The Creative Act: Guggenheim Abu Dhabi
The second exhibition to be held by Guggenheim Abu Dhabi shall explore the concepts of performance, process and human presence.
As it waits the completion of its Frank Gehry-designed building, the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi will hold its second exhibition at the Manarat Al Saadiyat from March 8, 2017.
Titled ‘The Creative Act’, the exhibition will celebrate artists from diverse backgrounds and generations, united through their artistic contributions that revolves around performance, process, and human presence. There will be over 25 different medium of works to be displayed, from installation, painting, photography, sculpture, video and works on paper.
Since the 1960s, artists such as Rasheed Araeen and Mohammed Kazem have adopted the concept of ‘performance’. Meanwhile, the idea of ‘process’ or ‘the act of creation’ will be framed through the creations of Shiraga Kazuo, Tanaka Atsuko, Niki de Saint Phalle, Günther Uecker and Anish Kapoor.
Susan Hefuna will present a video installation, among other works, that explores the theme of human presence through a choreography inspired by everyday movements. It also examines the physical act in an artistic process, and how other people are integrated in an artistic depiction.
Graphite on paper and tracing paper. 34.3 x 41.9 cm; 59.7 x 47 cm. Guggenheim Abu Dhabi.
© Susan Hefuna. Photo courtesy Rhona Hoffman Gallery, Chicago.
“The Creative Act” at Guggenheim Abu Dhabi
“The Creative Act” follows an inaugural exhibition by the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi that took place in 2014, also at Manarat Al Saadiyat.
While this second exhibition indicates that work on the museum continues — a museum spokesperson told The Art Newspaper that work on the curatorial strategy and collection “is continuing apace” — the future museum building itself remains under development.
Designed by the Pritzker Prize-winning architect, the museum will be situated on a peninsula at the northwestern tip of Saadiyat Island adjacent to Abu Dhabi. Inspired by industrial studio spaces, galleries of varying heights, shapes and character will present the museum’s collection of global art from the 1960s to the present day.
