Artists | Despina

Nina Wöhlk

01.01.2018 - 31.01.2018

Lives and works in Copenhagen, Denmark. Since 2012, Wöhlk has been engaging as an independent curator and a writer in discussions and knowledge production within an expanded field of contemporary art. Her main research interests lies in the inseparability of the art work and its context. At the moment, she is researching performative practices in contemporary art and its relation to emerging discursive thinking. Her connecting fields of awareness are the nordic indigenous cultures and trauma as past experience through re-doings (as opposed to re-enactments). In Rio she will familiarise herself with the performative practices of the Brazilian neo-concrete movement and its presence within the arts today.

As a curator of the art institution Læsø Kunsthals three year programme for 2016-2018, she is unfolding the profoundly inspiring and progressive work by Danish artists Per Kirkeby, Jørgen Haugen Sørensen and Asger Jorn through solo exhibitions, that are branching out into many different contexts and situations, making them relevant, present and engaging again. In 2018, she will curate an exhibition with Asger Jorn, founding member of the movements of Situationist Ideale, CoBRA, Bauhuas Imaginiste and non the least Scandinavian Institute for Comparative Vandalism in Europe, the latter being emphasised in the coming exhibition through contemporary artists engaging in dialogues with the legacy of Jorn’s artworks, theories and ideas.

In 2017, she curated the exhibition Khôra – Arcades – in the in-between spaces of landscapes at Læsø that unfolded five contemporary artists’ artistic research, which they had conducted through a year of field research with visits to the island, interviews, studio practice and collaborations. The individual artworks spanned from being live tableaux’s, an audio guide, installations to performance and sound art, and was to be found throughout the landscape on the island.

Also in 2017, she was assisting curator to Prof. Bruno Corà, Dir. Lars Kærulf Møller and Eli Benveniste on The Crowd / La Folla, a solo exhibition by Jørgen Haugen Sørensen at Museo dei Bozzetti in Pietrasanta, Italy.

Throughout the years of 2011-2014, Wöhlk co-curated the music and art festival Sejerø Festival, which transgressed the borders between the genres and fostered multiple collaborations and experimentations between the participating artists.

Apart from the mentioned exhibition projects she have been involved in the process of multiple public art commissions, arranged seminars and lecture performances nationally and internationally. She has worked as assisting curator at Overgaden – Institute of Contemporary Art and as research assistant for the artist group Superflex.

Nina Wöhlk’s residency at Despina is generously supported by the Danish Arts Foundation and Knud Højgaards Fund, Denmark.

More information
www.ninawoehlk.dk

Pictures Gallery

Lorna Bauer

01.11.2017 - 30.11.2017

Born in Toronto, lives and works in Montreal (Canada). She has recently presented her work at The Loon, Toronto; CK2 Gallery, New York; The Darling Foundry, Montreal; Model Projects, Vancouver; the Musée d’Art Contemporain de Montréal among other places. Bauer has participated in numerous national and international residencies, including stays at The Couvent des Récollets, Paris; Quebec-New York Residency funded through the Conseil des arts et lettres du Québec; The Banff Centre, Alberta and the Atlantic Center for the Arts, Florida; working with the artist Josiah McElheny. She operates the artist project space L’escalier (together with Jon Knowles and Vincent Bonin) in Montréal.

Lorna Bauer works mainly in photography, installation and most recently, glass and bronze. Her formal language and use of materials alludes to ideas developed through city planning, and urban theory. Her work focuses on specific examples of architecture, urban planning and psycho-geography within the 20^th Century. Her projects are generally characterized as site related, leading to a final result that has responded to a specific place and context. Interests are wide and range from topics such as the Paris city plan, in particular the arcades and the underground mushroom cultivation in the Parisian catacombs, Haussmannization, North American west coast utopian gardens from the nineteen sixties to Walter Benjamin’s letters to his lover, describing the Island of Ibiza, while in exile. All of her projects deal with spaces and how they shape individual perceptions and the correlation between the natural and the built environment.

