[UN]NATURAL LIMITS

WEDNESDAY JAN 23 - MONDAY APR 1, 2013
Presented by the
Austrian Cultural Forum New York
>> OPEN DAILY, 10 AM - 6 PM. FREE ADMISSION.
Artists: DESIRE MACHINE COLLECTIVE, THOMAS HIRSCHHORN, MATHIAS KESSLER, SUPERFLEX, MIERLE LADERMAN UKELES, LOIS WEINBERGER
Curators: DIETER BUCHHART & ARNAUD GERSPACHER
Curatorial Advisor: MATHIAS KESSLER
This exhibition at the Austrian Cultural Forum New York gathers together different artistic reactions to the alienating effects of the unfettered global exploitation of resources, and offers insight into the denial and myopia of current political responses to what increasingly appears to be a perpetual crisis. [UN]NATURAL LIMITS focuses on the environmental relays sent back in response to our human activities (or failures to act), while giving voice to various groups, thinkers, and artists who seek to interrupt narcissistic and destructive self-involvements in society.
The exhibition, which was curated by the Austrian-American team of Dieter Buchhart and Arnaud Gerspacher, maintains a deep ambiguity towards the modernist legacies of endless expansion and selective prosperity as our social and political systems slowly begin to confront the limits of growth and sustainability. Each artist or collective poses a challenge to the perceived limits that condition our understanding of the world: on the one hand, the limited prospect for action, compassion, and change, while on the other, the limitless drive for resources and capital in all its forms. A reversal is necessary: it is compassion that should be limitless.
[Image: Thomas Hirschhorn, Resistance-Subjecter (2011)]
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Exhibition poster
design by Ahoystudios.com
Desire Machine Collective
Still from Periferry – An incomplete Balance Sheet (2013)
Video, text print
Courtesy of the artists
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Desire Machine Collective
Thomas HIRSCHHORN
Resistance-Subjecter (2011)
Plexiglass-showcase with neon-lights, 8 mannequins
Dimensions variable
Courtesy of the artist and Gladstone Gallery, New York
Exhibition view at the ACFNY
Photo by David Plakke
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Thomas HIRSCHHORNfileadmin/useruploads/fdfx_image/Press_Images/Political_Economy_Stupid/Hi-Res/BILDA_Shark.jpg
Thomas HIRSCHHORN
Resistance-Subjecter (2011)
Plexiglass-showcase with neon-lights, 8 mannequins
Dimensions variable
Courtesy of the artist and Gladstone Gallery, New York
Exhibition view at the ACFNY
Photo by David Plakke
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fileadmin/useruploads/fdfx_image/Press_Images/UnNatural_Limits/Hi-res/HIRSCHHORN_HIRES.jpgThomas HIRSCHHORNfileadmin/useruploads/fdfx_image/Press_Images/UnNatural_Limits/Hi-res/HIRSCHHORN_HIRES.jpgfileadmin/useruploads/fdfx_image/Press_Images/Political_Economy_Stupid/Hi-Res/BILDA_Shark.jpg
Mathias KESSLER
Jarrells Cemetery, N37o53.96’ W81o34.71’. Eunice Mountain. West Virginia. (2012)
Wallpaper & Sound installation
Dimensions variable
Courtesy of the artist
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Mathias KESSLERfileadmin/useruploads/fdfx_image/Press_Images/Beauty_Contest/Hi-RES/BUCHEGGER.jpg
SUPERFLEX
Experience Climate Change As A Mosquito (2009)
From the series Experience climate change as a...
Silkscreen print
31.5 x 43 inches
Courtesy 1301PE Gallery, Los Angeles
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SUPERFLEXfileadmin/useruploads/fdfx_image/Press_Images/Our_Haus/Hi-Res/HERRMANN.jpg
Mierle Laderman UKELES
Touch Sanitation Performance (1977-80)
Sweep 7, Staten Island, 6:00 am Roll Call
Black and white photograph
60 x 90 inches
Courtesy Feldman Fine Arts, New York
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Mierle Laderman UKELESfileadmin/useruploads/fdfx_image/Press_Images/Against_Specialist_Schoenberg/Hi-Res/KREN.jpgfileadmin/useruploads/fdfx_image/Press_Images/Our_Haus/Hi-Res/KANDL_VIEL_.jpg
Mierle Laderman UKELES
Touch Sanitation Performance (1977-80)
Fresh Kills Landfill
Color photograph
60 x 90 inches
Courtesy Feldman Fine Arts, New York
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Mierle Laderman UKELESfileadmin/useruploads/fdfx_image/Press_Images/Against_Specialist_Schoenberg/Hi-Res/KREN.jpgfileadmin/useruploads/fdfx_image/Press_Images/Our_Haus/Hi-Res/KANDL_VIEL_.jpg
Lois WEINBERGER
Invasion (2005/2011)
Tree fungus
Dimensions variable
Courtesy of the artist
Photo by Paris Tsitsos
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fileadmin/useruploads/fdfx_image/Press_Images/Against_Specialist_Schoenberg/Hi-Res/FRANK.jpgLois WEINBERGERfileadmin/useruploads/fdfx_image/Press_Images/Against_Specialist_Schoenberg/Hi-Res/FRANK.jpg
credits
Curators Dieter Buchhart & Arnaud Gerspacher
Curatorial Advisor Mathias Kessler
Exhibition Coordinator Natascha Boojar
Exhibition Assistants Leonie Bockelmann, Hanna Palmanshofer, Elena Todeva
Supporting Institutions of the Austrian Cultural Forum New York: Austrian Airlines, Esterházy Winery, RB International Finance (USA) LLC, Stiegl, Zumtobel
Special thanks to Patrick Cadenhead, Franklin Castanien, Ian Horn, Brian Sharrock, Joel Sheakoski
For media inquiries please contact desk[at]acfny[dot]org