Mark Dion
19 Nov 2005 - 14 Jan 2006
MARK DION
The Curiosity Shop
November 19, 2005 to January 14, 2006
Opening reception November 19 2005, 6- 8pm
Tanya Bonakdar Gallery is pleased to present The Curiosity Shop, its third exhibition of new work by Mark Dion.
This singular, large scale installation continues Dion’s investigation into the blurred boundaries between art, science, nature and the methods of their presentation and interpretation. Having previously utilized cabinets and vitrines as mediators of many concerns central to his practice: from questions of taxonomy and classification, to the surrealist’s interest in exalting the ordinary as strange. The Curiosity Shop confronts the inherent contradictions between the artifact and the context in which it is displayed for popular consumption, in the shape of a haunting, architecturally scaled, rural ‘museum’ of curiosities.
In addition, works conceived as an epilogue to Dion’s Rescue Archeology, A Project for the Museum of Modern Art at The Museum of Modern Art shall also be exhibited. Unlike legitimate archaeological excavations, Dion's have little real scientific value. Often enlisting the assistance of the public in the act of creating his work Dion demystifies cultural institutions where these processes normally take place and illuminates the strategies that underlie curatorship and taxonomy.
Mark Dion's recent solo exhibitions include Microcosmographia a survey exhibition of selected projects to date at the South London Gallery, London (2005); Salon de Chasse, Musйe de la Chasse et de la Nature, Chateau de Chambord, France (2005); Projects 82: Rescue Archeology, A Project for the Museum of Modern Art, MoMA, New York (2004); Tropical Travels, Thomas Ender (1817-1818) and Mark Dion (2003), Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna (2004). Dion will also be the subject of a solo exhibition at the Miami Art Museum (2006) and present ‘Seattle Vivarium’, as part of I AM SAM, Olympic Sculpture Park, Seattle Art Museum (2006).
For further information and images please contact Claire Pauley at 212 414 4144 or at: claire@tanyabonakdargallery.com
© Mark Dion
2005
The Curiosity Shop
November 19, 2005 to January 14, 2006
Opening reception November 19 2005, 6- 8pm
Tanya Bonakdar Gallery is pleased to present The Curiosity Shop, its third exhibition of new work by Mark Dion.
This singular, large scale installation continues Dion’s investigation into the blurred boundaries between art, science, nature and the methods of their presentation and interpretation. Having previously utilized cabinets and vitrines as mediators of many concerns central to his practice: from questions of taxonomy and classification, to the surrealist’s interest in exalting the ordinary as strange. The Curiosity Shop confronts the inherent contradictions between the artifact and the context in which it is displayed for popular consumption, in the shape of a haunting, architecturally scaled, rural ‘museum’ of curiosities.
In addition, works conceived as an epilogue to Dion’s Rescue Archeology, A Project for the Museum of Modern Art at The Museum of Modern Art shall also be exhibited. Unlike legitimate archaeological excavations, Dion's have little real scientific value. Often enlisting the assistance of the public in the act of creating his work Dion demystifies cultural institutions where these processes normally take place and illuminates the strategies that underlie curatorship and taxonomy.
Mark Dion's recent solo exhibitions include Microcosmographia a survey exhibition of selected projects to date at the South London Gallery, London (2005); Salon de Chasse, Musйe de la Chasse et de la Nature, Chateau de Chambord, France (2005); Projects 82: Rescue Archeology, A Project for the Museum of Modern Art, MoMA, New York (2004); Tropical Travels, Thomas Ender (1817-1818) and Mark Dion (2003), Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna (2004). Dion will also be the subject of a solo exhibition at the Miami Art Museum (2006) and present ‘Seattle Vivarium’, as part of I AM SAM, Olympic Sculpture Park, Seattle Art Museum (2006).
For further information and images please contact Claire Pauley at 212 414 4144 or at: claire@tanyabonakdargallery.com
© Mark Dion
2005