Public Dates: 9 May – 22 November, 2015

Press Preview: 6 May, 2 – 4:30 pm (Remarks at 3 pm)

 

Official Collateral Event as part of the 56th International Art Exhibition of la Biennale di Venezia

 

New York, Venice, 15 April, 2015 – Tagore Foundation International and the Polo museale del Veneto are pleased to announce their presentation of Frontiers Reimagined, a major exhibition that will open to the public at the Museo di Palazzo Grimani on 9 May, 2015 in tandem with the inauguration of the 56th International Art Exhibition of la Biennale di Venezia. Curated by Sundaram Tagore, with co-curator Marius Kwint, the exhibition will explore the theme of cultural boundaries through new and recent works, many of which were created specifically for the presentation, by established and emerging artists from around the world. The site-specific installation is juxtaposed by the architecture and collection of the Museo di Palazzo Grimani, a 16th century palace turned state museum, which holds a unique place in Venetian history and architecture. The recently restored palazzo houses a historic collection of artwork by Hieronymus Bosch, Giorgione, Vasari, as well some of the most important frescoes in the city, by Italian Mannerist painters Francesco Salviati, Federico Zuccari and Camillo Mantovano. 

 

Comprised of more than 65 works by 44 artists from more than 25 countries in a variety of media, Frontiers Reimagined will demonstrate the intellectual and aesthetic richness that can emerge in today’s globalized art world when artists engage in intercultural dialogue. Sundaram Tagore and Marius Kwint have selected the artists in the exhibition for their shared global perspective, as seen in both their artistic explorations and their practice of living and working across physical borders, stretching from the West to Asia to Africa. 

 

Artists presented in the exhibition include:

 

Miya Ando

Alfredo & Isabel Aquilizan

Osi Audu

Frances Barth

Edward Burtynsky

Kamolpan Chotvichai

Christo

Tom Doyle

Golnaz Fathi

Olivia Fraser

April Gornik 

Denise Green 

Sasha Huber 

Georges Fikry Ibrahim 

Fré Ilgen 

Kenro Izu 

Kim Joon 

Nathan Slate Joseph 

Aaron Taylor Kuffner 

Jane Lee 

Tayeba Begum Lipi 

Hassan Massoudy 

Vittorio Matino 

Ricardo Mazal 

Vik Muniz 

Judith Murray 

Michael Petry 

Robert Polidori 

Eddi Prabandono 

Chatchai Puipia 

Sohan Qadri 

Robert Rauschenberg 

Sebastião Salgado 

Nino Sarabutra 

Hiroshi Senju 

Donald Sultan 

Rabindranath Tagore 

Jack Tworkov 

Lee Waisler 

Susan Weil 

Morgan Wong 

Robert Yasuda 

Chun Kwang Young 

 

“Frontiers Reimagined was conceived to educate and enlighten viewers about the conceptual and formal issues that emerge from intercultural exchange in the artistic sphere,” stated Sundaram Tagore. “It is our hope that viewers will recognize that this exchange is not only a present-day manifestation but very much the reality of the future.” 

 

The exhibition highlights the positive outcomes which globalization has had on artistic production, as selective cultural and artistic appropriation has become increasingly prevalent and as local artistic production has continued to gain exposure and acceptance on international platforms. 

 

“Frontiers Reimagined aims to dissolve barriers of dominant nationalism, ethnocentrism and identity politics,” stated Marius Kwint. “At this moment in history, with people around the world locked in increasingly intransigent ideologies, the mingling of ideas across borders has never been more vital.” 

 

Sundaram Tagore is the Director of Sundaram Tagore Gallery, with spaces in New York, Hong Kong and Singapore, as well as the Director of the Tagore Foundation International. His work with the Gallery and the Foundation aims to provide a platform for substantive dialogue about arts and culture around the world. Marius Kwint is an American-born art historian, who teaches Visual Culture at the University of Portsmouth in the United Kingdom. 

 

“We are pleased to be partnering with Tagore Foundation International to realize Frontiers Reimagined and to be able to share these important international works with local and international audiences,” stated Giovanna Damiani, former Superintendent, Soprintendenza speciale per il patrimonio storico, artistico ed etnoantropologico e per il polo museale della città di Venezia e dei comuni della Gronda lagunare. 

 

According to Giulio Manieri Elia, Director of Palazzo Grimani Museum, “The museum is a perfect setting for exhibiting works of contemporary art. In fact, this is the second year the museum has hosted events of the Biennale. In the age of the Renaissance, moreover, the Grimani family were refined collectors of antiquities, as well as patrons and collectors of contemporary art.” 

 

Frontiers Reimagined has been granted the patronage of the Ministero dei beni e delle attività culturali e del turismo, the Italian Ministry of Culture. A 112-page, full-color hardcover catalogue to be published by Marsilio Editori will accompany the exhibition and will be available for sale at the museum. 

 

TAGORE FOUNDATION INTERNATIONAL

 

Established by Sundaram Tagore in 2006, Tagore Foundation International is a New York City-based 501(c)(3) organization that is devoted to intercultural dialogue and encourages social, spiritual and aesthetic dialogues between Asia and other areas of the world. The Foundation promotes the preservation and conservation of indigenous artworks and architecture; draws attention to artistic expressions that are either ignored or under-represented in the larger cultural context; helps to develop intellectually rigorous international exhibitions by Asian and African artists; and provides a platform for dialogue about arts and culture around the world. 

 

The Foundation’s mission is inspired by and deeply enmeshed with the ideals of Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941), Sundaram Tagore’s great-granduncle, whose poetry, fiction, music and art have touched people all over the world. Rabindranath Tagore worked tirelessly throughout his life encouraging people to break free from “narrow domestic walls” through social justice and a universalism that merged the best ideals of East and West. In 1913, he was first non-European to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. 

 

EXHIBITION DETAILS

 

Title: Frontiers Reimagined 

Press Conference: Wednesday, May 6 from 2-4:30 pm, with presentations at 3 pm 

Preview Days: May 6 – 8, 2015 from 9 am-7 pm 

Direttore del Polo museale del Veneto: Daniele Ferrara

Commissioner and Curator: Sundaram Tagore 

Co-curator: Marius Kwint 

Coordinating Director: Nathalie Vernizzi 

Venue: Museo di Palazzo Grimani 

Address: Ramo Grimani, Castello 4858 

Public Dates: May 9 – November 22, 2015 

Hours: 10 am – 6 pm Tuesdays-Sundays/Closed Mondays 

Tickets: Complimentary Admission for Frontiers Reimagined 

Venue Tel: +39 – 041 241 1507 

Website: frontiersreimagined.org 

 

PRESS CONTACTS 

 

Tagore Foundation International:

Kieran Doherty, +212-677-4520 / kieran@sundaramtagore.com 

Esther Bland, +852-2581 9678 / esther@sundaramtagore.com 

Amy Wentz, Polskin Arts, +1 212 715 1551 / amy.wentz@finnpartners.com 

Mario di Martino, Studio Antonio Dal Ponte, +39 - 041 - 523 9315 / studiodalponte@libero.it 

 

Polo museale del Veneto:

Sandra Rossi, +39 - 041-2967687 / sandra.rossi@beniculturali.it; valter.esposito@beniculturali.it; roberto.fontanari@beniculturali.it 

 

For more information, follow Sundaram Tagore Galleries on Twitter: @SundaramTagore, Facebook: Sundaram Tagore Gallery, Instagram: sundaramtagore and YouTube: Sundaram Tagore.