NUMBER 207
APRIL 16 - OCTOBER 2, 2024
CHIESA DI SAN FANTIN, Venice
REZA ARAMESH
ON THE OCCASSION OF THE 60TH VENICE BIENNALE, A SOLO EXHIBITION AT CHIESA DI SAN FANTIN, VENICE CURATED BY SERUBIRI MOSES
About the Exhibition
Presented by MUNTREF, Buenos Aires with support from Institute of Contemporary Art, ICA, Miami, the exhibition Number 207 will present three groups of ongoing sculptural series created specifically by Reza Aramesh in response to the architectural setting of the San Fantin Church. One of these series titled Study of Sweatcloth as an Object of Desire, which also forms the title of the exhibition, are two hundred and seven life sized mens underwear carved from Carrara marble and dispersed evenly in formation across the floor of the church to achieve an illusion of abandoned garments. Each work refers to detention centres that the artist sought out through his archival research. The extant historical works of art contained within Chiesa San Fantin include the well-known “The crucifixion” by Leonardo Corona, who’s highlighting of Christ’s loincloth stand in direct conversation with their contemporary iterations, installed by Aramesh.
About the Artist: Reza Aramesh
Reza Aramesh was born in Iran and is based in London and New York. He holds a Masters degree in Fine Arts from Goldsmiths University, London. His work has been exhibited in both solo and group exhibitions such as the 14 Bienal de la Habana, Asia Society Museum, New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art Breuer, New York, SCAD Museum, Atlanta, Georgia, Akademie der Kunste Berlin, the 56th Venice Biennale, Art Basel Parcours, Frieze Sculpture Park, London, Sculpture in the City, London, Armory Show Off-Site at Collect Pond Park, New York and at Maxxi Museum, Rome among others. Aramesh has orchestrated a number of performances and situations in such spaces as The Barbican Centre, Tate Britain and ICA, London. His works have entered public and private collections worldwide including Argentina, Germany, Lithuania, Poland, USA, Belgium, Israel, France, Iran, Lebanon, Italy and the U.K.
Working in sculpture, drawing, embroidery, ceramics, video and performance in a succession of ‘actions’, Reza Aramesh draws inspiration from media coverage of international conflicts dating from the mid-20th century until present day. This coverage is then transformed into sculptural volumes in collaboration with non-professional models, who help him reenact his chosen source materials. No direct signs of war remain in the physical end results and the characters seem driven out of their initial contexts. Opposition between beauty and brutality allows the artist to unveil the absurdity and the futility of these actions. Aramesh de-contextualises these scenes of violence from their origins, exploring the narratives of representation and iconography of the subjected male body in the context of race, class and sexuality in order to create a critical conversation with the western art historical canon.
About the Curator: Serubiri Moses
Serubiri Moses is an author and curator based in New York City. He is the author of several book chapters translated into five languages, and is the editor of Forces of Art: Perspectives from a Changing World (Valiz, 2021). He currently serves as faculty in Art History at Hunter College, CUNY. He previously held teaching positions at New York University, Center for Curatorial Studies, Bard College, and the New Centre for Research and Practice, Dark Study, and Digital Earth Fellowship. As a curator, he has organized exhibitions at museums including MoMA PS1, Long Island City; Kunst-Werke Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin; and the Hessel Museum, Bard College, NY. He serves on the editorial team of e-flux journal.
Full curatorial text HERE
THE BOOK
Reza Aramesh monograph ACTION: BY NUMBER edited by Serubiri Moses with contributing texts by Mitra Abbaspour, Julia Friedman and Geraldine A Johnson with an interview by Storm Janse van Rensburg will be launched alongside the exhibition.
248 pages, w. 150 illustrations, the monograph contains a catalogue raisonné of the artist’s oeuvre from 2002 until present day, acting as a future reference for scholars and collectors alike.
Hardcover. Publised by SKIRA Editore
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