9th January 2010- invitation to the opening of REAR WINDOW followed by a party‏

MB Art Agency has the pleasure to invite you to the special opening of the exhibition



REAR WINDOW

An installation realized by Ilya Rabinovich

Saturday 9th of January 2010, between 19.00- 23.00 hours



MB Art Agency’s Project Space, Willemsparkweg 191, 1071 HA Amsterdam.



The opening will be followed by a party.

Practical Information: the venue is situated at the crossroad of Willemsparkweg and Cornelis Schuijtstraat, Tram no. 2, (tram stop Cornelis Schuijtstraat).

Confirmation is kindly required to: info@mbagency.nl or by phone: 0614789395 or 020.7861626.

On the upper floor of MB Agency’s building and in total dark, Ilya Rabinovich invites for a collective participation to a surprising and playful experience.

While entering the dark space of the exhibition, visitors will receive a small penlight and will be initiated to search for the hidden elements of the installation, a collection of Rear Window peep pictures realized by the artist during the year 2008.
The project is both witty and ironic as it plays with our unintentional tendency of spying our neighbours, something that feeds on our own deep-seated desires to watch others, without fear of being watched, in order to live through their experiences whilst sharing none of their physical or emotional existence/state. In this meticulously constructed setup, the watching process is shared and therefore it becomes a space of interaction and reflection.
Furthermore our urge to peep is indulged and we may temporarily escape and forget who we are as we become more and more involved in searching for the other images hidden in the exhibition space.

Simulacrum Journal October 2009 Privé ; for your eyes only

A glimpse beyond the interstice- separating the public and private domain

Donna Wolf

One often wonders, where the public domain stops and the private domain begins. Throughout history, the line of demarcation between public and private space has captured the fascination of artists.Today it continues to serve as an inspiration for contemporary artists, each of them approaching the subject through their own subjective lens. An intriguing example can be seen in the work of Ilya Rabinovich (Moldavia, U.S.S.R, 1965), who relocated to the Netherlands in 1998 to attend the Rijksakademie and now continues to live and work in Amsterdam. Taking his new home as subject matter, he explores the city and its buildings along with the habits and culture of its inhabitants. In this way he is able to explore and probe the notion of personal identity, revealing how it is embedded within the social structure.

Investigating the line between private and public space has been a reoccurring subject in the work of Rabinovich throughout his career. As a newcomer to Holland, he was interested in the daily lives and homes of his fellow immigrants in Amsterdam. The photographs in the Apartments of Friends project (2005)1 embody a sense of duality. They have a certain quality of generalness that transports them out of the specific context and into a more general one. By photographing immigrant’s (temporary) homes he moves their interiors from the private into the public domain. Yet these interiors never lack the personality imparted to them by their inhabitants.This might seem strange when you consider that his photographs are often devoid of people. What can the photograph tell you, when you cannot see the protagonists? Rather than portraying them in the physical sense, Rabinovich chooses to suggest their presence through their personal belongings, which populate and personalize the home. The home is a shelter from the outside. No matter how temporarily one may live in a given space, it is human nature to surround ourselves with things that make us feel at home. We incorporate a part of our past into the present through our personal belongings, our pictures and cherished artifacts. By photographing these interiors Rabinovich affords us the opportunity to peer behind closed doors into the private space of the occupants. He offers us a glimpse of how these emigrants transform the dwelling into a personal domain. Rabinovich’s skillfully composed photographs have been on view in numerous public exhibitions adding a new, public context to these works with a personal touch. The picture is the beginning of the story; how it is read, lies with the beholder. Ayako Yoshimura described this aspect succinctly; reviewing the exhibition Non Places held at 66 East in Amsterdam-Oost in 2006, she noted that “The absence of a protagonist in the setting is enhanced by the sheer beauty of composition and light, which leads us to a distant memory; be it personal or collective.”

