Thru Sept. 24, 2012, the Joan Miro Foundation and Obra Social La Caixa present the first monographic exhibit about Mona Hatoum (Beirut, 1952) in Barcelona. Proyección, curated by Martina Millà in collaboration with the artist, includes nearly forty pieces made over the past two decades and proposes a broader look at her work. In the same breath, it takes her work far beyond the geopolitical references that have virtually made her synonymous of her own production.
Winner of the 2011 Joan Miro Prize in its third edition, Hatoum establishes a dialogue with her works by means of artistic movements, such as surrealism, minimalism, povera art, body art or land art, among others. The thorough museography offered this time around in her installations, videos, sculptures and photographs lay down a number of contrasts in a bid to reveal those relationships.
The first two halls are harboring suspended works: the delicate and light Web (Colección “La Caixa” Foundation’s contemporary art collection) that goes against the grain with Suspended¸ a 35-swing installation with maps of several big cities carved on the seats. Hanging Garden, a wall built with sandbags that show off grass, is connected with Bunker, a “city” of modular sculptures made of steel that have been charred to make them resemble the ruins of a violent conflict or war.
Another highlight is Turbulence, especially created for this exhibit. It consists of a square rug made up of marbles and taws of different sizes.
Alongside the exposition, a catalog featuring a text penned by Catherine de Zegher and featuring images of her works will be put out.
Mona Hatoum has been living in London since 1975. Since the 1990s, her work has been increasingly oriented toward large scales in an effort to make viewers get mixed emotions. She won the Joan Miro Prize for her “ability to connecting personal experience and universal values with her commitment to human values from all cultures and societies.” She donated the 70,000 euros of the London University of the Arts Prize to help international artists to study in the United Kingdom.
Source: Press release
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