EDITOR’S LETTER
Form, material, untranslatability of material and form; dematerialization, the ready-made, handmade; assemblage, objects, figures, and actions that unfold in space and time. Thinking about the range of problematics related to sculpture, this issue leafs through various approaches, presenting a number of paradigmatic practices to provide a glimpse of the multilayered nature of this language. Through the featured artists’ complex experimentations around this medium, we can look back to sculpture’s past and envision its future and open-ended potentials.
In the cover story, Chiara Parisi reflects on the extraordinary practice of Jannis Kounellis, an artist who dealt with sculpture as much as with painting, performance, poetry, and music, the latter a constant throughout his entire life and production. This in-depth essay takes the reader inside Kounellis’s approach, shedding particular light on his “anti-spectacular” actions; on music as an indispensable presence which fills his works with energy; on that kind of material “capable of leaping from the walls, ambulating, burning, shining, occupying and making space.” Ben Eastham traces back through Isa Genzken’s long career, pointing out how she has constantly reinvented the language of sculpture, defying any simplistic categorization. Jean-Luc Moulène addresses the major issue of form and talks about “formal optimization,” revealing the process that led to his ambitious new piece for the solo show at the SculptureCenter in New York. Victoria Sung introduces us to the work of Siah Armajani, who pioneered a form of “architecture-as-sculpture,” while Sarah Cluggish delves into Cathy Wilkes’ evocative and enigmatic sculptural tableaux and figures frozen in introspective poses. In conversation with Eva Respini, Huma Bhabha explains her strong interest in materials as well as her “characters” carved and assembled by hand, which are the outcome of a very intuitive and formal process focused on the figure. Anna Daneri puts the poetics and recurring themes of Joan Jonas into focus, starting from the large installation Moving Off the Land II (2019) created for the Venice space of TBA21-Academy.
We also explore notions of otherness, gender and queer identity with Pauline Boudry / Renate Lorenz, Shu Lea Cheang and Dalton Gata. The latter unveils the imagery behind his visionary paintings in a visual essay created specifically for us. Pauline Boudry & Renate Lorenz disclose the concepts on which their project for the Swiss Pavilion “Moving Backwards” is grounded, while the “cyberfeminist” Shu Lea Cheang explains the “trans-punkfiction” installation she has invented for the Taiwan Pavilion.
Myth centers on Thomas Schütte and his multifaceted identity, in an essay by Max L. Feldman, accompanied by a reprint of a short story by the artist. Aubrey Mayer’s camera peeks into Laure Prouvost’s studio, while in Market we glance at the Ursula Hauser Collection, thanks to an interview with Manuela Wirth that reveals how she was first drawn to art.
Detour ranges from cinema to architecture: an essay by Herb Shellenberger pays homage to the extraordinary artist and filmmaker Jonas Mekas, while Paola Antonelli talks with Julian Rose about the recently opened 22nd edition of the Triennale di Milano and how its “Broken Nature” theme has evolved. Finally, a conversation between Hans Ulrich Obrist and architect Elizabeth Diller examines the premises behind the multi-arts center The Shed, and the challenge of designing a flexible building for something that is by definition in constant flux: art.