9 Artists is an international, multigenerational group exhibition that considers the changing role of the artist in contemporary culture. Bringing together the expansive practices of some of the most provocative and engaged artists working today—Yael Bartana (Israel), Liam Gillick (UK), Natascha Sadr Haghighian (Iran), Renzo Martens (The Netherlands), Bjarne Melgaard (Norway), Nástio Mosquito (Angola), Hito Steyerl (Germany), and Danh Vo (Vietnam)—the show examines ways that they negotiate the complicities and contradictions of living in an ever more complex and networked world. Rarely considered together, they each use their own backgrounds or identities as material, frequently in antagonistic or subversive ways. Featuring some 40 works, both past and new, 9 Artists includes a range of sculpture, painting, installation, video, and ephemera.
The conversation continues in the catalogue, which places dynamic artist contributions in the context of broader contemporary practices. Expect a robust series of events surrounding the opening, including a lecture on gentrification (Renzo Martens and the Institute for Human Activities), a dedication of a tombstone in the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden (singer Jamie Stewart of Xiu Xiu and Danh Vo), a conversation between two of contemporary art’s preeminent artists who write (Liam Gillick and Hito Steyerl), and a performance by Nástio Mosquito.
9 Artists is on view at the Walker Art Center, October 24, 2013 – February 16, 2014.
Bjarne Melgaard, Untitled (Bjarne Melgaard interviews Leo Bersani), 2011, Walker Art Center
