Stephen Willats
14 Nov 2009 - 16 Jan 2010
STEPHEN WILLATS
"Cybernetic Still Life"
November 14 2009 - January 16 2010
Balice Hertling is pleased to present the exhibition "Cybernetic Still Life" by the British conceptual artist Stephen Willats.
Stephen Willats is counted among the most influential artists in Europe and works at the interface of art and other scientific disciplines, such as sociology, systems analysis, cybernetics, semiotics and philosophy.
He expresses his ideas through varied media, including photography, film, drawing, video, installation and publications. Since the early 1960’s, Willats has developed a practice that stresses the importance of context, language, audience and meaning, addressing contemporary polemics in society. In his work, Willats examines both the communication processes between people, as well as the signs and symbols which surround them in their everyday life. Instead of working within a normative world, Willats relies on the active participation of the spectator and stimulates the creative potential of people to register and formulate their own perceptions, thus providing new ways of looking at their own lives.
Over the last twenty years, Willats has made several still life pieces and these are presented for the first time in this exhibition: "Cybernetic Still Life" is a complete installation of still lives centered on buildings, objects and people, including new videos that have been produced in different areas of Paris, starting from the area around the gallery to recognisable locations in the centre of the city.
Since 1965, Stephen Willats has been the editor and publisher of Control. In its eighteen issues, this magazine has published work and writing by over 150 artists, fulfilling its function as a resource for artists to discuss their work and, in particular, to make connections with other disciplines.
Stephen Willats has exhibited throughout Europe and his work is included in the collections of many European Museums, and institutional and private collections.
"Cybernetic Still Life" is his first solo exhibition in France since 2001.
"Cybernetic Still Life"
November 14 2009 - January 16 2010
Balice Hertling is pleased to present the exhibition "Cybernetic Still Life" by the British conceptual artist Stephen Willats.
Stephen Willats is counted among the most influential artists in Europe and works at the interface of art and other scientific disciplines, such as sociology, systems analysis, cybernetics, semiotics and philosophy.
He expresses his ideas through varied media, including photography, film, drawing, video, installation and publications. Since the early 1960’s, Willats has developed a practice that stresses the importance of context, language, audience and meaning, addressing contemporary polemics in society. In his work, Willats examines both the communication processes between people, as well as the signs and symbols which surround them in their everyday life. Instead of working within a normative world, Willats relies on the active participation of the spectator and stimulates the creative potential of people to register and formulate their own perceptions, thus providing new ways of looking at their own lives.
Over the last twenty years, Willats has made several still life pieces and these are presented for the first time in this exhibition: "Cybernetic Still Life" is a complete installation of still lives centered on buildings, objects and people, including new videos that have been produced in different areas of Paris, starting from the area around the gallery to recognisable locations in the centre of the city.
Since 1965, Stephen Willats has been the editor and publisher of Control. In its eighteen issues, this magazine has published work and writing by over 150 artists, fulfilling its function as a resource for artists to discuss their work and, in particular, to make connections with other disciplines.
Stephen Willats has exhibited throughout Europe and his work is included in the collections of many European Museums, and institutional and private collections.
"Cybernetic Still Life" is his first solo exhibition in France since 2001.