MUSAC

Alexander Apóstol

26 Jun - 12 Oct 2010

© Alexander Apóstol
ALEXANDER APÓSTOL
"Tropical Modernity"

June 26th, 2010 – October 12th, 2010

Project title: Alexander Apostol. Tropical Modernity
Showcases Proyect Title: Tropical Modernity or How to stop the big bad wolf from destroying the paper house
Artist: Alexander Apóstol (Barquisimeto, Venezuela, 1969)
Curator: María Inés Rodríguez
Book design: Michel Mallard Studio
Coordination: Cynthia González García
Venue: MUSAC, Showcase Project
Dates: June 26th, 2010 – October 12th, 2010

MUSAC, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Castilla y León, is to present the first monographic book focused on the work of Venezuela artist Alexander Apóstol, first in the Art and Architecture AA MUSAC series. To mark the publication, the museum has invited the artist to carry our a site-specific installation for the Showcases Project

On Alexander Apóstol (Barquisimeto, Venezuela, 1969). Lives and works in Madrid.

Multidisciplinary artist, Apóstol has worked in a range of media including video and photography, exploring themes such as memory, the body and the individual’s place in the city. His most recent contributions bring to bear an analysis of the urban environment through an inquiry into the effects of Latin-American Modernism on today’s cities. His work, developed since the 1990s, seeks to reveal the model’s ultimate failure.

Apóstol has held solo exhibitions at venues including LACE in Los Angeles (2006), DRCLAS at Harvard University, (2007) and the Distrito 4 Gallery’s Project Room at ARCO 08, Madrid (2008). He has also taken part in a number of international biennials, amongst others the 25th São Paulo Biennial (2002) and the 7th Istanbul Biennial (2003). His work is held in collections such as the Tate Gallery in London, the Daros - Latin America Collection in Zürich and the Museo del Barrio in Nueva York, in addition to MUSAC.

On the publication
The book Alexander Apóstol Tropical Modernity, reviews the artist’s entire body of work to date. Alexander Apóstol has carried out extensive research into the Modern Movement in Latin America and its effects on the contemporary city.

This retrospective monographic book in Spanish and English, edited by María Inés Rodríguez, MUSAC Head Curator, intends to provide a complex catalogue that touches upon different aspects of the artist’s work. Tropical Modernity is richly illustrated and includes critical essays by Cuauhtémoc Medina (Mexico. art critic), Julieta González (Venezuela. Associate Curator for Latin American Art at Tate Modern, London) and Juan Herreros (Spain. Architect) all of whom approach Apóstol’s work from different angles.

MUSAC’s publication on Alexander Apóstol was designed by Michel Mallard, creative director, exhibition curator and photographer whose work bridges the gap between art and the mass media.

In the course of his career, Mallard has designed books for artists as relevant as Thomas Ruff, Steven Meisel, Jean Baptiste Mondino, Emmanuelle Béart for Steidl, Schirmer & Mosel, etc. His present position is creative director and photography curator for the Hyères International Fashion and Photography Festival, currently in its 11th edition. He has designed and organised exhibitions for artists such as Steven Meisel, Nick Knight, Guy Bourdin, Saul Leiter and Melvin Sokolsky. His creative work has shown at the Grand Palais in Paris and other prestigious institution in New York, Shanghai, Buenos Aires, Mexico City, Luxembourg and London.

This volume also stands as the first title in the Art and Architecture AA MUSAC series, intended to provide a horizontal approach to the work of artists and architects whose output suggests a critical perspective on our contemporary world.

Publication features: Published by ACTAR. Editor: María Inés Rodríguez. Series: Arte y Arquitectura AA MUSAC. Texts: A la modernidad llegamos y de ella escapamos. María Inés Rodríguez; Sobre la fragilidad de algunas ambiciones, Juan Herreros; The Latin Americans...lost in translation, Julieta González;Venezquizoide, Cuauhtémoc Medina. 160 pages. Price: 27 €.

The site-specific piece for the Showcases Project
The Showcases Project by the title of Tropical Modernity or How to stop the big bad wolf from destroying the paper house is a site-specific intervention by the artist commissioned to mark the book’s publication. In line with his recent inquiry into the Modern Movement, Apóstol presents a video that alludes to the massive construction of cities through metaphorical references
 

Tags: Alexander Apóstol, Guy Bourdin, Saul Leiter, Thomas Ruff