In May 2015 the Center for Contemporary Art in Tel Aviv will present Oliver Laric’s first solo show in Israel.
Difference and repetition are common subjects for Laric, especially when looking at the productive potential inherent to reproduction, or the process of change from one thing to another. His work can broadly be read as exploring the multiplicities contained within a single entity, especially in a world of digital reproduction and dissemination.
Laric’s long interest in variation, in how an image, object, or idea is altered according to its user’s needs or context is presented through two videos and one sculptural project. The newest video has been on view at ar/ge kunst Galerie Museum, Bolzano and is included in the 2015 New Museum Triennial. It is a meditative study of metamorphoses comprised mostly of scenes of character transformation in animated videos that ultimately address the mutability of gender and identity and the ability to transcend oneself.
The second video on display is “Versions” (2012), one of an ongoing series that features sundry references to copies and various reproductions that consider change, repetition, replicas, and variation in an age of digital reproducibility. And finally, “Yuanmingyuan Columns (2014) is comprised of 3D scans of ancient Chinese columns that are available for download on Laric’s website so that anyone can view or use them.
Whether through morphing or copying, it is the distinctions and translations in the process of transforming from one thing to another that Laric uses to examine the formation of contemporary image culture. This process is intimately tied to his intuitive, idiosyncratic brand of scholarship that takes the form of appropriated objects and images, all of which are conceptually layered and often make use of technologically sophisticated methods of fabrication.
Accompanying the exhibition will be a catalogue with texts by acclaimed philosopher and feminist theorist, Rosi Braidotti, and the exhibition curator, Chen Tamir.
Oliver Laric Artist Talk: May 21, 7pm In conjunction with his exhibition, Oliver Laric will discuss previous works and his sources of inspiration. Moderated by Chen Tamir, the talk and following Q&A will be in English.
About Oliver Laric Laric (b. 1981 Innsbruck, Austria) lives and works in Berlin. He studied at the Universität angewandte Kunst Wien. He has forthcoming exhibitions scheduled at the Secession in Vienna and the Austrian Cultural Forum in London. Recent solo and group exhibitions have been presented at The New Museum, New York (2015), ar/ge kunst Galerie Museum, Bolzano (2014); Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington (2014); FUTURA Center for Contemporary Art, Prague (2013); MIT List Visual Arts Center, Cambridge (2013); Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2012); Kunstverein Munchen (2012); Artspace, Auckland (2012); Villa du Parc Centre d’art Contemporain, Annemasse (2012); NGBK, Berlin (2012), The High Line, New York (2012); Frieze New York (2012); Skulpturhalle Basel (2011); Westfñlischer Kunstverein, Munster (2011); Proyectos Monclova, Mexico D.F. (2011); Mass MoCA, (2011); Vancouver Art Gallery (2010); X-initiative, New York (2009); and New Museum, New York (2008). Some of his work can be found on www.oliverlaric.com
This exhibition is made possible with generous support from the Austrian Cultural Forum and Outset.
An exhibition catalogue with texts by Rosi Braidotti and CCA’s curator Chen Tamir is available for sale.
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