“House of Commons” at Portikus
Artists: Basel Abbas & Ruanne Abou-Rahme, Fikret Atay, Sven Augustijnen, Monika Baer, Yto Barrada, Eric Baudelaire, Rossella Biscotti, Mohamed Bourouissa, Banu Cennetoğlu, Keren Cytter, Michael Dean, Claire Fontaine, Ferenc Gróf, Shadi Habib Allah, Roni Horn, Kapwani Kiwanga, Jonathan Monk, Charlotte Posenenske, Bruno Serralongue, The Propeller Group & Superflex, Danh Vo
Venue: Portikus, Frankfurt
Exhibition Title: House of Commons
Curated by: Fabian Schöneich and Vivien Trommer
Date: December 3, 2016 – January 29, 2017
Full gallery of video, images, press release and link available after the jump.
Video:
Basel Abbas and Ruanne Abou-Rahme, Only The Beloved Keeps Our Secrets, 2016, Single channel video, 2-channel sound+subwoofer, 10 mins 9 secs
Shadi Habib Allah, trailer for Dag’aa, 2015, HD video, 18 mins 53 secs
Images:
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- Danh Vo
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- Left: Bruno Serralongue, Right: Danh Vo
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- Bruno Serralongue
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- Left to Right: Keren Cytter, Jonathan Monk, Bruno Serralongue
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- Left Foreground: Danh Vo, Books: Keren Cytter, Upper Right: Claire Fontaine
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- Left to Right: Charlotte Posenenske, The Propeller Group & Superflex, Danh Vo
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- Left to Right: Charlotte Posenenske, Monika Baer, The Propeller Group & Superflex
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- Charlotte Posenenske
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- Left to Right: Rossella Biscotti, Jonathan Monk, Charlotte Posenenske, Claire Fontaine
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- Wall: Yto Barrada Stairs Left to Right: Kapwani Kiwanga, Sven Augustijnen, Shadi Habib Allah
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- Wall: Yto Barrada Stairs Left to Right: Sven Augustijnen, Claire Fontaine, Michael Dean, Shadi Habib Allah
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- Left to Right:Roni Horn, Kapwani Kiwanga, Jonathan Monk, Monika Baer, Kapwani Kiwanga
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- Banu Cenntoğlu
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- Background, Left to Right: Roni Horn, Monika Baer Foreground: Danh Vo
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- Ferenc Gróf
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- Sven Augustijnen
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- Shadi Habib Allah
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- Kapwani Kiwanga
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- Michael Dean
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- Roni Horn, Kapwani Kiwanga
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- The Propeller Group & Superflex
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- Fikret Atay
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- Roni Horn
Images courtesy of Portikus, Frankfurt. Videos courtesy of the artists.
Press Release:
Portikus is pleased to present the exhibition House of Commons with works by younger and internationally established artists. Throughout its duration, House of Commons changes constantly and thus sees itself less as a static group exhibition than as a dynamic project. Art works will be added, swapped out, and rearranged weekly. Each of these presentations will be enhanced by discussions of the works, film screenings, and performances. The exhibition is kicked-off with the juxtaposition of only two works: Danh Vo’s sculpture WE THE PEOPLE (2011), a one-to-one replica of the Statue of Liberty in 225 fragments, of which Portikus shows a part of the foot, and Passer en Angleterre, Accès terminal transmanche, Calais, juillet 2007, a photograph by Bruno Serralongue that captures a moment of waiting in the lives of refugees on the French coast. Starting from this dual presentation, the exhibition continues to grow, and in subsequent chapters presents more photographs, paintings, sculptures, and video works.
House of Commons arose in response to the political events of recent months in Europe and the United States. A general change in mood can be sensed—events such as the Brexit referendum and the election of Donald Trump call into question the basis of democratic action and reveal the importance of constructive debate over different opinions and views. Against this backdrop, the exhibition presents both artistic works that deal explicitly with political or social issues as well as works dealing with more fundamental questions inherent in art itself. In this way, Portikus takes a political stance, argues through art, and using the simple gesture of juxtaposition, emphasizes the importance of dialogue and engagement with opposing opinions for our common coexistence.
The name of the exhibition is borrowed from the architecture of the British House of Commons, in which the members of the majority party sit across from the representatives of the opposition. The Frankfurt architect Paul Bauer took up this idea, which was first implemented in the Curia Julia of the Roman Senate in 29 BC, for the exhibition architecture in Portikus by installing two stands that face each other and function both as seating and as displays for art works. Thus, the architecture reflects the direct confrontation of two positions, opinions, or views and creates a space in which art works and bodies can always relate to each other.
House of Commons sees itself as an exhibition that sketches a likeness of contemporary artistic production and as a platform of debate, confrontation, and critical reflection. It ultimately points out that it is more important today than ever to devote ourselves to observing, listening and questioning, and to participating in public discussion.
Chapters
03.12.2016–04.12.2016
Bruno Serralongue, Danh Vo
06.12.2016–11.12.2016
Keren Cytter, Claire Fontaine, Jonathan Monk, Bruno Serralongue, Danh Vo
13.12.2016–18.12.2016
Fikret Atay, Monika Baer, Charlotte Posenenske, The Propeller Group & Superflex, Danh Vo
20.12.2016–08.01.2017
Basel Abbas & Ruanne Abou-Rahme, Monika Baer, Rossella Biscotti, Claire Fontaine, Ferenc Gróf, Roni Horn, Jonathan Monk, Charlotte Posenenske, Danh Vo
10.01.2017–15.01.2017
Sven Augustijnen, Monika Baer, Yto Barrada, Shadi Habib Allah, Roni Horn, Kapwani Kiwanga, Jonathan Monk
17.01.2017–22.01.2017
Sven Augustijnen, Yto Barrada, Banu Cennetoğlu, Michael Dean, Claire Fontaine, Shadi Habib Allah
24.01.2017–29.01.2017
Eric Baudelaire, Rossella Biscotti, Mohamed Bourouissa, Michael Dean, Charlotte Posenenske
Curated by Fabian Schöneich and Vivien Trommer (Kadist Curatorial Fellow 2016)
House of Commons is realized in close collaboration with Kadist Art Foundation, Paris, and made possible with the generous support of Kulturfonds Frankfurt RheinMain and Bureau des arts plastiques des Institut français.