The poem of too Soon and too Late at Delfina Foundation

Added on March 27, 2018 by Alex Mirutziu.

Between Too Soon and Too Late

26 April – 02 June 2018

Times: Mon - Fri, 10:00 – 18:00.
Sat, 12:00 – 18:00

Opening: Wednesday, 25 June 2018, 19:00 – 21:00

Delfina Foundation

29/31 Catherine Place, London

Delfina Foundation and European ArtEast Foundation collaborate to present Between Too Soon and Too Late, the first solo exhibition in the UK by Alex Mirutziu (b. 1981, Sibiu, Romania).

Mirutziu's practice interrogates the process of how we create meaning to interpret the world around us. Inspired by philosophy, literature and design, he explores the inadequate use of objects, language and the body as tools of communication.

For a few years, Mirutziu has been researching the work of novelist and philosopher Iris Murdoch and the different methodologies she employed to create meaning, both spoken and unspoken. During a short residency at Delfina Foundation, Mirutziu visited Murdoch's archives at Kingston University. Instead of focusing on her most prolific writing period, he concentrated on unfinished writings from the latter stages of her career, which was marked by the onset of Alzheimer's Disease.

In Between Too Soon and Too Late, Mirutziu uses Murdoch's writings as a starting point to reflect on the notion of time and space in relation to meaning. The exhibition, which includes newly commissioned and existing works, explores the 'tiny space' - as identified by Murdoch - where meaning stays tacit, where being and not being are the same. According to Murdoch, this point is in between being 'too soon' and 'too late'. The works in the exhibition attempt to occupy this space and prolong the process of establishing meaning; they refuse to yield a sense of resolution and closure, entangling the viewer in a space that is indefinite and inconclusive.

For Between Too Soon and Too Late, Mirutziu transforms corrections to writing and comments made in Murdoch's hand writing into large sculptural forms that represent where meaning is simultaneously gained and lost. This is juxtaposed with an existing video work Where is the poem? (2013), that refers to the dynamics and politics of writing and reading, and to the dialectical understanding of their relationship, from production to reception. Working with Graham Foust's poem Politics, the artist's hand marks the distance created within and around the text, which Mirutziu claims is as integral as the sequence of words in terms of understanding the complexity and structure of a poem.

The space in between the hand and the writing surface is also fundamental in Gestalt me out (2018), a specially designed desk featuring impressions of the artist's elbow and wrist positioned alongside an image of Murdoch's tea-stained notebook. These two works attempt to give form to the construct of time as well as the conceptual space where meaning is created. Prepared Poem #3, written by the artist in response to Murdoch, is presented in a disjointed sculptural form.

The exhibition coincides with a new performance by Mirutziu for Block Universe Festival, co-commissioned with Delfina Foundation with European Arteast Foundation, entitled Doing Sub Thinking. Referencing philosophical thought, national displays of power and collective agency, the work seeks to illustrate the performative forces at play in society. Exploring the de-personalisation of an individual within a crowd, Mirutziu will bring the audience on a journey to make manifest the intangible gaps between thought and action within group dynamics.

Alex Mirutziu's practice extends over a wide range of media and activities, including sculpture, drawing, poetry and performances as well as lectures and curatorial projects. In his current work, he explores time and space in relation to 'the arrival of meaning'. His works attempt to dislocate modes of arrival through text, words and the body by expanding the concepts of approximation and proximity, as well as challenging the notion of 'thinking' versus 'doing'.

Mirutziu formed a collective - TAH 29 - which is involves collaborations with the artist himself at 29. The collective's modus operandi is retroactive irony.

Mirutziu has collaborated with artists, writers, musicians, designers, and philosophers including Grit Hachmeister (DE), Elias Merino (ES), Graham Foust (US), and Graham Harman (US), to name a few. Mirutziu has participated in solo or group exhibitions at Power Plant, Toronto; The Glass Factory Lab, Boda; Mucsarnok Kusthalle, Budapest; Center for Contemporary Art and National Museum, Warsaw; and Museum of Contemporary Art, Bucharest, to name a few.

KEDEM-KODEM-KADIMA at CCA Tel Aviv

Added on March 5, 2018 by Alex Mirutziu.

