PERSONAL STRUCTURES CULTURE.MIND.BECOMING LA BIENNALE DI VENEZIA 2013 PALAZZO BEMBO . PALAZZO MORA . PALAZZO MARCELLO ColoPHON CONTENTS © 2013. Texts by the authors PERSONAL STRUCTURES 7 LAURA GURTON 94 DMITRY SHORIN 190 XU BINg 274 © If not otherwise mentioned, photos by Global Art Affairs Foundation PATRICK HAMILTON 96 NITIN SHROFF 192 YANG CHIHUNg 278 PERSONAL STRUCTURES: ANNE HERZBLUTh 98 SUH JEONG MIN 194 YE YONGQINg 282 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored THE ARTIsts 15 PER HESS 100 THE ICELANDIC YING TIANQI 284 in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, CHUL HYUN AHN 16 HIROFUMI ISOYA 104 LOVE CORPORATION 196 ZHANG FANGBAI 288 electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without YOSHITAKA AMANO 20 SAM JINKS 106 MONIKA THIELE 198 ZHANG GUOLONg 290 permission of the editor. ALICE ANDERSON 22 GRZEGORZ KLATKA 110 MICHELE TOMBOLINI 200 ZHANG HUAN 292 Jan-ERIK ANDERSSON 24 MEHdi-GeorGES LAHLOU 112 ŠtefAN TÓTh 202 ZHENG CHONGBIN 294 Print: Krüger Druck + Verlag, Germany AxEL ANKLAM 26 JAMES LAVADOUR 114 VALIE EXPORT 204 ZHOU CHUNYA 298 ATELIER MORALES 28 Edited by: Global Art Affairs Foundation HELMUT LEMKE 116 VITALY & ELENA VASIELIEV 208 INGRANDIMENTO 301 YIFAT BEZALEl 30 www.globalartaffairs.org ANNA LENZ 118 BEN VAUTIER 212 CHAILE TRAVEL 304 DJAWID BOROWER 34 LUCE 120 RAPHAEL VELLA 218 FAN ANGEl 308 FAIZA BUTT 38 Published by: Global Art Affairs Foundation ANDRÉ WAGNER 220 GENG YINI 310 GENIA CHEF 42 MICHELE MANZINI 122 in cooperation with Global Art Center Foundation XING XIN 222 HOU XIAOWEI 312 CHEN PINg 48 CHRISTOPHER MARTIN 124 www.globalartcenter.org PLAMEN YORDANOV 224 HUANG Hsin-CHIEN 314 CANAL CHEONG JAGERROOS 50 HERRE METHORST 126 ZERO 226 LI HUA 316 KARLYN DE JONgh 52 DAVID MIDDLEBROOK 128 ZHANG YU 234 LI XIANGQUN 318 ISBN: 978-94-90784-12-6 SCOTT EADY 56 PETER SIMON MÜHLHÄUßER 130 CURATORS 241 LIU ZHENGYONg 320 TOSHIKATSU ENDO 60 HERMANN NITSCh 134 www.personalstructures.org MAO LIZI 322 CAROLE FEUERMAN 64 YOKO ONO 144 CULTURE.MIND.BecomING 245 MENG SITE 324 ROMAN OPALKA 150 CRISTIANA FIORETTI 66 RE-DIscoVer 249 SU KE 326 www.venice-exhibitions.org TRINY PRADA 156 DALE FRANK 68 CAI GUOQIANG 252 WEN WU 328 www.palazzobembo.org QIN CHONg 158 CHRIS FRASER 70 CHE CHUANg 254 YANG FAN 332 www.palazzomora.org STEFANUS RADEMEYER 162 MARC FROMM 72 HAN TAO 256 ZHANG KAI 334 NICOLA RAE 164 SALLY GABORI 74 HUA QINg 258 ZHANG WEI 336 JAKOB GASTEIGER 76 ARNULF RAINER 166 HUANG GANg 260 FANG LIJUN: DARRYN GEORGE 80 BOGDAN RAţA 174 HUANG ZHIYANG 262 A CautIONARY VISIon 339 SELBY GINN 84 THOMAS RIESS 176 LI CHEN 264 CURATORS 347 DAVID GOLDENBERg 86 RENE RIETMEYER 178 QU QIANMEI 266 GOTTHARD GRAUBNER 88 YhONNIE SCARCE 186 SHANG YANg 268 CAPTIONS 351 KIMBERLY GUNDLE 92 WILHELM SCHERÜBl 188 SHEN KELONg 270 SPONSORs 358 5 PERSONAL STRUCTURES Curated by Francesca Crudo Sarah Gold Carol Rolla Valeria Romagnini PERSONAL structures driving in the car, we decided to continue to organize symposia, was 14 May when I met them for the first time and I immediately to which we would invite artists. Shortly after, one evening whilst took my chance to become part of PERSONAL STRUCTURES. sitting in a bathtub, we decided to separate the topics, organizing The day of the symposium came. Lawrence Weiner, Roman By Karlyn De Jongh & Sarah Gold a symposium about Time in Amsterdam, Space in New York City, and Existence in Tokyo. Opalka, Jo Baer, Henk Peeters, Klaus Honnef... It was very special to bring all these sincere people together and to hear them speak We were able to arrange a symposium and exhibition date at the about the passing of time. Now, almost two years after the death oldest art society in Amsterdam, Arti et Amicitiae. However, to get of Roman Opalka and the death of Henk Peeters last week, it feels The making of PERSONAL STRUCTURES, 55th Venice Biennale 2013 ­Rietmeyer, who did all of the organization by himself, needed heard with a group of young artists was not easy. Better would be even more special. In 2002 the Dutch artist Rene Rietmeyer initiated the project assistance and started looking for a curator. to ‘glue’ some others to the project who already established a After the Amsterdam symposium, we kept in contact while I, PERSONAL STRUCTURES, an open platform, where artists can name for themselves. Over the years, Rene had met in Japan a.o. In February 2005 I, Sarah, met Rene Rietmeyer at the Rotterdam Art ­Karlyn, finished my studies and went to Italy for three months, to present their work and thoughts in exhibitions, symposia and Lawrence Weiner and Joseph Kosuth and both liked the idea to Fair. I had just finished my Masters in Art History