In partnership with Despina, contemporary art center Diagonale (based in Montreal, Canada) and Le Conseil des arts de Montréal, have awarded Lorna Bauer with a full grant to participate in our residency programme. While in Rio during this month of November, Bauer is interested in researching and photographing the urban landscape of the city and how this landscape intersects and buts up against the lush natural environment – including its rainforests. In particular, she would like her research to focus on one of the most prominent landscape architects of Brazil, Roberto Burle-Marx and his contemporaries. Burle-Marx’s philosophy closely aligns with that of the Canadian modernists, Arthur Erickson and Cornelia Oberlander, who have both been the subjects of Bauer’s past work. All of these design visionaries used native plants and local natural materials, a continuity between built and natural spaces, a mindfulness of how one moves through space and an interest in reflection and reflective materials. In keeping with her past projects Bauer wishes to examine subjects related to urban development and urban renewal, and ultimately ask questions about what we choose to build or destroy in our local environment (both natural and artificial) and how this might reflect our ideology and collective subconscious.

More information
www.lornabauer.com

Pictures Gallery
(by Frederico Pellachin)

Britt Dorenbosch

01.11.2017 - 30.11.2017

Works and lives in Utrecht, Netherlands. Graduated in 2013 at HKU University of the Arts Utrecht.

With colorful drawings and paintings, Dorenbosch shows her direct surroundings. Through researching the objects that she encounters in her everyday life she looks further than their material characteristics and investigates the stories and memories that are included in the things that surround us. Here, she finds the reason to celebrate the power and pleasure of painting.

Painting series of the interiors of her family environment, Dorenbosch recently focused on her own home. What are the elements that create a sense of home? How well do we know the things that surround us and how do they define our sense of home? Her childhood plays an important part in finding the answers. The many plants in her living room, the colorful floor rugs and the self-built cupboards refer to her childhood home. Her research is very individual and personal, but her work is rendered in an abstract manner that allows the viewer to relate to it.

Working at Despina, Dorenbosch is separated fromm her everyday belongings. Therefore, she is forced to search for other ways to feel at home.

More information
email: mail@brittdorenbosch.nl
website: www.brittdorenbosch.nl
instagram: @britt_dorenbosch

Pictures Gallery
(by Frederico Pellachin)

Mariona Lloreta

01.10.2017 - 30.11.2017

Lives and works between New York and Barcelona. In her practice, which combines filmmaking, visual arts and writing, Mariona is interested in sharing the beauty and complexity at the core of different cultures so that it may challenge any preconceived notions and so it helps build a more open and more tolerant world. Her insatiable thirst for documenting communities around the world has brought her to transcend the boundaries of her native Barcelona to work and live in countries such as Nigeria, Brazil, China, Italy or the United States.

Her work demands a conversation between itself and the viewer concerning identity, community, self-empowerment, transition, spirituality, tradition and freedom. Mariona seeks to go past our differences and celebrate the universal thread that binds our human experience. Her aim is to find a common ground across and within cultures, races and gender to capture experiences that we all relate to, conveying a sense of oneness and honoring our stories.

Mariona’s latest award-winning short film “Amenze, entre dois mundos” won Best Cinematography at the Reel Sisters Film Festival in NYC, got a Nomination to Best International Film at the BronzeLens Film Festival in Atlanta, and was also part of the official selection in over a dozen renowned film festivals, including Oscar-qualifying Zinebi in Bilbao, Spain and BlackStar Film Festival in Philadelphia, USA.