KEDEM–KODEM–KADIMA

March 30 – May 26, 2018

Opening reception on March 29, 8 pm

Monica Bonvicini in conversation with Sergio Edelsztein on March 29, 7 pm

The Center for Contemporary Art Tel Aviv

Tsadok HaCohen 2, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel

Born from Rock, Collection II, 2015, Michael Topyol — Born from Rock, *Collection II*, 2015, Michael Topyol

The Center for Contemporary Art Tel Aviv is pleased to announce its next exhibition KEDEM–KODEM–KADIMA which includes contributions by Diti Almog, Arahmaiani, Yochai Avrahami, Ilit Azoulay, Guy Ben-Ner, Monica Bonvicini, Born from Rock, Rafram Chaddad, Latifa Echakhch, Ceal Floyer, Shilpa Gupta, Peter Halley, Michal Helfman, Chourouk Hriech, Gaston Zvi Ickowicz, Eti Jacobi, Christian Jankowski, Kitty Kraus, Jannis Kounellis, Agnieszka Kurant, Mierle Laderman Ukeles, Benoît Maire, Alex Mirutziu & TAH29, Jonathan Monk, Laurent Montaron, Natan Tarfe, Joshua Neustein, Adrian Paci, Eli Petel, Pratchaya Phinthong, Wilfredo Prieto, Public Movement, Tomer Rosenthal, Miri Segal, Ariel Schlesinger, Shiri Tarko, Jan Tichy, Naama Tsabar, Alice Tomaselli, Lihi Turjeman, Günther Uecker, Johannes VanDerBeek, Lawrence Weiner, and Nevet Yitzhak.

Presented at the CCA together with three additional spaces in Tel Aviv—Born from Rock’s workshop, Idris, and The Lobby – Art Space—“KEDEM–KODEM–KADIMA” is the first exhibition curated by the CCA’s new director, Nicola Trezzi. Among the many ideas connected to this project, six of them deserve to be mentioned in this context. The first one is the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the CCA Tel Aviv, which was initiated in 1998 by Sergio Edelsztein, who directed it until 2017 and who will stay on as Chairman of the Board. Mirroring this pivotal moment in the history of the institution, “KEDEM–KODEM–KADIMA” will include works by artists whose work has been exhibited at the CCA in the past—such as Arahmaiani, Ceal Floyer, Michal Helfman, Christian Jankowski, Agnieszka Kurant, and Adrian Paci—and works by artists who will present projects in the future—such as Ilit Azoulay, Laurent Montaron, Naaba Tsabar, and Nevet Yitzhak.

The second idea is connected to the title of the exhibition. Hebrew is a fascinating language based on roots; from one root you can “build” multiple words, sometimes different if not in contradiction with each other. This is the case of the root kuf(ק), dalet (ד), mem (מ), from which you can build kedem [ancient], kodem [before], and kadima [forward]. Following this concept, many works will be created, or recreated, especially for the exhibition, and some of them will eventually disappear or be destroyed. Following this attitude, the exhibition is dedicated to Jannis Kounellis (1936-2017), whose last exhibition was conceived and presented in Israel.

The third idea connected to this exhibition is the choice of a specific display. On the ground floor and balcony of the CCA, and also in the three additional spaces, works have been juxtaposed in accordance to disparate associations. Concepts, notions, and figures as diverse as “human condition,” “site-specific,” “Passover,” and “fire and water” have been employed to bring works of art together. Inspired by the “Radiant Face of Moses” (Exodus 34:29-35), on the first floor gallery of the CCA, the space will be kept dark and all the works presented there will generate their own light in the form of video projections, light bulbs, light boxes, and more.

The forth idea is the decision to include an exhibition-within-the-exhibition called “Department of Rocks and Stones.” Rocks and stones both symbolize construction and destruction. They also appear in seminal passages of the New Testament, from Jesus’s provocation “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her” (John 8:1-10) to his verbal testament “And I tell you that you are Peter, [The Greek word for Peter means rock] and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it” (Matthew 16:13-20). Scattered within the exhibition, the “Department of Rocks and Stones” includes works by Jannis Kounellis, Michal Helfman, Joshua Neustein, Shilpa Gupta, Johannes VanDerBeek, and Jonathan Monk among others.

The fifth idea is connected to the choice of extending the exhibition to the three aforementioned spaces—going against territoriality and instead embracing collegiality and inclusivity. Following these premises “KEDEM–KODEM–KADIMA” goes beyond its own premises—the Rachel & Israel Pollak Gallery—scattered in different areas of the city. Like its logo, the Center for Contemporary Art Tel Aviv will function as a “black sun” with several satellites (spaces), emphasizing elliptical trajectories (elliptical time versus linear time) and its related concept of “eccentricity.”

The sixth and last idea is a public program that will start before the exhibition opens and will continue throughout its duration. The program includes a conversation between Pratchaya Phinthong and Nicola Trezzi on March 20, a conversation between Monica Bonvicini and Sergio Edelsztein on the opening day on March 29, an artist talk by Chourouk Hriech on April 2, a roundtable with Drorit Gur-Arie, Doron Rabina, and Nicola Trezzi, moderated by Hila Cohen-Schneiderman on May 9, and a conversation between Christian Jankowski and Sergio Edelsztein on May 17. In addition to this program, on April 13 and 14 Public Movement will perform their action The Interview.

