[Nettime-nl] WITTE DE WITH: NEW SEASON, NEW DIRECTOR, NEW PROGRAM

[Geert Lovink <geert@xs4all.nl>]

> WITTE DE WITH, CENTER FOR CONTEMPORARY ART, ROTTERDAM
>
> NEW SEASON, NEW DIRECTOR, NEW PROGRAM
>
> Witte de With
> Center for Contemporary Art
>  Witte de Withstraat 50
>  3012 BR Rotterdam
>  The Netherlands
>  T +31 (0)10 4110144
>  E info@wdw.nl  
>  http://www.wdw.nl
>  Open Tues – Sun, 11 am – 6 pm
>
>  Witte de With opens its new season under the direction of Nicolaus 
> Schafhausen with the first solo exhibition in the Netherlands of 
> Mathias Poledna and the group exhibition Don Quijote.
>
> MATHIAS POLEDNA
>  30 Apr – 11 Jun 2006
>
>  Poledna’s exhibition will present two of his recent film 
> installations – Western Recording (2003) and Version (2004) – in 
> dialogue with works in other media, giving viewers a concentrated and 
> unique insight into his practice, which is informed by historical 
> research, by archives and collections. Poledna’s work explores the 
> crossovers between popular culture and art, and in recent years, his 
> projects have taken the form of highly reduced filmic reconstructions.
>
>  Born in Vienna (1965), Poledna now lives and works in Los Angeles. 
> Recent exhibitions include the Whitney Biennial, New York (2006).
>
>  This exhibition at Witte de With is curated by Renske Janssen, and 
> will be accompanied by a film program organised by Poledna: Films with 
> music from Central Africa China Haiti Jamaica North America, 18 May 
> 2006, 7:30 pm.
>
>  The publication Western Recording has been produced for this occasion 
> by WdW Publishers and MUMOK, Vienna, featuring a foreword by Nicolaus 
> Schafhausen, an introduction by Matthias Michalka, and essays by 
> Alexander Alberro, Nora M. Alter, and Tom Holert (in Dutch, English 
> and German). ISBN 90-73362-67-9.
>
> DON QUIJOTE
>  30 Apr – 6 Aug 2006
>
>  Four hundred years after it was written, Miguel de Cervantes’ 
> masterpiece Don Quijote de la Mancha continues to exert a strong 
> influence on our imagination, whether we have read the book or not. 
> Its wandering ‘knight’ and his faithful servant Sancho Panza are 
> ingrained in our collective cultural memory, and their idealistic 
> quest has been used as a metaphor for many journeys since, both 
> physical and imaginary.
>
>  Like the story that inspired it, this exhibition contains a vast 
> array of intense human relationships, passionate anecdotes, personal 
> struggles, tragicomic failures, and devastating self-destruction. It 
> takes a new look at Cervantes’ tale, retelling it in a contemporary 
> voice and reminding us that idealism will eventually be grounded by 
> the pragmatic world in which we live.
>
>  A prelude to future group shows, Don Quijote refers on a deeper level 
> to Witte de With’s current phase of self-assessment and the 
> re-examination of the institution’s role. For, if we see Don Quijote’s 
> idealistic battles as an analogy for the struggles faced by 
> contemporary art institutions, we may spot a new set of windmills on 
> today’s cultural horizon.
>
> Don Quijote presents works from surreal musical performances to humble 
> wooden sculptures, from contemporary figurative painting to the 
> mapping of vanished routes through Rotterdam, from mini manufactured 
> bio-systems to life-size puppets. Michael Beutler constructs a 
> topography in the gallery space that acts as a stage set for the 
> exhibition, emphasising its theatricality and bringing together the 
> many works in a weird and wonderful landscape.
>
>  Participating artists:
>  Michael Beutler, Johanna Billing, Manon de Boer, Gerard Byrne, Ryan 
> Gander, Tue Greenfort, William Hunt, Sven Johne, Jesper Just, Annette 
> Kelm, David Lieske, Damian Moppett, Chris Moukarbel, Ivan Navarro, 
> Christopher Orr, Pablo Pijnappel, Mark Raidpere, Hannah Rickards, 
> Markus Schinwald, Anj Smith, Kostis Velonis, Richard T. Walker.
>
> Don Quijote is curated by Nicolaus Schafhausen and Sophie von Olfers, 
> and is accompanied by a series of film screenings, 11 May, 25 May, 1 
> June (all 7:30 pm) and an event for students: Can small battles change 
> the world?, 31 May (8 pm).
>
>  Further information
>  For more information on these or forthcoming exhibitions at Witte de 
> With, please consult the website http://www.wdw.nl or contact 
> info@wdw.nl +31 (0)104110144





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