Another aspect that was particularly intriguing to Rabinovich was the Amsterdam phenomenon of the open curtain. In his artist statement Rabinovich explains: “I developed a fascination for the ‘open curtains’ phenomena, where one can easily view the private interior of people’s homes from the street level. In social conversations this served to present the locals as an example for how open-minded the Dutch people living in Amsterdam are. A ‘we have nothing to hide’ attitude that proved to be restricted and limited in what I could actually observe when I tried to focus on it.” Does the mental and cultural distance as a foreigner allow him a greater moral freedom to capture and record Dutch culture? Perhaps this is one of the reasons that he was selected for participation in the exhibition Becoming Dutch, held from May through September 2008 at the Van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven. Posing the question “What does ‘Being Dutch’ or ‘Becoming Dutch’ mean in the 21st century?” The exhibition explored the notions of identity, nationality, citizenship and social cohesion. More than thirty artists were invited to exhibit their work; all dealing with the context or notion of foreigners assimilating into the Dutch Culture.

The open curtain phenomenon differentiates the city of Amsterdam from other European cities, shedding new light on the relationship between private space and the public sphere. The voyeuristic aspect intrigued Rabinovich, triggering him to investigate it through his photographic lens. He combined his in-depth knowledge of technical capabilities of a specific camera lens with his eye for composition and light, to achieve the desired effect. It led him to make the series of photographs Rear Window, consisting of carefully considered compositions captured with a telephoto lens.

The Rear Window photographs have mostly been taken in the evening by photographing from inside one home through or across the backyard into the rear window of the opposite home. You could say that these images were captured by a photographer who, located in one private home, bypasses the interstitial public space to penetrate and observe the private domain of the opposite interior. At first, this approach may seem to encroach upon the subject’s privacy. This series of photographs includes images of partially visible people in their homes, cooking dinner, watching television or carrying out some other daily activity.They are engaged with themselves in the comfort of their homes, completely unaware of our observant role. Through the window we can see part of their interior and part of the person. Just enough details to give our mind something to work with, but leaving sufficient room for our fantasy to fill in the rest of the story. It might seem as if we have penetrated deep into their personal space. Yet Rabinovich is careful to disguise the identity of the person and the setting in the photograph. He zooms in on his subject eliminating exterior details, which could help identify the location. This generic impression and effect is strengthened by a raster technique, blurring our vision even further. This conceals the details while adding an additional layer, creating a distance between the viewer and the image. Somehow we are kept at bay. As if to say: you may have a glimpse into this private space, but don’t get too close, the realm you behold remains in the private domain.

Our vision is impeded as we enter into Rabinovich’s installation where photographs in various sizes are scattered throughout a darkened room and are directly affixed to the surface of the black walls and floor. We embark with a small penlight in hand in search of the images, and the exhibition begins to take form. Through the darkness, we have the impression that we are peering inside the homes of unsuspecting residents throughout the city of Amsterdam at night. This voyeuristic aspect is intensified by the excitement of discovering another image on the wall, capturing yet another glimpse inside the private homes. We revel in the hope of uncovering the one detail which will disclose the identity of the person and specific location where the image was taken.

This intriguing and engaging work of Rabinovich is not only defined by his skilled photography techniques. The images are further enhanced by the chosen method of production - a silk screen technique on paper - and its subsequent display in the installation setting, in which the viewer is invited to participate. We crawl into the role and assume the eyes of the photographer, continuing the quest he initiated; to reveal what goes on in the private domain of an unsuspecting actor. In viewing the photography installation Rear Window one is transported into the active role of a voyeur.

Biography: Donna Wolf is the director of Déiska BV

en CV de Verzameling and is a Masterstudent Art

History at the University of Amsterdam

1. These photographs were commissioned for the exhibition:

Interieurs van een nieuw huis, april 2006 in the former home

of Anne Frank on the Merwedeplein in Amsterdam.

