Media contact: Nick Obourn, 212-854-8336, no2201@columbia.edu

 

NEW YORK, December 6, 2010—Columbia University’s Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Art Gallery opens its second exhibition of the season with Project Europa: Imagining the (Im)Possible. The past two decades in European history have been marked the fall of the Berlin Wall and the unification of Europe—monumental events seen by many as symbolically heralding a new social and democratic vision. This exhibition brings together 19 artists whose work, created in the aftermath of these historic events, considers the relationship of art to democracy and responds in various ways to the conflicts and contradictions of Europe’s democratic dream.

Project Europa is open to the public from Wednesday, January 19 through Saturday, March 26. The Wallach Art Gallery is located on the eighth floor of Schermerhorn Hall on Columbia’s Morningside Heights campus, 116th Street and Broadway in Manhattan. Gallery hours are Wednesday through Saturday, 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. To learn more, call 212-854-2877.

 

Organized by the Harn Museum of Art at the University of Florida, Project Europa addresses the complex positioning of Europe in the modern world. While the continent embodies the notions of democracy, human rights, peace and diversity, it also reverberates with xenophobia, racism, religious intolerance, and—especially after the fall of the World Trade Center towers—heightened security and the hardening of immigration policies. Project Europa’s artists are catalysts for new ways of seeing, thinking about and imagining Europe.

 

Columbia/Barnard art history professor Alexander Alberro emphasizes the timeliness and relevance of Project Europa for U.S. audiences. "The shift in world order that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union and its satellite states has rendered our relationship to the metropolitan centers of Europe more complex than ever," said Alberro. "It is crucial that we understand the fundamental ways in which the cultural and political ideals of Europe are changing, as well as our current commitment to those ideals. This exhibition addresses these and many other topical questions."

 

Exhibition curator Kerry Oliver-Smith, curator of contemporary art at the Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art similarly notes that “The fall of the Berlin Wall, the attacks of 9/11, and the world’s recent economic collapse bring the challenges and mutual destiny of Europe and the United States closer than ever. With the current cultural, political and economic crises, it is all the more urgent to question the recent past, to examine our global impact, and to envision more clearly our commitment to a democratic society.”

 

The artists included in the exhibition are Francis Alÿs, Fikret Atay, Kader Attia, Maja Bajević, Yto Barrada, Tacita Dean, Beate Gütschow, Jens Haaning, Susan Hefuna, Eva Leitolf, Aernout Mik, Marcel Odenbach, Dan Perjovschi, Marjetica Potrč, Andrea Robbins and Max Becher, Bruno Serralongue, Superflex and Lidwien Van de Ven.

 

Kerry Oliver-Smith has selected artists which she describes as coming from “a rich variety of perspectives and cultural positions”.  The works on view use a variety of strategies and media—sculpture, painting, performance, photography, and film—to integrate the viewer in the creation of the aesthetic experience. Especially exciting are the residencies of artists Kader Attia and Dan Perjovschi, who have been commissioned to re-create large-scale paintings applied directly to the walls of the gallery.

 

In conjunction with the exhibition, the Wallach Art Gallery will host an international symposium that will consider a range of issues, from Europe’s democratic ambitions in relation to the ultra-national and ideal aspirations of the past, to the barriers to democracy on the frontiers and in the city centers. Speakers include Claire Bishop, Associate Professor, City University of New York Graduate Center, New York; T.J. Demos, Lecturer, Department of History of Art, University College London, England; Diedrich Diedrichsen, Professor, Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna, Austria; Tim Griffin, Artforum International, New York; and Maria Hlavajova, Director, BAK (Basis voor actuele kunst), Utrecht, Netherlands. Professor Alberro will serve as moderator. The event, scheduled for Friday, February 11 at Columbia University, is free and open to the public.

The exhibition is organized by the Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art and made possible by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts; the C. Frederick and Aase B. Thompson Foundation; Étant donnés, the French-American Fund for Contemporary Art, a program of the French-American Cultural Exchange; University of Florida Student Government; the John Early Publication endowment; the Sidney Knight Endowment; and the Harn Program Endowment. 

 

Project Europa is accompanied by a scholarly catalogue published by the University of Florida and written by Kerry Oliver-Smith with contributions by Marius Babias, curator, art historian and director of the Neuer Berliner Kunstverein; and Boris Groys, professor of aesthetics, art history and media theory at the Center for Art and Media Technology, Karlsruhe, Germany.

 

 

“Project Europa: A Symposium,” February 11, 2011; 1:30 – 5:30 p.m. Columbia University, Schermerhorn Hall

 

Gallery Talk with exhibition Curator, Kerry Oliver Smith

February 12, 2011; 12:00 p.m., Wallach Art Gallery

 

The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Art Gallery aims to contribute to Columbia’s long-standing tradition of historical, critical and creative engagement in the visual arts. Since its establishment in 1986, the gallery, modeled on a laboratory, has been a forum for exhibitions related to research by graduate students, faculty and other scholars. The programming provides a bridge between the university’s diverse interests and approaches to the arts and a broad public audience.

 

A leading academic and research university, Columbia University continually seeks to advance the frontiers of knowledge and to foster a campus community deeply engaged in understanding and addressing the complex global issues of our time. Columbia’s extensive public service initiatives, cultural collaborations, and community partnerships help define the university’s underlying values and mission to educate students to be both leading scholars and informed, engaged citizens. Founded in 1754 as King’s College, Columbia University in the City of New York is the fifth oldest institution of higher learning in the United States.

 

About the Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art
Founded in 1990, the Harn Museum of Art is an integral part of the University of Florida. The Harn contributes to an interconnected, international community by integrating the arts and culture into curricula throughout the university’s system of colleges and centers. Its holdings include more than 7,300 works in five main collecting areas: Asian art, African art, photography, modern art of the Americas and Europe, and contemporary art. In addition to rotating installations drawn from its permanent collection, the Harn organizes traveling exhibitions, public lectures, panel discussions, academic symposia and educational programs for adults, students and children.