'THIS IS NOT AN INVITATION, IT'S A PRESENTATION' IN MEXICO CITY

Stefan Bruggemann


Aldo Chaparro


Julieta Aranda


Jose Davila


Pia Camil

“This Is Not An Invitation, It’s A Presentation” is a group exhibition showcasing the works of Julieta Aranda, José Arnaud, Stefan Brüggemann, Pia Camil, Aldo Chaparro y Jose Dávila.

The show was conceived following a discussion between Pia Camil and Stefan Brüggemann with the intention to abandon individualistic practices in favor of collective ones, taking as a point of departure our shared interest to question the formal legacy of conceptual art.

To an extent the show is a response to the present condition of contemporary art in Mexico which isn’t necessarily based on a social or political context destined to question and define the ‘Mexican identity’.

The decision to exhibit non-object based work was due to our interest on focusing the viewer’s attention in the artists’ methodology which is largely based in the objects economy of material, its immediacy, reproducibility and adaptation to different contexts; strategies based on conceptual art, however, in most cases, the artists look for critical ways to subvert those systems of representation.

The lack of object based work allows us to experience the art as having been absorbed or integrated into the context of the exhibition space making the site the principal object of the work. The contradiction generated between the reproducible object and its specificity to its context interested us, as we positioned the art in an ‘in-between’ state. The work is thus perceived as subtle interventions to the space to the point of provoking a sense of void in the spectator making him or her more conscious of the space, and the presence of the work (or the relationship between both). For example; vinyl texts (Arnaud and Aranda) as well as reversed mirrors (Brüggemann) are stuck to the walls, the space itself has been outlined and delineated (Davila), heaps of paper (Chaparro) and coal are piled on the floors, or the floor itself of the gallery has been reconfigured (Camil).

As part of the show’s emphasis for immateriality, discourse and the exchange of ideas have become an important aspect of it. This is why we have dedicated a room of the exhibition space to a reference table with material suggested by the artists themselves such as books, magazines and movies that contextualize the exhibited work in a larger discourse. More over, the public will also have access to a blog where artists and public can take part as a way to facilitate the exchange of information; similar to a live archive or platform for discourse that will keep growing and evolving.

For more info. http://plazariodejaneiro52.blogspot.com/