ART ASIA Miami Announces New Curatorial Programming
With its return to the Wynwood Art District for the second year, ART ASIA Miami -December 2-6, 2009- announces its continuing commitment to supporting educational programs and has appointed independent curator Leeza Ahmady to launch an entirely new curatorial platform. The landmark exhibition titled Truly Truthful showcases internationally recognized artists whose works contest categorical presentations of truth and reality in the world. The exhibition presents some of the best artists working both inside and outside of Asia; they challenge presentations of truth as superlative, established, rigid, objective, and specific.
Using clever methods such as: documentary footage, staged events, real and fictive characters, renewal of age-old crafts, and construction of new myths in a variety of media (painting, installation, video, photography and sculpture), the artists in Truly Truthful engage viewers to ponder established notions about Asian contemporary art, and other so called truths in relationship to aesthetics, consumerism, colonialism, societal stagnations, individual and collective inertia, and human consciousness.
Born in Afghanistan and raised in New York, Leeza Ahmady is an independent art curator, educator, and noted specialist in art from Central Asia. As the Director of Asian Contemporary Art Week (ACAW) at Asia Society, Leeza Ahmady is instrumental in organizing the annual citywide event that involves leading New York City galleries and museums to participate in special exhibitions, receptions, lectures, and performances.
The artists in Truly Truthful are selected through nominations by experts in the field including some of the members of the Asian Contemporary Art Consortium, (ACAC).
Gulnara Kasmalieva and Muratbek Djumaliev - Untitled (Spring), 2009
C-print - Courtesy: Winkleman Gallery
In addition, ART ASIA will continue its film series by presenting the newest film from Yi Zhou titled The Ear. The Ear features Pharrell Wiliams with music by Ennio Morricone, and costumes designed by Rick Owens and BBC Ice Cream. Inspired by Nikolai Gogol’s satirical short story The Nose, The Ear features an EarBridge that is part of a public proposal for Baku, Azerbaijan. Zhou is a young Chinese artist who has lived in Rome from the age of ten and is now residing between Paris and Hong Kong. Zhou creates multimedia installation artworks that blend film, digital animation, photography, sculpture, painting, drawing and contemporary music.
© Yi Zhou, THE EAR, 2009 - Film Still - Courtesy: Contrasts Gallery
ART ASIA’s move to its new location at the renowned Soho Studios Wynwood Convention Center located at 2136 NW 1st Avenue, between 21st street and 1st Avenue, will provide galleries with maximum exposure to an extensive array of international visitors, such as collectors, curators, gallerists, artists, and the general public. Home to leading galleries, museums, studios and alternative spaces, Wynwood is a marketing hub for art enthusiasts around the world in December.
Co-founder of ART ASIA, Jeffrey Lawson says, “We are extremely excited to return to Miami and have invested heavily in all aspects of ART ASIA to ensure its continued success as the premier fair dedicated to Asian contemporary art with the highest quality curatorial programming.” In 2008, the inaugural event drew over 30,000 visitors including collectors, art advisory firms, museum groups, and media sources. The Preview Night Party at the Mandarin Oriental attracted over 1,200 VIP clients and journalists, setting the tone for its successful five day run. Building on last year’s overwhelming success, ART ASIA Miami 2009 will reach new heights with enhanced curatorial and educational programming.
Sislej Xhafa, Beh-rang, 2004
Video Still, 00:03:18
Courtesy: Center for Contemporary Art Afghanistan, (CCAA)
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