More information
Email: hello@marionalloreta.com
www.marionalloreta.com
Instagram: @marionalloreta.com

Pictures Gallery
(by Frederico Pellachin)

Amanda Coimbra

01.10.2017 - 31.10.2017

Lives and works in Rio de Janeiro. Graduated in visual arts from the School of the Art – Institute of Chicago (2007-2011). Participated in the following solo exhibitions: Memory of a travel album – URQUIZA, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2016; Between the Moon – Photobastei, Zurich, Switzerland, 2015; Brazil in the collective consciousness – Proyecto ‘ace, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2012. Among the collective exhibitions in which she participated, we highlight: Season 26 – Contemporary Art Space, Montevideo, Uruguay, 2017; Semillero – Project ‘ace, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2016; Reunion – Lehrter Siebzehn, Berlin, Germany, 2014; Transition Horizons – Brazil – Argentina Cultural Center, 2014; Game Plan 3 – El Ojo Errante, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2014. She took part also in the following art residences: Espacio de Arte Contemporáneo, Montevideo, Uruguay (2017) and Picture Berlin, Berlin, Germany (2009).

After 10 years living abroad, Amanda is back in Brazil and during her residency at Despina, she will develop the collaborative project “Brazil in the collective conscience”.

More information
http://www.amandacoimbra.net

Pictures Gallery (to be posted soon)

Sarah Knill-Jones

01.09.2017 - 31.10.2017

Born in London (UK), holds a BA from Glasgow School of Art and an MA in Fine Art from the University of the Arts
London.

Notable solo exhibitions include “Dis-Appearing Woman” at Baku MoMa in 2015; “Perceptions at the Centre for Contemporary Art”, Baku (2010). Group exhibitions include “This Year’s Model”, Studio 1.1, London (2017); “Editions”, Tripp Gallery, London (2016); “Threadneedle Exhibition”, Mall Galleries, London (2013); “Caspiy”, Caspian Biennale Convention, Centre of Contemporary Art, Baku (2012); “WMD Weapons of Mass Destruction”, MiM Centre of Contemporary Art, Baku (2011).

Knill-Jones’ practice consists of diverse threads anchored in the exploration of paint as a relevant medium in our increasingly technological world. She considers her works as unpredictable experiments which hover between the ethereal and the concrete, with which she frequently brings to question the value of the original through processes of copying, unpicking, un-doing.

Whilst living in Azerbaijan for nearly five years, the political context had a significant impact on the development of her work – reflected in her project “Dis-Appearing Woman”. Having now relocated to Brazil, she expects the residency at Despina and the location to challenge her practice, having shifted the ground beneath her feet both literally and metaphorically.

More information
Email: sknill-jones@live.fr
www.sarahknill-jones.co.uk
Instagram: houdojnik

Pictures Gallery
to be posted soon

Mariela Scafati

01.08.2017 - 30.09.2017

Art and Activism in Latin America – year II (2017)

Born in Olivos, Argentina. Lives and works in Buenos Aires. Studied Visual Arts at E.S.A.V. de Bahía Blanca and attended the workshops of Tulio de Sagastizábal, Pablo Suárez and Guillermo Kuitca. She is considered one of the most important Argentinian artists of her generation and her work is part of important collections, such as the permanent collection of the MALBA (Museu de Arte Latino-Americana de Buenos Aires). Since 2010, Scafati is an agent of the C.I.A – Center for Artistic Research.

In 1998, she participated in the group exhibition “Tres Paredes”. In 2000, she had her first solo show “Pinturas y pared”. After then, “Show Me Your Pink (2001)”, at Bis Gallery, Rosario, Santa Fé; “He venido para decirte que me voy” (2001), at Belleza y Felicidad Gallery, Buenos Aires; “Pintura gustosa” (2001), at Casona de Los Olivera, Buenos Aires; “Mariam Traoré” (2004), at Belleza y Felicidad Gallery, Buenos Aires; “Scafati, un cuadro” (2005), at Belleza y Felicidad Gallery, Buenos Aires; “Sos un sueño” (2009), at Abate Gallery, Buenos Aires; “¡Teléfono! en diálogo con Lidy Prati” (2009), at CCBorges, Buenos Aires; “Windows” (2011), at Abate Gallery, Buenos Aires; “Ni verdaderas ni falsas” (2013), at Instituto de Investigaciones Gino Germani, Buenos Aires; “Pinturas donde estoy 1998-2013”, at CCRecoleta, Buenos Aires; “Las palabras vienen después” (2014) at Maria Casado Home Gallery, Buenos Aires and “Las cosas amantes” (2015), alongside Ariadna Pastorini, at Isla Flotante Gallery, Buenos Aires. Later this year, she will be presenting a single project at Art Basel, in Miami (USA).

