Anthony Marcellini
13 Jan - 13 Feb 2013
ANTHONY MARCELLINI
Even A Perfect Crime Leaves A Trace
13 January - 13 February 2013
Even a Perfect Crime Leaves a Trace is an ambitious new commission by artist Anthony Marcellini that draws from Göteborgs Konsthall’s exhibition history.
With commissioned works by Jörgen Svensson, Elin Wikström, and Johan Zetterquist, performances by Karl Larsson and Matthew Rana; new commissioned texts by Cecilia Eriksen Wijk, Maja Hammarén and Adam Kleinman; and an exhibition-within-the-exhibition, presenting works by Bertil Berg, Anders Bergh, Nils Olof Bonnier, Monica Englund, Roj Friberg, Carl-Erik Hammarén, Bengt Hinnerson, Sandra Ikse, Bernt Jonasson, Berit Jonsvik, Peder Josefsson, Tord Lager, Folke Lind, Åke Nilsson, Barbro Reyman, Ronald Reyman, Graham Stacy, Solwei Stampe, Jörgen Zetterquist and others.
We are standing within a crime scene, in a vast exhibition hall, in which hundreds have met their demise. The crime has been allowed to continue for almost 100 years, yet we don't quite know where to point our fingers. It is a perfect crime, but even a perfect crime leaves a trace. We are flooded with evidence; we see stains on the floors, marks on the walls, furniture that has been deliberately moved to cover up clues, numerous efficient weapons left behind and the victims and the accused have both consented to the part they play. Though there is certainly violence and gore, nothing about this situation is at all sinister or malicious. But because we are detectives—who have been hired for this job by the accused to represent the victims—we just can’t help ourselves; we love the savagery.
If the artwork from past exhibitions can be understood as bodies that have disappeared—buried alive in some cases, abandoned or cremated—the archive represents one of the few traces, which shows how these bodies were once present and active, evidence in a crime scene. From correspondence, photos, catalogs, shopping lists, interviews and essays, we learn something about what and who happened in these empty rooms. When this archive is manifested as exhibition, it too becomes a body, a body of evidence, which will soon be buried. Art can always be exhumed, re-presented, recreated and perhaps resurrected, but like biblical figures, the message changes with each new appearance and something is always lost.
Anthony Marcellini is an artist and writer. His work has been exhibited internationally at museums, galleries and art institutions, including Wilkinson Gallery, London (2012); Galerie Edouard Manet, Centre d'art contemporain de Gennevilliers, Paris (2012); Gagnef Festival, Sweden (2012); Skulpturengarten Strombad Kritzendorf, Vienna (2012), Sequences Art Festival, Reykjavik (2011); Etc. Gallerie, Prague (2010) amongst others. His upcoming projects in 2013 include exhibitions at Witte De With, Rotterdam and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco. His writing has been published in Paletten Art Journal, the web-based publication Nowiswere, and he is a featured contributor to the online journal Art Practical, San Francisco. He is currently an Adjunct Professor at Valand Academy, MA Program in the Fine Arts Department, University of Gothenburg, Sweden.
Even A Perfect Crime Leaves A Trace
13 January - 13 February 2013
Even a Perfect Crime Leaves a Trace is an ambitious new commission by artist Anthony Marcellini that draws from Göteborgs Konsthall’s exhibition history.
With commissioned works by Jörgen Svensson, Elin Wikström, and Johan Zetterquist, performances by Karl Larsson and Matthew Rana; new commissioned texts by Cecilia Eriksen Wijk, Maja Hammarén and Adam Kleinman; and an exhibition-within-the-exhibition, presenting works by Bertil Berg, Anders Bergh, Nils Olof Bonnier, Monica Englund, Roj Friberg, Carl-Erik Hammarén, Bengt Hinnerson, Sandra Ikse, Bernt Jonasson, Berit Jonsvik, Peder Josefsson, Tord Lager, Folke Lind, Åke Nilsson, Barbro Reyman, Ronald Reyman, Graham Stacy, Solwei Stampe, Jörgen Zetterquist and others.
We are standing within a crime scene, in a vast exhibition hall, in which hundreds have met their demise. The crime has been allowed to continue for almost 100 years, yet we don't quite know where to point our fingers. It is a perfect crime, but even a perfect crime leaves a trace. We are flooded with evidence; we see stains on the floors, marks on the walls, furniture that has been deliberately moved to cover up clues, numerous efficient weapons left behind and the victims and the accused have both consented to the part they play. Though there is certainly violence and gore, nothing about this situation is at all sinister or malicious. But because we are detectives—who have been hired for this job by the accused to represent the victims—we just can’t help ourselves; we love the savagery.
If the artwork from past exhibitions can be understood as bodies that have disappeared—buried alive in some cases, abandoned or cremated—the archive represents one of the few traces, which shows how these bodies were once present and active, evidence in a crime scene. From correspondence, photos, catalogs, shopping lists, interviews and essays, we learn something about what and who happened in these empty rooms. When this archive is manifested as exhibition, it too becomes a body, a body of evidence, which will soon be buried. Art can always be exhumed, re-presented, recreated and perhaps resurrected, but like biblical figures, the message changes with each new appearance and something is always lost.
Anthony Marcellini is an artist and writer. His work has been exhibited internationally at museums, galleries and art institutions, including Wilkinson Gallery, London (2012); Galerie Edouard Manet, Centre d'art contemporain de Gennevilliers, Paris (2012); Gagnef Festival, Sweden (2012); Skulpturengarten Strombad Kritzendorf, Vienna (2012), Sequences Art Festival, Reykjavik (2011); Etc. Gallerie, Prague (2010) amongst others. His upcoming projects in 2013 include exhibitions at Witte De With, Rotterdam and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco. His writing has been published in Paletten Art Journal, the web-based publication Nowiswere, and he is a featured contributor to the online journal Art Practical, San Francisco. He is currently an Adjunct Professor at Valand Academy, MA Program in the Fine Arts Department, University of Gothenburg, Sweden.