Highlight: Festival Launch
Felix Gonzalez-Torres, 'Untitled', 1993. Billboards. Two parts: dimensions vary with installation. Installation view of 'Felix Gonzalez-Torres' at Andrea Rosen Gallery, New York, 1993. Photo: Peter Muscato. Copyright The Felix Gonzalez-Torres Foundation. Courtesy of Andrea Rosen Gallery, New York.
A CERTAIN DISTANCE, ENDLESS LIGHT: A PROJECT BY FELIX GONZALEZ-TORRES AND WILLIAM MCKEOWN
mima, Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art
Festival Launch and Private View: Thu 4 March 6:00-8:00pm
‘Play with it, please. Have fun. Give yourself that freedom. Put my creativity into question, minimise the preciousness of the piece.’ – Felix Gonzalez-Torres
‘Watching the sun come up makes you happy inside. It’s that simple.’ – William McKeown
The launch exhibition of AV Festival 10 brings together two extraordinary artists, Cuban-born American artist Felix Gonzalez-Torres and Irish artist William McKeown. Both artists’ work answers the theme of energy through personal pursuits of beauty, happiness and freedom.
Felix Gonzalez-Torres (1957–96) is one of the key artists of the 1990s, known for his quiet, minimal installations that explore shifting distinctions between public and private spheres. He is renowned for developing an interactive art that can be taken away by the public. His signature paper stacks and spills of edible sweets are generous gifts whilst his illuminated light bulb strings create an overwhelming sensory phenomena. His work is known for its formal beauty, sensitivity and openness to interpretation by the viewer.
William McKeown (b 1962) is highly regarded for his paintings, drawings and watercolours that express a concern about our relationship with nature. He is interested in the sky and air that moves around us, in particular the emergence of daylight as experienced in the morning hours. With a remarkable refined sense of colour and understanding of natural light, his work is poetic, expansive and captures th e essence of a place and time. It strives for open ness, acceptance and a new democratic space bridging distances between time and people.
The AV Festival 10 Launch and Private View on Thurs 4 March is open to all. A FREE Festival coach departs from Newcastle Central Station at 5pm and departs Middlesbrough at 8:30pm. For details and to reserve a seat email reservations@avfestival.co.uk
Click on the images below for further information about this exhibition, the venue and associated projects.
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A certain distance, endless light: a project by Felix Gonzalez-Torres and William McKeown
5th March - 4th July
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