and I was working work at the Venice Biennale. I remember well, that one evening in publications. speak about Time. as an assistant curator for the Caldic Collection in the Netherlands. September 2007, the three of us met in Venice. While walking over While exhibiting in Asia, North America and Europe, Rietmeyer met Rene gave me a copy of “Personal Structures: Works and Dialogues” That winter, 2006-2007 we stayed in Miami Beach, Florida, USA, the quay along the Bridge of Sighs to San Marco square, we spoke several other artists who were also working with Time, Space and and told me to contact him. I was 26 years old at the time and this where at that time Rene had one of his studios. Besides some about the future. Sarah and I had just visited some Biennale Existence. These encounters made it feel logical to bring these artists seemed an interesting opportunity: to be able to organize exhibitions we had organized in Florida, we had to be present at exhibitions together and discussed the possibility of organising together in a try to make the more philosophical topics “en vogue” in exhibitions and have the chance to work at an international top the art fair in Miami, in order to earn extra money to finance our our own PERSONAL STRUCTURES exhibition some day as an the world of contemporary art. Beginning in 1999, Rietmeyer con- level. We started to cooperate. project. The finances would solely have to come out of the sales official part of the Biennale. At that time, it was just a dream. tacted several artists and explained his ideas to create a project with of Rene’s artworks. Rene liked the idea of organizing more symposia, where artists can All our money went always into our project, the interviews, the them and in 2002 he had brought together a loose grouping of speak for themselves, and wanted to publish the spoken thoughts in As usual money was scarce, but we started nevertheless, and back in symposia; we could only survive because the Belgian collector, “young” artists from different parts of the world. significant publications. We felt that there was a necessity to do so; Europe, we had a meeting with Joseph Kosuth in Vienna, Austria. Andre Carez, bought a large installation from Rene’s work. In March The project title was chosen as a reaction upon the exhibition according to our opinion words from a direct source give a better Besides contributing to our Time symposium, Joseph said that he 2008, we flew to Tokyo together. Google had showed us that in Primary Structures from 1966, of the ‘minimalists’ Donald Judd, Carl insight than interpretations of an art historian. So we decided to ask would be interested in coming to Tokyo and speak about Existence. Tokyo the cherry blossom time was most likely to begin in the first Andre and others, who, at that time, were claiming to create artists whether they would be interested to participate in future He suggested to organize the symposium in 2008 during Sakura, the week of April, and we were able to get a symposium date scheduled ‘non-subjective’ art; art without the “touch” of the artist; non-personal. symposia which we were to organize. cherry blossom time. at the Setagaya Art Museum for 2 and 3 April 2008. Rietmeyer however claims his work is subjective, ‘personal’. His On 1 July 2006, when Rene and I were on our way to Moordrecht Boxes, as well as all other artworks are PERSONAL STRUCTURES. But before going to Japan, we had to realise our first symposium We had rented a traditional Japanese house with sliding doors, in the Netherlands for an erotic evening, Rene explained to me in Amsterdam, which was scheduled for 15 and 16 June 2007. paper walls and an old Japanese toilet and bath system. Japan In 2003 the first book “Personal Structures: Works and Dialogues” why Time, Space and Existence are the most fundamental subjects One month before that symposium, I, Karlyn, joined into the was a completely different experience. During the whole period was published, containing interviews with 16 artists by the he can think of and that they are essential for his work. Time, project—after responding to an ad on the website of Leiden when we were in Japan preparing our symposium, it had been German art-historian Peter Lodermeyer and exhibitions were held Space and Existence not only seem to be the most interesting ­University in the Netherlands, where I was doing a Research very cold and wet and the trees did not show any sign that they in Japan, USA, the Netherlands, Austria, Hungary and Germany. philosophical subjects of mankind, but probably even long before ­Master in Art History at that time. With the upcoming symposium were to blossom soon.