Metaphoria III is the third edition of a series of travelling exhibitions in Europe that envisions contemporary art as a research platform: a dialogue between the visual arts and poetry, using metaphor as its medium. Here, "metaphor" functions in its literal sense—as the modern Greeks understand it—signifying a means of transport.
After Guimarães European Capital of Culture in 2011 and Athens during the ReMap4 Biennale in 2013, Lab'Bel - The Artistic Laboratory of the Bel Group - will present the third part of this dialogue at CENTQUATRE-PARIS.
This group exhibition features new extended artworks by artists Jeremy Millar and Pepo Salazar, as well as works by Nina Beier, Adriano Costa, Rui Costa, David Horvitz, Hans-Peter Feldmann, Kenneth Goldsmith, Ana Jotta and Karin Sander. Actors, musicians and poets will also be invited on week-ends to participate in the event. An archive of the two previous editions will be presented in the exhibition space, allowing visitors to take part in this voyage across a contemporary Europe in search of itself.
The theme developed in the Metaphoria series takes its inspiration from Rui Costa's unpublished novel, Adam and Eve Dialogues. The ensemble of the creative project has been curated by Silvia Guerra.
"Poetry and myths willingly lend themselves to a movement that brings together multiple temporalities, where ancient and recent history undergo a 'telescoping' effect. They allow us to explore our ways of living together, of building a shared space, 'two lived-in rooms' where ideas can germinate. It's not about analyzing or producing a discourse on Europe, art and/or language, but rather about condensing mental images within the framework of an exhibition. An exhibition as a space of questioning: what do you want to do with art, today? Where do you store your memory: in books, on hard disks? What part of the weight of this memory do we really want to carry?
"Each exhibition in this series is like a journey, or a room in a house that we all live in together. Each one takes place in a new space, with its own unique landscape and context: an archaeology museum in northern Portugal, in one of the European Capitals of Culture; the last floor of an abandoned building in the red light district of Athens, as part of the ReMap Biennale; and CENTQUATRE-PARIS, which for over 120 years was the municipal funeral home. The first hall, on the Rue d'Aubervilliers, was used for the fabrication of coffins. This is where Metaphoria III will take place.
"Metaphoria III carries in itself its own history, the memory of the poet who passed away during its inception, and the hope of a new world in which all are moved by the desire to live together—like Adam and Eve, but without the serpent." —Silvia Guerra
Silvia Guerra is an art historian, exhibition curator and the artistic director of Lab'Bel since 2010. She was in charge of missions at the Art Institute of the Portuguese Ministry of Culture for four years, culminating in the production of Helena Almeida's national representation at the Venice Biennale. Most recently she co-curated, together with Laurent Fiévet, a series of solo exhibitions by Stefan Brüggemann, Haroon Mirza and Laëtitia Baudaut Haussmann, in which contemporary artists dialogue with iconic buildings of modernist architecture. These included the Mies Van der Rohe Pavilion in Barcelona, the Villa Savoye of Le Corbusier in Poissy, France, and the Maison Louis Carré by Alvar Aalto in Bazoches-sur-Guyonne, France. She also curated, again with Laurent Fiévet, Concertino Unisono, a series of performances in a public space - St Mark's Square in Venice - by conceptual artist Michael Staab. Outside of Lab'Bel, she has curated the exhibition De la Ville à La Villa. Chandigarh revisited with artists Ana Perez-Quiroga and Rodrigo Oliveira, presented in 2016 at the Villa Savoye. Guerra's exhibitions are characterized by a dialogue between works and places that invite the convergence of different artistic disciplines, giving rise to the emergence of a form of collective unconscious.
Lab'Bel - The Artistic Laboratory of the Bel Group
Lab'Bel - The Artistic Laboratory of the Bel Group, was created in the spring of 2010 with the goal of supporting contemporary art in accordance with the food group's values of sharing, accessibility and enjoyment. In line with this philosophy, since its creation Lab'Bel has built up a collection of artworks produced from 2000 onwards. Each year it stages a series of exhibitions and artistic events both in France and abroad. Lab'Bel is directed by Laurent Fiévet and Sivlia Guerra.
Website: www.lab-bel.com
Metaphoria III at CENTQUATRE-PARIS. With Nina Beier, Adriano Costa, Rui Costa, Hans-Peter Feldmann, Kenneth Goldsmith, Ana Jotta, Jeremy Millar, Pepo Salazar, Karin Sander, as well as other artists, poets and performers.
Metaphoria I, Guimarães, Museu Martins Sarmento. With artists Jason Dodge and Katie Paterson; musicians Hélène Breschand and Jean-François Pauvros; poets Rui Costa, Ellen LeBlond Schrader and Joana Serrado.
Metaphoria II, ReMap Biennale, Athens. Inspired by a poem of Rui Costa. With artists Norbert van Ackeren, Michel Blazy, Ceal Floyer, Gereon Krebber, Ugo Rondinone, Karin Sander, Gregor Schneider, Michael Staab, Nisrek Varhonja, Lawrence Weiner; readers Ricardo Trindade, Lizzy Watts, Dorotea Reinhold, Aline Boucraut, and Teatro Synergio; musicians Hélène Breschand and Jean-François Pauvros.
METAPHORIA III
Nina Beier, Adriano Costa, Rui Costa,
Hans-Peter Feldmann, Kenneth Goldsmith, Ana Jotta,
Jeremy Millar, Pepo Salazar, Karin Sander
At CENTQUATRE-PARIS, from 6 October to 11 November 2018
Related Publications