See also www.ilyarabinovich.com

A book was also published in conjunction with the exhibition:

Rabinovich, Ilya. ‘Interieurs van een nieuw huis’ (in:) Nauta,

N. e.a. Het Andere huis van Anne Frank: geschiedenis en

toekomst van een schrijvershuis. [exh .cat.]. Amsterdam:

Anne Frank huis, 2006. Amsterdam: Thoth, 2006: p.72-107

Arnhem
MMKA en andere locaties in Arnhem
12/09/09 - 25/10/09

Verschillende locaties in het centrum van Arnhem staan tot en met 25 oktober in het teken van het kunstfestival Made in Arnhem. Arnhem wil in deze editie haar internationale ambitie naar de rest van de wereld kenbaar maken en heeft daarom het thema ‘invites’ gekozen. De organisatie heeft kunstinitiatieven uitgenodigd, die op hun beurt kunstenaars uitnodigen, en ‘als gastvrij gebaar’ wordt uiteindelijk het publiek uitgenodigd. Deze ‘keten van uitnodigingen’ zou deze editie van het kunstfestival uniek moeten maken, maar verschilt wezenlijk weinig van de organisatie van elk willekeurig ander festival. Niets nieuws onder de zon dus. Toch is er een aardige draai aan het thema gegeven door Arnhemse kunstenaars te verzoeken een kunstenaar van buitenaf te inviteren. Hierdoor ontstaan er op verschillende plaatsen in de stad dialogen tussen kunstenaarsduo’s die elkaars werk op originele wijze aanvullen in thematiek, inhoud of beeld.

Helaas is internationale allure van Arnhem als kunststad niet altijd geholpen met invitatie-systeem. Veel van de interessante werken blijken afkomstig te zijn van niet-Arnhemse kunstenaars, wat het gevoel oproept dat de ‘buitenstaanders’ zijn toegevoegd om het gebrek aan Arnhems talent te compenseren.

MMKA

Karen Sargsyan, All Together, 2009

Toch waren er een aantal werken te ontdekken die een bezoek aan Arnhem zeker de moeite waard maken. Op de hoofdlocatie, het Museum voor Moderne Kunst blijkt de eerste kunstenaar waar ik tegenaan loop meteen ook mijn favoriet. De Armeense ex-Rijksakademie kunstenaar Karen Sargsyan - op dit moment ook te zien in Double Dutch in HVCCA in New York - maakte een poppentheater van papier met op de achtergrond folkloristische Armeense volksmuziek. Ondanks het kwetsbare materiaal zet Sargsyan een krachtig beeld neer waarin de bewegingloze figuren tot leven komen.

Ilya Rabinovich, Muziotopia, 2009

Sargsyan nodigde de van oorsprong Moldavische kunstenaar Ilya Rabinovich uit, ook een ex-Rijksakademiestudent. Hij presenteert in Muziotopia een indrukwekkend onderzoek naar de veranderingen in museale collectie-opstellingen na de val van het communistische systeem in Oost Europa en de onafhankelijkheid van Moldavië. Het samenspel tussen de werken van Sargsyan en Rabinovich levert een mooie dialoog op die een kijk geeft in processen in de kunst tijdens en na het sovjetregime.

Made in Arnhem Invites is t/m 25 oktober te zien op verschillende locaties in Arnhem.

Auteur

Jolien Verlaek

Muziotopia project installation view in museum voor moderne kunst arnhem

Muziotopia project part of 'Subliminal dialoges' exhibtion

in the frame work of Made In Arnhem Invites in the museum voor moderne kunst arnhem

Subliminal Dialogs

Curator: Inge Pollet
Participating artists: Adam Colton, Barbara Polderman, Charlotte Dumas, Ilya Rabinovich, Jan Mankes, Karen Sargsyan, Maria Roosen, Mark Kremer, Ronald Schimmel, Rosemin Hendriks

Opening 12 September from 19:00-22:00 till 15 November 2009. Museum voor Moderne Kunst Arnhem


www.mmkarnhem.nl
more information about the project at:
http://www.rhiz.eu/article-33502-en.html

