Month: June 2014

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Twin Passions: the Gensollens and La Fabrique

Agnieszka Gratza

This portrait of the Gensollens and their collection appeared in the FT: A marble plaque on the outside of La Fabrique – a converted textile mill in Marseille that houses one of the most rarefied private collections of contemporary art in France – commemorates a “conspiracy” between the Swiss artist-activist Gianni Motti and the collector couple Josée and Marc Gensollen, which took place behind its walls on November 15 2013. The exact nature of this act, apparently directed against the contemporary art market, is a secret the Gensollens will not divulge.   To conspire, from the Latin conspirare, literally means … Continue reading Twin Passions: the Gensollens and La Fabrique

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Ian Kiaer: Tooth House

Agnieszka Gratza

This preview of Ian Kiaer’s “Tooth House” at the Henry Moore Institute appeared in Mousse magazine: Courtesy Private Collection, Paris, Marcelle Alix Galerie, Paris and Alison Jacques Gallery, London Photo: Aurélien Mole In a famous episode of François Rabelais’ Pantagruel (c. 1532), the narrator Alcofribas boldly ventures into the eponymous giant’s mouth by climbing up his tongue. He begins his vivid account of the “new world” he finds therein by likening the lofty interior to Hagia Sophia, which had made a deep impression on Renaissance travellers: “I walked there as they do in Sophia (at) Constantinople, and saw there great … Continue reading Ian Kiaer: Tooth House

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Dhaka Art Summit

Agnieszka Gratza

This review of the Dhaka Art Summit appeared in frieze: Rana Begum, No. 473 (detail), 2013–14, handwoven baskets and string, dimensions variable Until recently, due to the absence of any kind of contemporary art infrastructure, the capital of Bangladesh was hardly recognized as an art world destination. But, owing to the efforts of the Samdani Art Foundation, which was set up in 2011 by Dhaka-based collectors Nadia and Rajeeb Samdani, it is fast becoming one. Despite being modelled on the India Art Fair in Delhi – with its gallery booths, solo art projects and speakers’ forum – the biannual Dhaka … Continue reading Dhaka Art Summit

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Real Time: Sensory Ethnography Lab

Agnieszka Gratza

This piece about the Sensory Ethnography Lab appeared in frieze: Véréna Paravel & Lucien Castaing-Taylor, Leviathan, 2012, film still. Courtesy the directors and Cinema Guild. During a conversation held at my local cinema in Brixton, London, following the preview screening of their documentary film Leviathan (2012), directors Véréna Paravel and Lucien Castaing-Taylor mused about the possibility of a mobile, free-floating or invisible laboratory, unfettered by any institutional affiliations. A utopian proposition waiting for an architect to take up the challenge, this ‘invisible lab’ would be an off-shoot of the Sensory Ethnography Lab (SEL) – a graduate centre with production facilities … Continue reading Real Time: Sensory Ethnography Lab