29 May – 26 September 2010
Image:The Technocrat
Atelier Van Lieshouthas produced a spectacular exhibition Infernopolis. In The Submarine Wharf a 5000m2 space Atelier Van Lieshout has created a terrifying setting in which medical instruments, vacuum pumps, silos, skulls, skeletons, and giant sperm cells and bodily organs are the main protagonists. Two enormous installations, ‘The Technocrat’ and ‘Cradle to Cradle’, are installed amid a forest of existing and new sculptures. A unique partnership between the Port of Rotterdam and Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen.
Image:‘Cradle to Cradle’
Endless circulation
At ‘Infernopolis’ you can move among sinister installations and tableaux in which the distinctions between good and evil, life and death, and reality and fiction are erased. Atelier Van Lieshout’s fascination with systems is clearly manifest in the art work The Technocrat (2003-2004), which comprises all manner of apparatus, containers, beds and distillation vats. Together they form a closed circuit of food, alcohol, excrement and energy. Cradle to Cradle (2009) takes the principle that human waste can be food to the extreme. Looking at this art work, it quickly becomes clear that this machine recycles everything, even people.
Vision of the future
The exhibition in the Submarine Wharf contains Atelier Van Lieshout’s most recent sculptures, which have never previously been exhibited. These works illustrate the evolution of a new culture resulting from a society of over-consumption and scarce resources. In this culture we see a harshening of relations between people and an increased will to survive. Through battle scenes and a large, abstracted cannon (WW III, 2010) Atelier Van Lieshout provides a glimpse of a possible future. The sculpture Cascade by Atelier Van Lieshout, recently placed at Churchillplein in Rotterdam illustrates this theme as well.
Joep van Lieshout
Joep van Lieshout (1963, Ravenstein) lives and works in Rotterdam. Since the eighties he produces objects in polyester, the material that would become his trademark in subsequent years. In 1995 he founded Atelier Van Lieshout, undermining the myth of the individual artistic genius. Atelier Van Lieshout has attained international recognition for objects that occupy the middle ground between art, architecture and design.
Submarine Wharf
The exhibition in the Submarine Wharf is a partnership between the Port of Rotterdam and Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen. The Port of Rotterdam initiated the partnership and asked Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen to organise the exhibition by Atelier Van Lieshout. The Submarine Wharf, built between 1929 and 1938, is comparable in size to the Turbine Hall at Tate Modern in London.
Infernopolis is accompanied by a rich programme of events, including free guided tours, an interview with the artist and a debate. You will receive a complimentary booklet with an extensive essay about the exhibition. You can also watch a video by The Office for Nonfiction Storytelling about the Submarine Wharf and the exhibition on ArtTube.
www.submarinewharf.com
About AVL
Atelier Van Lieshout (AVL), founded by artist Joep van Lieshout (1963) in 1995, is a multidisciplinary art practice encompassing installation, design, furniture and architecture. The name Atelier Van Lieshout emphasises the fact that the works of art do not stem solely from the creative brain of Joep van Lieshout, but are produced by a creative team of artists, designers and architects.
The works of art are practical, uncomplicated and substantial. The work varies from sculptures and furniture, bathrooms and mobile home units to large installations and complete architectural refurbishments. One of the many applications and techniques used by AVL are the large polyester constructions in striking, bright colours. These polyester constructions, of which the large mobile home units are the best known, form the AVL trademark. Recurring themes in the work of AVL are autarky, power, politics and sex.
Works of AVL can be found in private collections and several museums
www.ateliervanlieshout.com/
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