Scafati has also participated in various collective and collaborative projects linked to screen printing, education, radio and theater. In 2002, she co-founded the T.P.S.* – “Taller Popular Serigrafía”. Since 2007, she has been a member of “Serigrafistas Queer” **. She was part of the Belleza y Felicidad team, founder of the Proyecto Secundario Liliana Maresca, at the Escuela Secundaria Nº349 Artes Visuales, Fiorito, Lomas de Zamora. She has also coordinated a serigraphy workshop for the Cooperativa y Editorial Eloísa Cartonera and participated in several interventions of the “Brigada Argentina por Dilma”, with Roberto Jacoby, at the Sao Paulo Art Biennial in 2009.

Among her experiences linked to theater are the series of Kamishibai, Yotiteretú and a company of puppets with Fernanda Laguna; and her work in stage scenery for the biodramas directed by Vivi Tellas, at the Museo de la paloma y Las personas, with workers of the Theater San Martin (2014).

* The “Taller Popular Serigrafía” (TPS) operated in Buenos Aires between 2002 and 2007, founded by Scafati and other artists in one of the many popular assemblies that emerged from the December 2001 popular revolt / insurrection. From that moment, the collective intervened in the context of social movements, taking the workshop to the street and socializing the process of graphic production, stamping all kinds of clothing with images that tried to testify the political mood of each event.

** “Serigrafistas Queer” (SQ), self-perceived as a non-group, was born in 2007 and has been helding periodic meetings where slogans are discussed and screenprints and stencils are assembled for multiple prints to be used in the LGBT Pride March, held annually in different cities in Argentina. The material produced is kept and freely used again in other actions.

ART AND ACTIVISM IN LATIN AMERICA is a Despina project, with the support of the Dutch organization Prince Claus Fund. The project extends for three years (2016, 2017 and 2018). Each year, a theme will guide a series of actions, including occupations, workshops, talks, film screenings, exhibitions, public talks with important names of contemporary artistic + activist thought and a residency programme. For this second edition, the project brings the BODY as its main theme and it runs from May to October. For more information, videos and pictures gallery, click here.

Carlos Martiel

01.08.2017 - 30.09.2017

Art and Activism in Latin America – year II (2017)

Born in Havana, Cuba. Lives and works in New York and Havana. He graduated in 2009 from the National Academy of Fine Arts “San Alejandro,” in Havana. Between the years 2008-2010, he studied in the Cátedra Arte de Conducta, directed by the artist Tania Bruguera. Martiel is known for his visceral political performances that offer critique on contemporary issues associated with his country of origin and abroad. His work addresses topics of injustice, repression, discrimination, censorship and immigration. Martiel uses his body as a site for discourse, reflecting on the relations of power and social context.

Martiel’s works have been included in: 57th Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy; Casablanca Biennale, Casablanca, Morocco; Biennial “La Otra”, Bogotá, Colombia; Liverpool Biennial, Liverpool, United Kingdom; Pontevedra Biennial, Galicia, Spain; Havana Biennial, Havana, Cuba. He has had performances at Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, USA; The Museum of Fine Arts Houston (MFAH), Houston, USA; Museo de Arte Contemporáneo del Zulia (MACZUL), Maracaibo, Venezuela; Padiglione d’Arte Contemporanea, Milan, Italy; Robert Miller Gallery, New York, USA; Nitsch Museum, Naples, Italy. He has received several awards, including the Franklin Furnace Fund in New York, USA, 2016; “CIFOS Grants & Commissions Program Award” in Miami, USA, 2014; “Arte Laguna” in Venice, Italy, 2013. His work has been exhibited at The Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA), Long Beach, USA; Zisa Zona Arti Contemporanee (ZAC), Palermo, Italy; Patricia and Phillip Frost Art Museum, Miami, USA; Benaki Museum, Athens, Greece; National Museum of Fine Arts, Havana, Cuba; Tornielli Museum, Ameno, Italy; Estonian Museum of Art and Design,Tallinn, Estonia; Museum of Modern Art of Buenos Aires, Argentina; among others.

