Theanyspacewhatever: Relational Aesthetics at the Guggenheim
From October 24, 2008, to January 7, 2009, the Guggenheim Museum in New York hosted the exhibition 'theanyspacewhatever,' under the direction of curator Nancy Spector. This exhibition highlighted ten pivotal artists from the 1990s, celebrated for their contributions to relational aesthetics. Featured artists included Angela Bulloch, Maurizio Cattelan, Liam Gillick, and others. Each artist produced works that interacted dynamically with the museum's architecture, incorporating performances and installations. Gillick, who conceived the show's title, also crafted seating equipped with an audio guide. The exhibition marked a significant moment in showcasing this contemporary artistic movement in the United States.
Key facts
- Exhibition 'theanyspacewhatever' at Guggenheim Museum, New York, October 24, 2008 – January 7, 2009.
- Curated by Nancy Spector.
- Ten artists: Angela Bulloch, Maurizio Cattelan, Liam Gillick, Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster, Douglas Gordon, Carsten Höller, Pierre Huyghe, Jorge Pardo, Philippe Parreno, Rirkrit Tiravanija.
- Artists created individual works responding to the museum context, not a collective installation.
- Exhibition includes performances, events, and temporal changes.
- Gillick proposed the title from Deleuze and designed seating with an audio guide.
- Bulloch alters rotunda light; Höller offers overnight hotel rooms; Tiravanija focuses on education; Parreno extends a luminous sign.
- First major U.S. survey of this generation of relational aesthetics artists.
- Debate in U.S. around Bourriaud's 'Relational Aesthetics' translation and October magazine critique.
- Artists continue collaborations: 'Zidane', 'Annlee', 'The Land', 'Il Tempo del Postino'.
- Exhibition resists a master narrative, presenting heterogeneous spaces.
- Reflects shift from collective to individual practices and institutional engagement.
Entities
Artists
- Angela Bulloch
- Maurizio Cattelan
- Liam Gillick
- Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster
- Douglas Gordon
- Carsten Höller
- Pierre Huyghe
- Jorge Pardo
- Philippe Parreno
- Rirkrit Tiravanija
- Nancy Spector
- Éric Troncy
- Nicolas Bourriaud
- Bernard Joisten
- Pierre Joseph
- Ari Benjamin Meyers
- Hans Ulrich Obrist
- Massimiliano Gioni
- Ali Subotnik
- Jens Hoffman
- Stéphanie Moisdon
Institutions
- Guggenheim Museum
- Air de Paris
- Halle sud
- Villa Arson
- CCC Tours
- Frac de Bourgogne
- ARC Paris
- Le Consortium
- CAPC Musée Bordeaux
- Presses du réel
- October
- Opéra de Manchester
- Wrong Gallery
- M/M Paris
- Anna Sanders Films
- Frog
- Bureau des vidéos
- Artissima
- Biennale de Lyon
- Biennale des Caraïbes
Locations
- New York
- United States
- Nice
- France
- Geneva
- Switzerland
- Dijon
- Bordeaux
- Paris
- Tours
- Manchester
- United Kingdom
- Thailand
- Turin
- Italy
Sources
- artpress —