Conceptual Geographies: Frames and Documents: Selections from the Ella Fontanals-Cisneros Collection

January 23–March 23, 2013

Curated by Modern Art: Critical and Curatorial Studies alumnus Donald Johnson-Montenegro and graduate student Anne Bruder.

Conceptual Geographies presents important conceptual artworks created since 1967 by 16 international artists from different generations and latitudes. The 22 works and series—including photography, video, film, drawing, printmaking, mail art and artist's books—all invoke geography on multiple levels, using it as both subject and object.

The exhibition includes artists who engaged conceptual practices in the United States, Europe and Latin America and began to explore their respective geographies as a means to question invisible and visible structures of power, as well as to analyze, challenge and expose the systems in which artists create and viewers perceive. These artists are aligned with conceptual art practices in an international context. In their works, geographies derive from multiple powers that demarcate spaces, people and systems, and span from the literal to the metaphorical.

The artists in the exhibition are: Lothar Baumgarten, Pavel Büchler, Waltercio Caldas, Sophie Calle, Luis Camnitzer, Eugenio Dittborn, Eugenio Espinoza, David Lamelas, Louise Lawler, Gordon Matta-Clark, Cildo Meireles, Ana Mendieta, Claudio Perna, Ed Ruscha, Regina Silveira, and Horacio Zabala.

The works in Conceptual Geographies were selected from the exhibition Frames and Documents: Conceptualist Practice, which was on display at Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation (CIFO) in Miami, FL from November 2011 until March 2012. The latter exhibition was curated by Philippe Pirotte and Jesús Fuenmayor, director and curator for CIFO. Conceptual Geographies at the Wallach Art Gallery further explores the issue of geography addressed in the original exhibition. As well, it expands the understanding of Conceptual Art, presenting practices from varied geopolitical contexts, as well as works from different time periods and by artists not usually associated with the movement.

Events

Symposium: Calle Tomada: The Street in Latin America
Monday, March 4, 2013
4–8 p.m.
Judith Lee Stronach Center, Schermerhorn Hall, 8th Floor

This symposium is presented by the MA in Modern Art: Critical and Curatorial Studies, Columbia University, with additional support from the Department of Latin American and Iberian Studies and The Wallach Art Gallery, Columbia University, and the Institute for the Study of Latin American Art (ISLAA).

Curators' tour with Modern Art: Critical and Curatorial Studies alumnus Donald Johnson-Montenegro and graduate student Anne Bruder
Monday, February 25, 2013
4–5 p.m.

A conversation with artist Lothar Baumgarten and Kaira M. Cabañas, Lecturer and Director of MA in Modern Art: Critical and Curatorial Studies (MODA)
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
6–7:30 p.m.
Co-sponsored by the Department of Art History and Archaeology.

Opening reception: Conceptual Geographies: Frames and Documents: Selections from the Ella Fontanals-Cisneros Collection
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
6–8 p.m.

The Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation is a non-profit organization established in 2002 by Ella Fontanals-Cisneros and her family to support artists who are exploring new directions in contemporary art. CIFO fosters cultural understanding and educational exchange through three primary initiatives: a Grants and Commissions Program for emerging and mid-career visual artists from Latin America; an exhibitions program showcasing international contemporary art from the Ella Fontanals-Cisneros Collection at the CIFO Art Space; and foundation-initiated support for other arts and culture projects.