The “KEDEM–KODEM–KADIMA” is made possible with the support of the Ruth Ivor Foundation, Dana Sheves, Daniel Milman, Ari Rosenblatt, Yehoshuah Gessel & Yoel Kremin, Yifat Gurion and Fresh Paint, Outset Contemporary Art Fund, Istituto Italiano di Cultura, Tel Aviv, Institut Français, Tel Aviv, and the Fondation Jacqueline de Romilly under the auspices of the Fondation de France, Artport, Fortes D’Aloia & Gabriel, São Paulo / Rio de Janeiro, Inga Gallery, Tel Aviv, Tyler Rollins Fine Art, New York, and Sommer Contemporary Art, Tel Aviv.

The Center for Contemporary Art is supported by the Ministry of Culture and Sport – Visual Arts Department; Tel Aviv Municipality – Culture and Arts Division; UIA – the United Israel Appeal; the CCA’s International Council, which welcomes its new members Luca Barbeni, Manon Slome, and Susanna Perini; the Zucker Foundation Fund; and those who wish to remain anonymous.

Info from: cca.org.il

DOUBLE HEADS MATCHES at New Budapest Gallery

Added on February 8, 2018 by Alex Mirutziu.

NEW BUDAPEST GALLERY

1093 Budapest, Fővám tér 11–12., (Bálna Budapest)

February 16 – 27 May 2018

Artists:

Collections:

RĂZVAN BĂNESCU | MIRCEA PINTE | PLAN B FOUNDATION | OVIDIU ȘANDOR

Curators:

DIANA MARINCU, ZSUZSANNA SZEGEDY-MASZÁK

Opening speech by:

KRISZTINA SZIPŐCS

Deputy Director of Collections and Exhibitions, Ludwig Museum – Museum of Contemporary Art

Opening:

Friday, 16 February 2018, 6–8 pm

DOUBLE HEADS MATCHES

A selection of contemporary artworks from four Romanian private collections

The title, inspired by Mircea Cantor’s work, suggests multiple narratives which one can elaborate on Romanian art, having in mind a compressed timeline, which will be discovered either through the historical end of this line itself or through the most recent art production of the young, vivacious art scene. The exhibition, a cut-out from a yet unwritten “ring of fire” of the most impressive visual productions of recent decades, offers an opportunity to retrace conceptual links, invisible stories, common inspiration, and relevant friendships between the artists selected.

The artworks presented were selected from four important Romanian private collections of today – the collections of Mircea Pinte, Ovidiu Şandor, Răzvan Bănescu and the Plan B Foundation – found in three different cities: Cluj, Timişoara and Bucharest. The selection, compiled with the help of curator Diana Marincu, provides a comprehensive and informative cross-section of contemporary Romanian art, though it also includes examples of Romanian neo-avantgarde works, which suggest that, although every generation has its own perceptions and responses, the creators and consumers of art can forge bridges between generations. Indeed, it has been said of the so-called Cluj School that its representatives harbour a keen interest in the recent past.

The collections boast emblematic works by renowned Romanian artists such as Mircea Cantor, Adrian Ghenie, Ciprian Mureşan, Vlad Nancă, Ioana Nemeș, Şerban Savu and Mircea Suciu, who rose to international fame as their patrons’ collections were coming into being. At the same time, the collectors’ interest in the young generation of artists, for instance Mi Kafchin, Alex Mirutziu and George Crîngașu, extends the focus to a variety of mediums and subjects.

While there are many overlaps among these collections, each assembly of artworks has its own distinctive character and geographical focus, and each reflects a unique type of interest. This exhibition strives to offer insights into the personal tastes of these passionate collectors, for whom art collection, as Răzvan Bănescu so aptly remarked in an interview, is not merely a hobby, but a life model. Their patronage has been instrumental in the integration of contemporary Romanian art into public spaces and the international art scene. The exhibition can be a platform to initiate meaningful comparisons between private art collecting in Hungary and Romania: the 2014 exhibition Contemporaries: Collectors and Artists, which presented works from 38 Hungarian collections, was also organized by the Budapest Gallery.

Info from: www.budapestgaleria.hu

A touch of THIS, LIKE... exhibition

Added on December 31, 2017 by Alex Mirutziu.

MLF l Marie-Laure Fleisch is pleased to announce Romanian artist Alex Mirutziu's first exhibition in Belgium, This, like..., opening September 7, 2017 in conjunction with Brussels Gallery Weekend and accompanied by a critical text written by Eugenio Viola. Employing performance, drawing, poetry and sculpture, Mirutziu looks to art to answer the fundamental questions of life – “Who are we” and “How do we perceive reality”. Inspired by philosophers such as Graham Harman and Timothy Morton who question how we use objects to interpret the world around us, Mirutziu looks to anchor the contemplation of our being in the physical world. He then enriches this basis with political histories, personal letters and the natural world, exposing how each person confronts their own existence. For his current exhibition, born from a sense of admiration and camaraderie for Iris Murdoch and an interest in the possibility for gestures to become objects, Mirutziu has created a series of drawings and sculptures which draw our attention to the moments when our attempts to grasp meaning manifest themselves physically. Whether we express ourselves through poetry, conversation, or writing, the relationship between that which is said and that which is left unsaid is extremely important. During the short period when we try to wrap our heads around complicated concepts or grand ideas, what we do during our moments of silence are very revealing.

