Rafel G. Bianchi
03 Feb - 02 Apr 2011
RAFEL G. BIANCHI
Who am I. Self-Analysis of Inclinations and Aptitudes.
03 February - 02 April, 2011
NoguerasBlanchard is proud to announce the opening of Rafel G. Bianchi's second solo exhibition with the gallery, Who am I. Self-analysis of inclinations and aptitudes. His last work La bandera en la cima (The flag upon the summit) entailed an extensive and arduous process, which like most of his works, is a long-term project. However, Who am I, differs from his usual approach; the exhibited material is the documentation an action, carried out over the course of a weekend, the result of a self-imposed time frame marked by a calendar.
Who am I. Self-analysis of inclinations and aptitudes is the title of a book of intelligence tests that provides practical exercises to measure one's IQ, skills and talents, and personality traits. The artist found the first Spanish edition, published in 1948 by Luis Miracle, and used a copy to carry out the action. In a display of honesty he invited a curator, David Armengol, to exercise the role of the notary, to testify that the procedure was performed correctly. The notary's tasks have included: organization, monitoring, documentation and diagnosis. The exhibition attests to the artist's academic intention to explain the whole process. In a similar way to Marcel Broodhaers 's work Un coup de dés jamais n'abolira le hasard, (1969) which offered a conceptual analysis of the book written by Stéphane Mallarme, of the same title and published in 1914, Bianchi parts from the book Who am I, breaking down the different categories and formalizing the section of answers by means of tracing paper, thus achieving a similar aesthetic to the conceptual artists of the 70s.
The artist is aware that he has engaged in an operation of risk, where he reveals his strengths and weaknesses, drawing a sincere self-portrait of just how he is. The interest of such an action is to question the meaning of art and to delve into his primary concern: an exhaustive analysis of the figure of the artist today. Something for him situated between necessity and absurdity, between relevance and uselessness or, in other words, between the contradictory allures of epic and parody. The results of the tests are only of interest to oneself, just like art, according to Bianchi. The artist approaches these issues with a sense of irony. The themes of game, enigma and chance are recurring elements throughout his creative practice. Like the Homo ludens, his point of departure for the construction of thought is the game and he employs humour as a deforming mirror to laugh at the critical heroism of art, its lack of efficiency and its complicity with the system that endorses it.
Bianchi's exhibitions include: Antes que todo, CA2M Centro de Arte Dos de Mayo, Móstoles, Madrid, 2010 (curated by Aimar Arriola and Manuela Moscoso); Itinerarios 07-08. Fundación Marcelino Botín, Santander, 2009; I like America, does America like me? Espai Zero1, Museo Comarcal d’Olot, Girona, 2008; Happy Family, Caixaforum, Barcelona, 2007 (curated by David Armengol). In 2010 he won the prize Bienal de Arte Ciudad de Amposta and in 2007 the Beca de Artes Plásticas Fundación Marcelino Botín, Santander.
Rafel G. Bianchi (b.1968 in Olot, Catalunya) lives and works in Barcelona.
Who am I. Self-Analysis of Inclinations and Aptitudes.
03 February - 02 April, 2011
NoguerasBlanchard is proud to announce the opening of Rafel G. Bianchi's second solo exhibition with the gallery, Who am I. Self-analysis of inclinations and aptitudes. His last work La bandera en la cima (The flag upon the summit) entailed an extensive and arduous process, which like most of his works, is a long-term project. However, Who am I, differs from his usual approach; the exhibited material is the documentation an action, carried out over the course of a weekend, the result of a self-imposed time frame marked by a calendar.
Who am I. Self-analysis of inclinations and aptitudes is the title of a book of intelligence tests that provides practical exercises to measure one's IQ, skills and talents, and personality traits. The artist found the first Spanish edition, published in 1948 by Luis Miracle, and used a copy to carry out the action. In a display of honesty he invited a curator, David Armengol, to exercise the role of the notary, to testify that the procedure was performed correctly. The notary's tasks have included: organization, monitoring, documentation and diagnosis. The exhibition attests to the artist's academic intention to explain the whole process. In a similar way to Marcel Broodhaers 's work Un coup de dés jamais n'abolira le hasard, (1969) which offered a conceptual analysis of the book written by Stéphane Mallarme, of the same title and published in 1914, Bianchi parts from the book Who am I, breaking down the different categories and formalizing the section of answers by means of tracing paper, thus achieving a similar aesthetic to the conceptual artists of the 70s.
The artist is aware that he has engaged in an operation of risk, where he reveals his strengths and weaknesses, drawing a sincere self-portrait of just how he is. The interest of such an action is to question the meaning of art and to delve into his primary concern: an exhaustive analysis of the figure of the artist today. Something for him situated between necessity and absurdity, between relevance and uselessness or, in other words, between the contradictory allures of epic and parody. The results of the tests are only of interest to oneself, just like art, according to Bianchi. The artist approaches these issues with a sense of irony. The themes of game, enigma and chance are recurring elements throughout his creative practice. Like the Homo ludens, his point of departure for the construction of thought is the game and he employs humour as a deforming mirror to laugh at the critical heroism of art, its lack of efficiency and its complicity with the system that endorses it.
Bianchi's exhibitions include: Antes que todo, CA2M Centro de Arte Dos de Mayo, Móstoles, Madrid, 2010 (curated by Aimar Arriola and Manuela Moscoso); Itinerarios 07-08. Fundación Marcelino Botín, Santander, 2009; I like America, does America like me? Espai Zero1, Museo Comarcal d’Olot, Girona, 2008; Happy Family, Caixaforum, Barcelona, 2007 (curated by David Armengol). In 2010 he won the prize Bienal de Arte Ciudad de Amposta and in 2007 the Beca de Artes Plásticas Fundación Marcelino Botín, Santander.
Rafel G. Bianchi (b.1968 in Olot, Catalunya) lives and works in Barcelona.