Lynne Cooke

This catalogue is published on the occasion of the exhibition, 12 March - 28 August 2011, of Francis Alys: Fabiola, organised by Schaulager at Haus zum Kirschgarten, an extravagant Basel museum of domestic life. For the exhibition, Francis Alys, born 1959 in Belgium, has installed his collection of over 370 amateur paintings and images of Saint Fabiola, found in flea markets and antique shops. The portraits are astonishingly similar, a wealth of copies all based on the same original painting from 1885 by the French realist Jean-Jacques Henner. They have been embedded in rooms which epitomize the living environment of the 19th-century, protestant haut-bourgeoisie. In this location, the swarm of Fabiola images represents a subversive yet subtle intervention in the museum's structure and play on the atmosphere the historic rooms seek to bring to life. The large-format photo-spread includes views of the exhibition at Haus zum Kirschgarten, providing a visual tour. Essays by the exhibition's curator, Lynne Cooke (New York/Madrid) and Dario Gamboni (Geneva), a renowned expert on Francis Alys' work, describe the nature of the installation at Haus zum Kirschgarten and discuss Alys' creative strategy. The catalogue also includes a comprehensive bibliography.… (altro)

Catalogue for a permanent installation in Stykkisholmur (Iceland) starting in 2007.

‘"Vatnasafn/Library of Water," commissioned by Artangel and created by New York artist Roni Horn incorporates a very unique take on the local geography, geology, climate and culture. In place of the former library’s book collection, Horn has installed 24 vertical glass columns, stretching from floor to ceiling, each filled with water collected from Iceland’s rapidly receding glaciers. The resulting collection is a metaphysical archive of Iceland’s geological history, together with an arresting effect of refracted and reflected light in the open space.'

(Abstract source: http://www.wallpaper.com)… (altro)

Gorgeously quiet in color and composition, Agnes Martin’s paintings have a distinctive grace that sets them apart from those of the Abstract Expressionists of her day and the Minimalist artists she inspired. Martin attributed her grid-based works to metaphysical motivations, lending a serene complexity to her oeuvre that has defied any easy categorization. Perhaps for this reason, critical and scholarly analysis of her paintings has been scarce—until now. This important new anthology brings together the most current scholarship on Martin’s paintings by twelve multidisciplinary essayists who consider various aspects of the artist’s four-decade career.… (altro)