Tomás Saraceno
15 Mar - 13 Apr 2013
TOMÁS SARACENO
Social .. Quasi social .. Solitary .. Spiders ... On Hybrid Cosmic Webs
15 March - 13 April 2013
Esther Schipper is pleased to announce the first solo exhibition of Tomás Saraceno at the gallery.
One of Saraceno’s key interests is the scientific observation of environmental, biological and physical systems and their poetic correlation to human perception and ideas about the living environment. Patterns, which the artist discovers in phenomena ranging from macro structures of the outer space to micro bio-systems of nature, invite to imagine alternative ways of the organisation of life.
In the exhibition Tomás Saraceno reveals one of the main sources of his research and inspiration, expanding spatial structures of spider webs. In the first room of the gallery illuminated, translucent cubes are hosting webs built by different species of spiders. Among them social spiders, a small minority between otherwise solitary insects that have developed a social ability. Almost all cobwebs on the display are hybrid creations woven by spiders on top of the older webs built by a different species. These unique multi-generational structures would never occur in ‘nature’. Supervising their development the artist touched upon key principles of social organisation: cooperation, co-habitation and hybridity.
This is an artistic experiment that weaves architecture, biology, network analyses and social behaviour into questions of sharing, communicating and building.
In the second space of the gallery large-scale open cobweb installations emphasise the fragility and complexity of the natural structures. The look of the visitor can wander in labyrinths of the spider threads. Like almost all projects of the artist the current works were developed in collaboration with scientists: astrophysicists, arachnologists, radiologists, engineers, biologists and others. The process and unique findings of these collaborations are captured in the works presented in vitrines. Among them, for example, is the proposal for a study of spider webs in the condition of microgravity, which was submitted to the European Science Foundation.
The artist’s fascination with cobwebs arises from applying the image of a spider web in astrophysics where it is used to represent galaxy formations. The ongoing research project of Saraceno started out as an investigation of these universal patterns. The artist’s continuous interest in models of co-habitation, biodiversity, adaptability and hybridity led him further to experiments with spiders growing their homes in an artificial environment. Abstract three- dimensional structures created by the insects point out to little known facets of the universe and become associative signs of co-habitation, generational succession, sociality and survival.
The theme of the spider-web as a metaphor of a sociality, networking and connectivity was explored by Tomás Saraceno in his installation „Galaxies Forming along Filaments, like Droplets along the Strands of a Spider’s Web” at the Italian Pavilion of the 53rd Venice Biennale in 2009. During his residency at the International Space Studies Program at NASA in 2009 the artist met space scientists, astrophysicists and biologists, who drew his attention to the parallels between spider silk structures and galactic formations. In the time leading up to the exhibition “14 billions (working title)” at the Bonniers Konsthall (2011) the artist and his collaborators conducted numerous experiments attempting to create 3D visualisations and large-scale installations reconstructing architecture of the spiderweb. The current exhibition introduces the new stage of this ongoing research project where the artist observes the webs as miniature social models.
Tomás Saraceno, born in 1973 in Argentina, studied art and architecture. Currently he lives and works in Berlin. His recent international exhibitions include: “Roof Garden Installation”, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (2012); “On space time foam”, HangarBicocca, Milan (2012-2013); „Cloud Cities“, Hamburger Bahnhof - Museum für Gegenwart, Berlin (2011-2012). Selected group exhibitions with the artist’s participation: “20 Jahre Gegenwart”, MMK Museum für Moderne Kunst Frankfurt (2011); Installation at the Italian Pavilion at the 53 rd Venice Biennial, Venice (2009). Saraceno’s continuous research of spider-web structures has been presented in solo exhibitions “14 billions (working title)” at Bonniers Kons thall, Stockholm and Kunsthalle, Helsinki (2010). The works displayed in the current exhibition will be part of his next solo show „ In Orbit”, which will open in June 2013 at K21 Ständehaus, Düsseldorf.
Social .. Quasi social .. Solitary .. Spiders ... On Hybrid Cosmic Webs
15 March - 13 April 2013
Esther Schipper is pleased to announce the first solo exhibition of Tomás Saraceno at the gallery.
One of Saraceno’s key interests is the scientific observation of environmental, biological and physical systems and their poetic correlation to human perception and ideas about the living environment. Patterns, which the artist discovers in phenomena ranging from macro structures of the outer space to micro bio-systems of nature, invite to imagine alternative ways of the organisation of life.
In the exhibition Tomás Saraceno reveals one of the main sources of his research and inspiration, expanding spatial structures of spider webs. In the first room of the gallery illuminated, translucent cubes are hosting webs built by different species of spiders. Among them social spiders, a small minority between otherwise solitary insects that have developed a social ability. Almost all cobwebs on the display are hybrid creations woven by spiders on top of the older webs built by a different species. These unique multi-generational structures would never occur in ‘nature’. Supervising their development the artist touched upon key principles of social organisation: cooperation, co-habitation and hybridity.
This is an artistic experiment that weaves architecture, biology, network analyses and social behaviour into questions of sharing, communicating and building.
In the second space of the gallery large-scale open cobweb installations emphasise the fragility and complexity of the natural structures. The look of the visitor can wander in labyrinths of the spider threads. Like almost all projects of the artist the current works were developed in collaboration with scientists: astrophysicists, arachnologists, radiologists, engineers, biologists and others. The process and unique findings of these collaborations are captured in the works presented in vitrines. Among them, for example, is the proposal for a study of spider webs in the condition of microgravity, which was submitted to the European Science Foundation.
The artist’s fascination with cobwebs arises from applying the image of a spider web in astrophysics where it is used to represent galaxy formations. The ongoing research project of Saraceno started out as an investigation of these universal patterns. The artist’s continuous interest in models of co-habitation, biodiversity, adaptability and hybridity led him further to experiments with spiders growing their homes in an artificial environment. Abstract three- dimensional structures created by the insects point out to little known facets of the universe and become associative signs of co-habitation, generational succession, sociality and survival.
The theme of the spider-web as a metaphor of a sociality, networking and connectivity was explored by Tomás Saraceno in his installation „Galaxies Forming along Filaments, like Droplets along the Strands of a Spider’s Web” at the Italian Pavilion of the 53rd Venice Biennale in 2009. During his residency at the International Space Studies Program at NASA in 2009 the artist met space scientists, astrophysicists and biologists, who drew his attention to the parallels between spider silk structures and galactic formations. In the time leading up to the exhibition “14 billions (working title)” at the Bonniers Konsthall (2011) the artist and his collaborators conducted numerous experiments attempting to create 3D visualisations and large-scale installations reconstructing architecture of the spiderweb. The current exhibition introduces the new stage of this ongoing research project where the artist observes the webs as miniature social models.
Tomás Saraceno, born in 1973 in Argentina, studied art and architecture. Currently he lives and works in Berlin. His recent international exhibitions include: “Roof Garden Installation”, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (2012); “On space time foam”, HangarBicocca, Milan (2012-2013); „Cloud Cities“, Hamburger Bahnhof - Museum für Gegenwart, Berlin (2011-2012). Selected group exhibitions with the artist’s participation: “20 Jahre Gegenwart”, MMK Museum für Moderne Kunst Frankfurt (2011); Installation at the Italian Pavilion at the 53 rd Venice Biennial, Venice (2009). Saraceno’s continuous research of spider-web structures has been presented in solo exhibitions “14 billions (working title)” at Bonniers Kons thall, Stockholm and Kunsthalle, Helsinki (2010). The works displayed in the current exhibition will be part of his next solo show „ In Orbit”, which will open in June 2013 at K21 Ständehaus, Düsseldorf.