Cristiano Lenhardt

01.08.2017 - 30.09.2017

Art and Activism in Latin America – year II (2017)

Born in Itaara, Rio Grande do Sul. Lives and works in Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil. Graduated in Fine Arts from Santa Maria Federal University (1996-2000), he participated in the Torreão Artistic Orientation in Porto Alegre from 2001 to 2003. Among his solo exhibitions, we highlight: “O habitante do plano para fora” (2015 ) and “Litomorfose” (2014), at Fortes D’Aloia & Gabriel Gallery, in São Paulo; “Matéria Superordiária Abundante” (2014) and “Planalto” (2013), at Amparo 60 Gallery, in Recife; Naifs Biennial of Brazil (2016); 32nd São Paulo Biennial (2016); “Cruzamentos”, at Wexner Center for the Arts, Ohio / USA (2014); Rumos Visuais Itaú Cultural, São Paulo (2012); Mythologies – cite Internationale des Arts, Paris (2011).

He has received several national awards, among them: Bolsa Iberê Camargo – Artists Program Torcuato Di Tella University, Buenos Aires, 2011; “Projectile” – Prize for Contemporary Art, Funarte, Rio de Janeiro (2008); Videoart Contest Pize, Joaquim Nabuco Foundation, Recife (2007); SPA das Artes, Recife (2007 and 2004); 26th Salão de Artes Plásticas de Pernambuco (2006), among others. He also participated in artistic residencies in important spaces and institutions around the world, such as Phosphorus, in São Paulo (2013); Gasworks in London, UK (2013) and Made in Mirrors Foundation, in Guangzhou, China (2011).

Lenhardt’s artistic practice functions as an illusory game between the two-dimensional plane and the three-dimensional space. From videos, performances, observations, photographs, drawings and engravings, the artist seeks in ordinary and mundane reality tools to build a work that happens by attraction and transformation of materials and symbols.

Alexa Eisner

01.08.2017 - 31.08.2017

Alexa’s work focuses on the exploration of body and environment, with an emphasis on identity construction and the boundaries between things. She invites a multidisciplinary process incorporating performance, mixed media, and installation.

Alexa studied communications at U.C. Berkeley where she was exposed to the critical and social theory which has informed her work ever since. Having danced most of her life, she spent several years focused as a modern dancer in the Bay Area, until attending Syracuse University for her MA in Communication Rhetoric. Her Master’s project blended phenomenology, social theory, and dance, to produce a community movement workshop to reflect on identity construction and cultivate empathy between self and other. This process was informed by her residency with Dance Exchange. She has also worked as a prop & fashion stylist for brands such as Apple and Levi’s, and has designed for commercial and residential interior design firms.

After moving back to San Francisco, where she still resides and works, Alexa began incorporating painting and mixed media into her movement work through photography, video, and live performance. Alexa often paints glass and plastic planes and then arranges the body behind them. In this process the body and environment blend into one. Her intension is to break down separations between identity ideology and to cultivate connection through shared human experience.

When considering how to strip down identity to its most basic form- deconstructing the body and material– the purity of the four elements remain: fire, air, earth, and water. As a sort of ecological excavation, in this residency, Alexa’s intension is to explore ritual with the elements- creating an interaction with the elements to embody our basic elemental nature. With installation and performance incorporating plastic or glass panes, Alexa will visually externalize internal layers of psyche and belief as it relates to our pure and yet complex nature of the elements.

More information
www.alexaeisner.com

Pictures Gallery
To be posted soon