NEW YORK, NY.- Haunch of Venison will present Boundaries Obscured from September 23rd to November 5th 2011, a group exhibition that will mark the gallery’s inaugural exhibition in their new Chelsea location. The show will feature new and seminal works by artists including Ahmed Alsoudani, Kevin Francis Gray, Isca Greenfield-Sanders, Jitish Kallat, Patricia Piccinini, Peter Saul, Eve Sussman, Günther Uecker and Joana Vasconcelos. Several of the aforementioned artists will also have solo shows in the new space over the next year.
Haunch of Venison’s move to the heart of Chelsea’s gallery district is a major change from the previous Rockefeller Center location and reflects their renewed focus on gallery artists. “The inaugural exhibition is a group show of artists we work with. The move to Chelsea means greater exposure for our artists and the ability to more effectively present their work to the public,” explained Haunch of Venison’s International Director Emilio Steinberger. Leading architect Annabelle Selldorf of Selldorf Architects, renowned for their designs of prominent cultural institutions, redesigned the 6,000ft² ground floor space.
Artists featured in Boundaries Obscured respond to the growing trend of globalization and the blurring of cultural and geographical boundaries as use of technology becomes more prevalent. Major cities and rural enclaves are no longer distinct entities that operate in opposite contexts. Thus the featured artists depict both urban and rural scenes, addressing universal issues such as war, violence, politics, sex and eroticism, drugs, class, science and technology, waste and excess. These works highlight the overwhelming difficulties and/or advantages of being an individual in a relentlessly encroaching mass of information and external pressure.
The exhibiting artists represent the world’s global and diversified (yet interdependent) climate. The artists range in age from 32 to 76 years old and hail from a range of countries including Iraq, India, Sierra Leone, Germany and the United States. “By exhibiting a group of artists at different stages in their careers, and who come from radically different backgrounds, we intend to create a dynamic dialogue between the artists,” said Steinberger. The exhibition will include a new painting by renowned American artist Peter Saul, whose recent solo exhibition at Haunch of Venison received critical acclaim. Saul is celebrated for his politically charged paintings that comment ironically on current events and public figures. Another highlight of the exhibition is German sculptor Günther Uecker’s Aschemensch (Ash Man), a seminal painting from the artist’s only figurative series. Uecker created the work in 1986 as a reaction to the Chernobyl catastrophe. The work features an ambiguous human figure engulfed in sporadic black drips of paint, alluding to the radioactive materials that invaded Chernobyl.
Iraqi born artist Ahmed Alsoudani will exhibit new work responding to issues of terrorism, human conflict and dictatorial suppression. Australian artist Patricia Piccinini, who currently has a major mid-career survey at Art Gallery of South Australia, will exhibit her mixed media sculpture titled Eulogy from 2011. Piccinini examines humans’ complex relationships with technology and animals and in this featured work specifically comments on human impact on other life forms. Portuguese artist Joana Vasconcelos, who was recently commissioned to have a solo exhibition at Versailles in 2012, will exhibit a new piece. Vasconcelos is best known for her readymade sculptures inspired by Nouveau-realisme and her focus on identity politics pertaining to gender and nationality.