Biennale DIE ERSTE MECKLENBURG-VORPOMMERN BIENNALE IN KLEIN-ZETELVITZ

http://biennale.kleinzetelvitz.de/

Presse

"Auch in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern wird es demnächst eine Biennale geben. Das haben sich zumindest die Initiatoren Spunk Seipel und Edmund Piper vorgenommen, die bewusste in einer Region mit schwacher Infrastruktur für Kunst eine internationale Kunstausstellung veranstalten wollen: Kunst soll an einem Ort präsentiert werden, an dem die Spuren des ländlichen Strukturwandels und die Umbrüche nach der Wende besonders deutlich sind." [aus: Kunstforum International, 06/2009]

Informationen

Die Kunstbiennale Kleinzetelvitz wird im August und September 2009 zum ersten Mal stattfinden. Kuratoren für die erste Biennale sind Spunk Seipel und Edmund Piper. Es werden ca. 60 internationale Künstler ausgestellt. Die Liste der Künstler wird Anfang Juli 2009 bekanntgegeben.

Die Kunstbiennale Kleinzetelvitz wird bewusst in einer Region mit einer schwachen Infrastruktur für Kunst veranstaltet. Sie wird an einem Ort Kunst präsentiert, an dem die Spuren des ländlichen Strukturwandels und die Umbrüche nach der Wende besonders deutlich sind.

Eine Auseinandersetzung mit der Geschichte des Ortes wird zum Teil stattfinden, es wird aber auch Kunst gezeigt werden, die sich mit gesellschaftlichen Veränderungen der letzten Jahre auseinandersetzen wird. Einige Künstler werden Arbeiten speziell für die Kunstbiennale entwickeln.

Die Ausstellungsfläche wird ca. 4000 m² sowie einem grossen Aussenbereich für plastische Arbeiten und Interventionen bieten. Zudem soll der öffentliche Raum in Kleinzetelvitz genutzt werden.

Die Kunstbiennale Kleinzetelvitz richtet sich sowohl an Einheimische wie an Touristen, die sich mit internationaler Kunst an einem ungewöhnlichen Ort im ländlichen Raum auseinandersetzen wollen.

Das Programm der Biennale Kleinzetelvitz wird durch Führungen ergänzt werden.

RO-MD/Moldova in Two Scenarios Publication launch

source http://www.azi.md/en/story/3176

One of the chapters is dedicated to the current cultural, social and political situation in two Moldova regions

azi.md, 22 May 2009, 7:32

Comments

• Moldova: Change anyone really can believe in?, Rodger Potocki, 14 May 2009, 16:50
• Resolution of European Parliament could determine further orientation of R. Moldova, Info-Prim Neo, 9 May 2009, 17:13
• Moldova vote controversy highlights doubts over monitoring, Brian Whitmore, RFE/RL (USA), 25 April 2009, 15:19
• "Moldova’s ‘wannabe democracy’ worth rescuing”, George DURA, Elena GNEDINA, 23 April 2009, 18:17
• The communist are not communists? Well, see the reality below., Vlad Lupan, 23 April 2009, 15:55
• Acts of vandalism: equation with unknowns on both sides, Info-Prim Neo, 16 April 2009, 17:07

Larger text

RO-MD/Moldova in Two Scenarios Publication launch will be launched today.

