Focusing on the innovative approach of Superflex, this retrospective monograph spans their work from 1993 to 2013, showcasing their unique participatory and politically engaged projects, termed "tools." Curated by a diverse group of eight, the exhibition features an unconventional format with individual retrospectives. Notably, a contract forbids mentioning the group's name, replaced by a black bar or "XXXXXXX" in the catalogue, adding a layer of conceptual provocation. This work serves as both a significant artistic reference and a commentary on the nature of representation.
The critically-acclaimed Danish artist group SUPERFLEX, founded in 1993 by Jakob Fenger (b. 1968), Bjørnstjerne Christiansen (b. 1969), and Rasmus Nielsen (b. 1969), create humorous and playfully subversive installations and films that deal with financial crisis, corruption, migration, and the possible consequences of global warming. The artists describe their practice as the provision of "tools" that affect or influence social or economic contexts, and often root their projects in particular local situations, inviting the participation of viewers. Their work poses questions of political, economic, and environmental behavior and responsibility. This catalogue accompanies the group's first major museum survey in the United States and highlights video, sculpture, and installation works relevant to the history, present, and future of cities like Miami, poised on the leading edge of pressing issues such as climate change and immigration.Co-published by Museum of Art and Design at Miami Dade College (MOAD), Superflex: We Are All in the Same Boat includes an introduction by the exhibition's curator, Jacob Fabricius, Artistic Director of Kunsthal Aarhus, essays by Stephanie Wakefield and Gean Moreno, and George Yudice, and a fictional text about water, flooding, and the future of Miami by science-fiction writer Mark von Schlegell.EXHIBITIONNovember 15, 2018 - April 21, 2019Museum of Art and Design at Miami Dade College (MOAD), Miami
Leopold Kessler has revealed new possibilities for art in the public space. He has shown that every activity, even the most mundane and the most banal, can be changed into “doing art.” According to him, art is not something external to everyday reality; on the contrary, it lurks in the byways and crannies of that reality, waiting for someone to bring it out. Leopold Kessler uses several methods to bring it out. These include irony, modesty, the cunning instincts of people on the margins, and also the ethical gesture. When I first saw Leopold Kessler’s art, I immediately felt that, once again, another artist had revealed to me a fragment of the world that I would have been incapable of seeing on my own. It was like a revelation. And that’s what art is for. The present catalogue includes the most characteristic works of Leopold Kessler. It is not easy to write about video. For this reason, the works are documented with several stills and a description of the action, and there is also a critical explication in the main text. (Maria Anna Potocka)
