Patricia Piccinini (Australia) Consciousness: a retrospective

KIBLA PORTAL, Maribor, Slovenia
29 June – 14 October 2017

A Link Between Fine Arts and Science

Patricia Piccinini is one of the rare visual artists to combine fine arts' elements with science, connecting to current research in the field of biotechnology and genetic engineering, and blending them through a particular, specific, and recognizably original poetics into integral pieces of art.

The Maribor art show will feature a diverse and extensive selection of her works. This truly exceptional artist coming all the way from Australia is preparing a unique state-of-the-art gallery set-up. An originally conceived retrospective will showcase works from all areas of her artistic endeavors, from drawings and paintings, sculptures and objects, to installations, video art, and digital prints.

Patricia Piccinini has an ambivalent attitude towards technology and uses her artistic practice as a forum for discussion about how technology impacts upon life. She is keenly interested in how contemporary ideas of nature, the natural and the artificial are changing our society. Specific works have addressed concerns about biotechnology, such as gene therapy, or the on-going research with the aim of mapping the human genome. Among other, Piccinini is also fascinated by mechanisms of consumer culture.

The sculptures and objects of Patricia Piccinini transcend their own volume, and are extended into the entire physical space through their inspiration and the messages they convey. The dialogs that individual works conduct among themselves, wittingly and instantaneously address the visitors as well, thus becoming an ever-present part of a collective thought, which in turn becomes the protagonist of the artwork and the entire gallery set-up.

Between 2015 and 2016, Piccinini roamed across South America with a solo exhibition that was viewed by more than one million visitors. The journey continues with her next stop, Maribor. Undoubtedly, her first appearance in Slovenia will attract a great deal of interest from the general and expert public, art critics, artists, and others, and the exhibition in KIBLA PORTAL is bound to resonate far across borders.

The exhibition will be showing until 14 October 2017.

Kindly welcome!
Info: Peter-Tomaz.Dobrila@kibla.org

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Patricia Piccinini (born 1965 in Freetown, Sierra Leone) is an Australian artist who works in a variety of media, including painting, video, sound, installation, digital prints, and sculpture. In 2003 she represented Australia at the 50th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia. In 2014 she was awarded the Artist Award by the Melbourne Art Foundation's Awards for Visual Arts. In 2015 she was presented as part of a group exhibition titled Menagerie at the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne.
In 2016 and 2017, selected works by Patricia Piccinini are included as part of the group exhibition Reshaped Reality. 50 Years of Hyperrealistic Sculpture, which travelled from Nürnberg, Germany to Bilbao, Spain; it was on display in Mexico, and opened this year in Copenhagen, Denmark, bringing together contemporaries like Ron Mueck, Žarko Bašeski, Maurizio Cattelan, Marc Sijan, Berlinde de Bruyckere, Paul McCarthy, and including legends and pioneers like Duane Hanson, George Segal, Juan Muñoz, Robert Graham, and others.
Following her 2014 win in the Melbourne Art Foundation's Awards, she went on to say that:
‘‘The thing about this award on some levels is that my work ... all of it has this first impact, the sort of impact of spectacle. It’s beautifully made, strong, aesthetic, so people are interested in that and it draws them in, and then they get interested in the idea. It takes a while to get to the idea. It’s not easy. So this award says, 'We get it, we get what you’re trying to do, we’ve gone beyond the surface, we can see that there are ideas underneath, and these ideas are about the opportunity for connection’.’’

More:
http://www.patriciapiccinini.net/

Image:
Patricia Piccinini: The Coup, 2012
Silicone, fiberglass, human hair, clothing,
taxidermied parrot
116 x 60 x 55 cm

PRESS KIT:

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KIBLA PORTAL, Valvasorjeva 40, Maribor, Slovenia
Opening Hours
Tuesday − Saturday: 3 p. m.–7 p. m. (during exhibitions)

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ACE KIBLA is co-funded by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia and the Municipality of Maribor. Project RISK CHANGE (2016–2020) is co-financed by the Creative Europe program of the European Union. The project (ESF employment) is co-funded by the Republic of Slovenia and the European Union.

ACE KIBLA is a member of M3C, Multimedia Centers Network of Slovenia; International Platform X-OP eXchange of Operators and Producers; and McRU, Network of Slovenian Arts Research Centers.

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http://www.riskchange.eu/ --------------------
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