Adrián Villar Rojas: The Murderer of your Heritage / Argentine Pavilion, Venice Biennale 2011

Adrián Villar Rojas is representing Argentina at the 54th Internationa Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia in Venice, Italy. Adrián Villar Rojas has developed a site-specific installation for the Argentine pavilion that consists of a series of monumental clay sculptures and is titled “El asesino de tu herencia” (“The Murderer of your Heritage”). Adrián Villar Rojas is known for his usage of clay, cement, wood and sackcloth for his works.

Adrián Villar Rojas (born in Rosario in 1980) studied Fine Arts at the University of Rosario, Argentina. His work has been exhibited at international venues such as Serpentine Gallery (London), CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts (San Francisco), Galerí­a Kurimanzutto (Mexico, DF), Akademie der Künste (Berlin), Galerí­a Ruth Benzacar (Buenos Aires), Museo de Arte Moderno de San Pablo (Brazil), X Bienal de Cuenca (Ecuador), II Bienal del Fin del Mundo (Ushuaia) and II Trienal Poligráfica de San Juan (Puerto Rico), among others. During 2011, he will also exhibit at Galerí­a Luisa Strina (Sao Paulo), Jardin des Tuileries (Paris) and 12th Istanbul Biennial.

Commissioner of the Argentine Participation in the 54th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale die Venezia 2011 is Magdalena Faillace, the curator is Rodrigo Alonso.

Adrián Villar Rojas: The Murderer of your Heritage / Argentine Pavilion, Venice Biennale 2011. Preview, June 1, 2011.

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Photo set:
Adrián Villar Rojas: The Murderer of your Heritage

Press release (in Spanish):

El 16 de diciembre de 2010 quedó formalizada la invitación de Adrián Villar Rojas para representar a la Argentina en la 54° Bienal Internacional de Arte de Venecia. La misma fue cursada por Rodrigo Alonso, destacado curador y especialista en arte contemporáneo, quien tiene a su cargo la curadurí­a del enví­o por recomendación de la Dirección General de Asuntos Culturales del Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, Comercio Internacional y Culto de la Repíºblica Argentina.

El espacio asignado se sitíºa en la Artiglierie, dentro de los Arsenales, lugar reservado tradicionalmente para la producción más contemporánea. Allí­, el artista presenta una instalación site-specific de esculturas monumentales que sigue la lí­nea de sus trabajos más recientes.

En palabras del curador, “Adrián Villar Rojas es un joven y talentoso artista que ha venido recibiendo una importante atención crí­tica en los íºltimos aí±os. Con él representando a la Argentina en la Bienal de Venecia, profundizamos nuestro compromiso con la producción emergente, insuflamos energí­a y vitalidad al nuevo espacio, y apostamos al futuro, creando una plataforma que permita establecer un diálogo continuado con la escena artí­stica internacional.”

“Su obra posee un tinte marcadamente personal. Reíºne la experimentación formal con la construcción de una narrativa que le permite reflexionar sobre el arte, sus modos de aparición, su sentido y su significación en el final de los tiempos y del mundo. Sus íºltimas piezas parten de un relato que desde un futuro hipotético reflexiona sobre el presente, desplegando cierta dimensión polí­tica de la fantasí­a. Desde una mirada situada en ese fin del mundo -el nuestro- nos propone repensar el lugar de la creación artí­stica como un refugio de la existencia, la pasión y la sensibilidad.”

“Al mismo tiempo, Villar Rojas entiende su producción como una alternativa a la imagen tradicional del arte latinoamericano, ligada a la simplicidad y las prácticas ready-made. Por tal motivo, emprende proyectos ambiciosos, complejos, que buscan dialogar con la obra de sus pares internacionales al mismo nivel de potencialidad y riesgo.”

La presentación va acompaí±ada por la publicación de dos libros, uno dedicado a los proyectos monumentales de Adrián Villar Rojas, editado por Kültur Büro (Bélgica), y el catálogo oficial de la representación argentina en la 54° Bienal Internacional de Venecia, editado por la Cancillerí­a Argentina (Buenos Aires).

Press release (English):

After two months of working in-situ with a team of builders, engineers and sculptors, Adrian Villar Rojas presents The Murderer of Your Heritage, his last installation specially created for the 54th Venice Biennial. The piece is placed in a privileged space at the Artiglierie, in the very heart of the Arsenale, just in front of the premises that will be occupied by the permanent Argentinian Pavilion from next year on, after the agreement signed between the Argentine government and the authorities of the Biennale.

This site-specific installation of monumental sculptures is based on the theories of multiverses, which state that many different universes could coexist; thus, the large clay figures displayed over the whole space of the Artiglierie could be seen as simultaneous apparitions of these alternative worlds in ours, calling the attention to the other paths that humankind could have taken during its evolutionary history. Pushing this concept even further, the artist will develop a similar massive piece to be placed at the Jardin de Tuileries, Paris, during 2011, with the cooperation of SAM ART Projects and the Musée du Louvre.

During the opening, Adrian Villar Rojas’ work has been awarded with the 9th Benesse Prize addressed to a “promising artist trying to break new artistic ground with an experimental and pioneering spirit”, by a jury composed by Hervé Chandès (General Director, Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemporain), Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev (Artistic Director, Documenta 13), Lu Jie (Director and Curator, Long March Project), and Fram Kitagawa (General Director, Setouchi International Art Festival).

In the words of the curator Rodrigo Alonso, “Adrián Villar Rojas is a talented young artist who has been receiving important critical attention during the last years. With him representing Argentina at Venice Biennial we deepen our compromise with the emergent production, insufflate energy and vitality to the new venue, and bet on the future by creating a platform to establish an ongoing dialogue with the international art scene.”

“His work possesses a distinct personal tone. It combines formal experimentation with the construction of a narrative, which allows him to reflect on art, its forms of appearance, and its meanings, as if it were the end of times and the end of the world. His last pieces derive from a story, which speculates on the present from a hypothetical future, unfolding a political dimension of fantasy. Focused on that end of the world””ours””he suggests that we rethink the place of art creation as a shelter for existence, passion and sensibility.”

“At the same time, Villar Rojas sees his work as an alternative to the traditional Latin American art production, linked to simplicity and ready-made. For this reason, he embarks on ambitious and complex projects, which intend to hold a dialogue with the works of his international peers at the same level of potentiality and risk.”

Adrián Villar Rojas (Rosario, 1980) studied Fine Arts at the University of Rosario, Argentina. His work has been exhibited at international venues such as Serpentine Gallery (London), CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts (San Francisco), Galerí­a Kurimanzutto (Mexico, DF), Akademie der Künste (Berlin), Galerí­a Ruth Benzacar (Buenos Aires), Museo de Arte Moderno de San Pablo (Brazil), X Bienal de Cuenca (Ecuador), II Bienal del Fin del Mundo (Ushuaia) and II Trienal Poligráfica de San Juan (Puerto Rico), among others. During 2011, he has also been appointed for 12th Istanbul Biennial.

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