy Guggenheim was fascinated by the artistic possibilities of glass – she felt that Venetian glass was too important to be used only for decorative purposes.

Guggenheim encouraged Kokoschka, Picasso, Braque, Chagall and Max Ernst to experiment with glass by working with Egidio Costantini (“Fucina Degli Angeli” – The Forge of Angels). He was the master who could help them express their artistic ideas using glass. Following in Costantini’s footsteps, Berengo started helping artists, many of whom have never worked with glass, discover the artistic possibilities of the material - many of these artists are in the exhibition.

Participating Artists – Glasstress: Josef Albers, Arman, Jean Arp, Barbara Bloom, Louise Bourgeois, Sergio Bovenga, Daniel Buren, Lawrence Carroll, Cèsar, Soyeon Cho, Tony Cragg, Marie Louise Ekman, Jan Fabre, Luciano Fabro, Lucio Fontana, Francesco Gennari, Dan Graham, Richard Hamilton, Mona Hatoum, Hye Rim Lee, Charlotte Hodes, Mimmo Jodice, Marya Kazoun, Joseph Kosuth, Jannis Kounellis, Raimund Kummer, Federica Marangoni, ORLAN, Jean-Michel Othoniel, Luca Pancrazzi, Anne Peabody, Giuseppe Penone, Anton Pevsner, Bettina Pousttchi, Robert Rauschenberg, Man Ray, Rene Rietmeyer, Silvano Rubino, Sandro Sergi, Kiki Smith, Jana Sterbak, Lino Tagliapietra, Koen Vanmechelen, Fred Wilson, Kimiko Yoshida and Chen Zhen."

ArtDaily. "Glass Stress - Collateral Event of the 53rd International Art Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia" June 7, 2009. http://www.artdaily.com/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=31148

From Whitewall Magazine:

Koen Vanmechelen, "The Accident" (2005). Photo Credit, Whitewall Magazine.

“Glass Stress,” an exhibition that celebrates the use of glass in contemporary art, opens this week as a collateral event of the Venice Biennale. Work by Josef Albers, Louise Bourgeois, Tony Cragg, Dan Graham, Lino Tagliapietra, and Lucien Fabro have been brought together by Venice Projects, an organization founded by Adriano Berengo that has been bringing together artists and glass masters for two decades. Nearly half of the exhibition will be commissioned work by artists working with glass for the first time. Through Venice Projects, Berengo hopes to link the Venetian art glass movement of the fifties to the Biennale, while securing glass as a respectable material for contemporary artists to use. We spoke with Berengo on a recent trip to New York about his pitch to contemporary artists and why glass has been negatively associated with craft and function.

WHITEWALL: What is a typical reaction when you approach an artist to work with glass. Are there certain artists that you approach because you think they might work better with it?

ADRIANO BERENGO: I work better with painters. You know why? Because painters are, at least at the beginning, more flexible. A sculptor normally make pieces himself so he is more aware. Whereas the painter, when he sees the transformation of a flat surface into a tri-dimensional sort of thing, he is amazed. So, how do I choose the artist? Some artists have overcome their prejudices [about glass] and they approach me. I will also approach artists. This is the most difficult part of the job: to convince them that glass could be a medium for their expression. Sometimes, I succeed, sometimes I fail but in general now, they approach me. I think that it’s very interesting that in the art world the use of glass is becoming more and more frequent and more and more important. I don’t want to say that I am responsible for this, but I think I have contributed a little bit to this.

WW: How many artists were commissioned specifically for the show?

AB: I think 50%. Every time for me is a new experience. It’s a fascinating experience.

WW: So the artist comes up with a concept, you pair them with a glass master, and let them run with it?

AB: Well, whatever they have in mind and whatever is feasible of course. But I think that an intelligent artist pretty soon understands the possibility and the limitations of the medium.

WW: Why does glass have a bad reputation? Why isn’t it used by as many artists? Do you think artists are turned off because of it’s ties to “craft”?

AB: Yes, because glass is such an old material that has been frequently used for decorative purposes and for functional purposes. You make a chandelier in glass, we drink out of glass. That known function of decorative things has created, in my opinion, an obstacle to the use of it. But look at what happened to photography. At the beginning, all the attention was on the medium. But pretty soon we realized that the camera was not enough. There was a concept behind it. So photography became very popular. I think that the more glass is used by artists, the more this barrier, this reluctance, this resistance will disappear. I think that glass will be one of the noble materials for contemporary artists.

Donaghue, K. "Venice Biennale: Glass Stress." June 3, 2009. Whitewall Magazine website. accessed June 7, 2009. http://www.whitewallmag.com/2009/06/03/venice-biennale-glass-stress/

From TheArtNewspaper:

"No other city in the world is more closely associated with the art of glassmaking than Venice, so it is fitting that "Glass Stress", a new survey of modern and contemporary glass art, opens on 6 June. The show brings together commissioned pieces by artists such as Fred Wilson, Tony Cragg and Orlan with rare objects made by Jean Arp, Louise Bourgeois, Jan Fabre, Mona Hatoum, Man Ray, Robert Rauschenberg and Lino Tagliapietra, among others.

Who is showing where - download Venice map

Adriano Berengo, a local curator and art dealer, devised the exhibition to draw attention to the use of glass in installation and sculpture art today. Mr Berengo has been committed to revitalizing the art of glassmaking since the 1980s when he founded Berengo Studio, an organisation designed to help artists learn about the potential uses of glass in contemporary work. Since that time he has invited over 140 international artists to his studio to collaborate with expert glassblowers, many of who are included in the show.

The exhibition is co-organised by Mr Berengo, Laura Mattioli Rossi and Rosa Barovier Mentasti and is sponsored by the Mjellby Konstmuseum of Halmstad, Sweden, in collaboration with Susan Scherman Fine Arts, San Francisco.

Glass Stress, Istituto Veneto di Scienze Lettere ed Arti at the Palazzo Cavalli Franchetti and at the Scuola Grande Confraternita di San Teodoro, San Marco (6 June–22 November 2009)."

Picard, Charmaine. "Major collateral event focuses on glass." May 29, 2009. The Art Newspaper. website accessed June 7, 2009. http://www.theartnewspaper.com/articles/Major-collateral-event-focuses-glass/17443