I recently attended documenta 14 in Athens. documenta is undoubtedly one of the most important art events in the world, an exhibition of contemporary art which takes place every five years in Kassel, Germany.
This year, Kassel and the Greek capital host the documenta 14 exhibition on an equal footing.
The different locations and divergent historical, socioeconomic, and cultural backgrounds of Kassel and Athens have come to bear on the actual process of creating the two parts of the exhibition, while inspiring and influencing the individual works of art at the same time.
For documenta 14, participating artists have been invited to think and produce within the context of the emerging dynamic relationship between these two cities and to develop a work for each of the two locations. documenta 14 seeks to encompass a multitude of voices in, between, and beyond the two cities where it is situated, reaching outside the European context from the vantage point of the Mediterranean metropolis of Athens, where Africa, the Middle East, and Asia stand face to face. The physical and metaphorical distance between Kassel and Athens fundamentally alters the way visitors will experience documenta 14—bringing into play feelings of loss and longing while redefining their understanding of what such an exhibition can be.
The documenta is scattered across the city of Athens, however I managed to attend the most important venues. Artworks presented in my album especially caught my attention including The Way Earthly Things Are Going (2017), a multichannel sound installation by Emeka Ogboh in the Athens Conservatoire, one of the main venues of the exhibition, as well as several works in the EMST (National Museum of Contemporary Art) from artists such as Stanley Whitney, Ashley Hans Scheirl or Cecilia Vicuña.
I certainly recommend you visit the exhibition, take your time to explore the city and its venues, since it bears several unexpected surprises. Also, feel free to take a look at my Andy meets Warhol Instagram for further posts & videos (recently named by MONOPOL Magazin as one of the best)
Take care & write to you soon.
More info & dates:
Athens, 8 April – 16 July 2017
Kassel, 10 June – 17 September 2017
Photo: Mathias Voelzke
Andy meets Warhol | Art Blog from Zurich 