Karl Holmqvist, Die Dame, 2008
Courtesy: the artist and dépendance

Dancing on the Ceiling: Art & Zero Gravity, is a major group exhibition in which contemporary artists explore—and on occasion recreate—the condition of weightlessness on earth. The exhibition will present the work of multiple national and international artists, including three newly commissioned pieces for the exhibition. Distributed throughout the public spaces in the building the exhibition is itself un-tethered from the confines of the traditional gallery exhibition paradigm.

Arts Catalyst • Benjamin Bergmann • Denis Darzacq • Edith Dekyndt • Chris Doyle • William Forsythe • Julia Fullerton-Batten • Thom Kubli • Tomás Saraceno • Jane & Louise Wilson • Xu Zhen

Dancing on the Ceiling will bring together artworks that use the metaphor of floating or weightlessness as an expression of the relationship of the individual to social, political or personal contexts. In addition, several of the pieces relate to lightness as akin to an agility of mind, freed of entrenched perspectives.

Curated by Kathleen Forde, Curator of Time-Based Arts, the exhibition will be accompanied by an exhibition catalog including essays by Italo Calvino as well as interviews with commissioned artists Chris Doyle and Thom Kubli.

The exhibition is also contextualized by a series of related performances, talks, films, and events; see the schedule for complete information.

Robert Longo, “Men in the Cities”, 1980s

NB: Don’t miss Aaron Schuster’s essay on levitation, love, and space sex in SB5!

I dreamt of a camera travelling over the surface of my body, expanses of skin and looming facial features. I could see the image. It moved over my teeth and plunged down my throat, taking me on a visceral journey into my esophagus. Then the camera took a similar voyage into my intestine and my cervix, making visible an architecture of glistening walls and pools of visceral fluid.

above: Albania.

Photography by Herring & Herring for Z!nk Magazine. Style by Mykel C. Smith and Katie Collins (reblogged from Haute Macabre, a blog worth following!)

Predrag Pajdic is a London based art historian, editor and curator (graduated from Central St. Martins and the Courtauld Institute of Art) who has been exhibiting and curating in the UK and internationally, as well as writing and lecturing on contemporary art.
Sang Bleu will be featured in the show he is curating in London in May, Lingering Whispers.

Does self expression flourish under pressure? Is creativity at its most acute in times of social, political and financial crises? More than anything, do the arts provide hope during periods of extreme difficulty? Asks Predrag Pajdic.

image © Barney Ashton

Lingering Whispers
06 May – 06 June 2010
Opening reception 06 May 2010 from 6.30 P.M.
Crypt, St Pancras Church
London NW1 2BA,
United Kingdom

Exhibited artists: Dom Agius, Errikos Andreu, Barney Ashton, Milijana Babic, Joachim Baldauf, Stefania Bonatelli, Wren Britton, Carolyn Cowan, Fran Dileo, Alexandra Eldridge, Devin Elijah, Manuel Estevez, Roberto Foddai, Al Giga, Frances Goodman, Christophe Haleb, Katharina Hesse, Daniel Holfeld, Kobi Israel, Pascale Lafay, Scooter Laforge, Emiliano Lazzarotto, Mark Mander, Tupac Martir, Katarina Mootich, Michal Ohana-Cole, Maflohé Passedouet, Petra Reimann, Ricci/Forte, Pato Rivero, Yvonne De Rosa, Mauro Santucci, Iris Schieferstein, Erick Soler, Tapio Snellman, Wolfgang Stiller, Christopher Stribley and Cyrille Weiner.

A picture by Madame Yevonde, Tattoo Study III, 1938.

France de Griessen has lived and worked everywhere from New Mexico to Paris. The Belgian-Dutch artist writes and takes photos for tattoo and body mod mags but her main outlet is music. She has a solo EP out called Six Uses For a Heart and the first song I Want To Be You appears on the soundtrack for Bruce LaBruce’s X-rated new film LA Zombie, starring Francois Sagat. France is also working with Detroit-based photographer Sue Rynski on a book project based on Hans Christian Andersen’s The red Shoes, and her own watercolours and drawings which can be seen on her site.

”As for my tattoos, most of them have been done by the amazing Rude (23 Keller Piercing & Tattoo, Paris), others are by (R.I.P) J.B. Jones (Route 66 Fine Line Tattoo, Albuquerque, New-Mexico) and Alexandre (Moko Tattoo). Next time I’m going to Nashville, I’m probably going to do some more because they have great tattoo artists there! I have a skull on my back, a rose on my hand, a music score garter on my left leg, art deco inspired black and white roses on my right leg, red roses and a rosary on my left foot and ankle, more flowers and lucky stars… I’ve loved tattoos since I was a little girl and was always drawn to inked people as I think they indicate a taste for freedom, excentricity, rock’n'roll, and a poetic vision of life (even the “ugly”, badly done tattoos. I love them too). And god knows how much I cherish freedom, excentricity, rock’n'roll and poetry in all things!!!! ;) I think tattoos are very elegant, that it’s a truly lovely thing invented by humanity.” France de Griessen

www.myspace.com/francedegriessen

www.francedegriessen.com