Using the Irish philosopher and novelist Iris Murdoch as an embodiment of a universal phenomenon, Mirutziu looks into the construction and de-construction of a brilliant mind that is searching for ways to comprehend and communicate the intricacies of the world we live in. Murdoch has the particularity of being an extremely prolific writer, dedicating her life to novels, philosophy and also personal correspondences with a large number of friends and lovers. Later in her life she developed Alzheimer’s, losing the capacity to navigate her own thoughts and witnessing the degeneration of her own mind. No longer able to carry on writing due to a loss of memory, Murdoch found herself in an undefined mental space, where she was unable to connect her present reality to other points of reference.

When grappling to express the ideas in one’s own mind and create meaning, we often give our internal struggle corporal form, through the lowering of our gaze or through gestures which seem to attempt to create a motor which will speed up the firing of the neurons in our brain. Using Iris Murdoch as a muse, Mirutziu gives physical weight to these temporal movements, creating drawings and sculptures which represent the unique ways a body expresses its mental exertion. For example, if Iris Murdoch could form concrete objects with her own body language, what would they look like? Or, more broadly, what are the possible physical manifestations of the mind struggling to place one's ideas in the framework of our society or even in the trajectory of one's own thoughts? Using the space between Murdoch’s body and her hands when she gesticulates, the movement of her eyes when she pauses to regroup her thoughts, or the way she shifts her body, Mirutziu creates artworks which clarify mental processes through palpable forms, underlying the relationship between one’s intellect and one’s body.

'Insidious fog' - happens sometimes: a performance on disintegration and growing small.

Added on September 19, 2017 by Alex Mirutziu.

Dignity to the unsaid

performance | 2017, Bucharest / Cluj-Napoca

- performers | Alex Popa | Irina Sibef |Cosmin Stanila

work commissioned by BIDFF (Bucharest International dance Film Festival), supported by MNAC and Sabot Gallery

presented in partnership with the Performing Arts Programme of the National Museum of Contemporary Art, curated by Ioana Paun.

8 SEPT, 2017

@THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART

Alex Mirutziu

I intend to look into ways in which one of the most important novelist of the twentieth century managed to create meaning through an abundance of means, said and unsaid, which I call — manners of holding the world. How Iris Murdoch closes what is already present in her work with what presents itself as— ‘something like’ — which has the potential to be. I am particularly interested in times when she holds meaning for brief moments into units of material nature (gestures, words, hesitations, body movements). When those moments take place in an interview situation for e.g., objects which are indeterminate and difficult to pin down are born. They differ from the common manifestations of form, be it writing or acting, and are susceptible of bearing no meaning whatsoever.

The question is how infiltrations of ‘what is not said’ instigate ‘what is said’ and vice versa. This line of enquiry looks at ways in which Iris Murdoch closes her distinctions in philosophical debates, with her intellect, but also her body language. And when she works the what is in language — which can only hold reality in inexact closures, communication is weakened due to the accumulation of consciousness, corrupted by memories and experiences wrongly wired to reality. The conceptual movement between said and unsaid, falls under the ever present fragmentation we manifest in holding the world as something like, a fatal aspect of our physical limitations. We fragment the world in order to understand and function within it. Such a fragmentation fails on the account of a world which is undifferentiated.

The upshot of this project is to bring into existence a new reading of Iris Murdoch’s oeuvre outside the common view of her novels letters and interviews, a reading of Iris Murdoch as a heterogeneous unit, to give her the chance, posthumously, to widen the complexity of her creation through added anchors of meaning and new setups for reflection.

The performance includes the sound installation CAUSAL VARIATIONS FOR SOMETHING LIKE (computer-generated sound, 3 x multichannel audio), created by Elías Merino, a series of autonomous synthetic sound objects based on a relational tissue involving sound and human actors within Alex Mirutziu’s performance frame. These sound entities are located/(un)located in the physical space hidden behind a mirrored appearance. Plasticity, non human dynamic entity, synthesis, irreducibility, discreteness, no objected, relation, ecology, temporal elasticity, rifts, disembodiment, algorithmic, sound sculpture, articulation, reductionism, structural gesture, permutation gesture, variation, no hierarchy, physicality, process of coexistence, miscommunication.