Artists Pratchaya Phinthong (Thailand), Christian Jankowski (Germany) and Kitty Kraus (Berlin/ New York) were guests of Outset Bialik Residency during February, March and May, 2018. The residencies were held in collaboration with The Center for Contemporary Art (CCA), Tel Aviv – for the exhibition KEDEM–KODEM–KADIMA. KEDEM–KODEM–KADIMA was curated by Nicola Trezzi, and presented more than 40 artists. Pratchaya Phinthong worked on a new project for the exhibition, and gave an artist talk at the CCA (20th March). Christian Jankowski gave an artist talk at the CCA (17th May), and a workshop at Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, MFA program. Kitty Kraus worked on a new project during her residency, that was presented at the exhibition.
The exhibition “KEDEM–KODEM–KADIMA,” included contributions by Diti Almog, Arahmaiani, Yochai Avrahami, Ilit Azoulay, Guy Ben-Ner, Kitty Kraus niMonica 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 studio, Idris, and The Lobby Art Space — “KEDEM–KODEM–KADIMA” was the first exhibition curated by the CCA’s new director, Nicola Trezzi. Among the many ideas connected to this project, six of them deserved 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 stayed on as Chairman of the Board. Mirroring this pivotal moment in the history of the institution, “KEDEM–KODEM–KADIMA” included 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 presented projects in the future — such as Ilit Azoulay, Laurent Montaron, Naama 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 (?), dalet (?), mem (?), from which you can build kedem [ancient], kodem [before], and kadima [forward]. Following this concept, many works were created, or recreated, especially for the exhibition, and some of them eventually disappeared or were destroyed. Following this attitude, the exhibition was 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 was kept dark and all the works presented there generated 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 symbolise 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” included 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” went 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 functioned as a “black sun” with several satellites (spaces), emphasising elliptical trajectories (elliptical time versus linear time) and its related concept of “eccentricity.”
The sixth and last idea is a public program that started before the exhibition opened and continued throughout its duration. The program included a conversation between Pratchaya Phinthong and Nicola Trezzi on 20th March, a conversation between Monica Bonvicini and Sergio Edelsztein on the opening day on 29th March, an artist talk by Chourouk Hriech on 2nd April, a roundtable with Drorit Gur-Arie, Doron Rabina, and Nicola Trezzi, moderated by Hila Cohen-Schneiderman on 9th May, and a conversation between Christian Jankowski and Sergio Edelsztein on 17th May. In addition to this program, on 13th and 14th April and Public Movement performed their action The Interview.
“KEDEM–KODEM–KADIMA” was made possible with the support of the Ruth Ivor Foundation, Dana Sheves, Daniel Milman, Ann and Dr. Ari Rosenblatt, Yehoshuah Gessel & Yoel Kremin, Yifat Gurion and Fresh Paint, OUTSET with special thanks to Candida and Zak Gertler, 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.
ON VIEW: 28th March – 25th May 2018