The project publication summarize the sense of interaction between artists and experts involved in the project, as well as the results of investigated and researched aspects that were in focus of contemporary art practice. The publication includes the artist projects and contributions resulted after interdisciplinary workshop, seminars and production sessions. One of the chapters is dedicated to the current cultural, social and political situation in two Moldova regions with texts and contributions by: Sorin Bocancea (political annalist), Flavius Solomon (historian), Igor Casu (historian), Petru Negura (sociologist), Matei Bejenaru (artist/curator) and Stefan Rusu (artist/curator). The other chapter is dedicated to the presentation of curatorial practices and artistic strategies exploring the contexts of some divided (split up) territories by: Catalin Gheorghe (curator, counter theorist), Laura Schleussner/Berlin, Lilia Dragneva (curator), Binna Choi (curator) and contributions by invited visual artists: Bik Van der Pol (Lisbethe Bik and Jos Van der Pol), Iratxe Jaio&Klaas van Gorkum, Tilmann Meyer-Faje, Ilya Rabinovich, Gulsun Karamstafa.
The publication also presents visual art projects and films realized by visual artists from Romania and Republic Moldova: Aurelia Mihai, Dan Acostioaei, Alexandru Grigoras, Lavinia German, Dimitru Oboroc, Violeta Ionita, Tatiana Fiodorova, Vadim Tiganas, Vladimir Us, Denis Bartenev, Maxim Cusmenco, Ghenadie Popescu, Veaceslav Druta, Igor Scerbina, Lucia Macari.
______________________________________________
The RO-MD/Moldova in Two Scenarios project aim was to investigate by juxtaposing the current cultural, social and political situation in two Moldova regions. The joint actions undertaken by the project teams from the KSAK - Centre for Contemporary Art in Chisinau and that from the Vector Association in Iasi are nothing else, but an attempt to create a rapprochement and to understand the nature of the relationship between Romanian and Moldovan societies at the present stage, to analyze the causes and effects of a shared historical and identitary trajectory in the context of divided regions and societies.
RO-MD/Moldova in Two Scenarios is a project organized by the Center for Contemporary Art, Chisinau in partnership with VECTOR Association, Iasi
The project was supported by the Romanian Cultural Institute through the CANTEMIR Program, Bucharest; PATTERNS Program /ERSTE Foundation, Vienna and MONDRIAAN Stichting, Amsterdam.
Period: 22 of May, 2009, 18.00
Location: Center for Contemporary Art-KSAK, Chisinau, Rep. Moldova
Address: str. Banulescu Bodoni 5, ap-2, Chisinau

Details about the project:
Centrul pentru Arta Contemporana, Chisinau -[KSA:K]
Address: str. Banulescu Bodoni 5, ap-2,
post code 2000, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova
tel/fax: +37322 237272

INVITATION_RO-MD/Moldova in Two Scenarios Publication launch

press-release

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RO-MD/Moldova in Two Scenarios Publication launch

Period: 22 of May, 2009, 18.00

Location: Center for Contemporary Art-KSAK, Chisinau, Rep. Moldova

Address: str. Banulescu Bodoni 5, ap-2, Chisinau

The project publication summarizes the sense of interaction between artists and experts involved in the project, as well as the results of investigated and researched aspects that were in focus of contemporary art practice. The publication includes the artist projects and contributions resulted after interdisciplinary workshop, seminars and production sessions. One of the chapters is dedicated to the current cultural, social and political situation in two Moldova regions with texts and contributions by: Sorin Bocancea (political annalist), Flavius Solomon (historian), Igor Casu (historian), Petru Negura (sociologist), Matei Bejenaru (artist/curator) and Stefan Rusu (artist/curator). The other chapter is dedicated to the presentation of curatorial practices and artistic strategies exploring the contexts of some divided (split up) territories by: Catalin Gheorghe (curator, counter theorist), Laura Schleussner/Berlin, Lilia Dragneva (curator), Binna Choi (curator) and contributions by invited visual artists: Bik Van der Pol (Lisbethe Bik and Jos Van der Pol), Iratxe Jaio&Klaas van Gorkum, Tilmann Meyer-Faje, Ilya Rabinovich, Gulsun Karamstafa.

The publication also presents visual art projects and films realized by visual artists from Romania and Republic Moldova: Aurelia Mihai, Dan Acostioaei, Alexandru Grigoras, Lavinia German, Dimitru Oboroc, Violeta Ionita, Tatiana Fiodorova, Vadim Tiganas, Vladimir Us, Vladimir Us, Denis Bartenev, Maxim Cusmenco, Ghenadie Popescu, Veaceslav Druta, Igor Scerbina, Lucia Macari.

*************************************************************

The RO-MD/Moldova in Two Scenarios project aim was to investigate by juxtaposing the current cultural, social and political situation in two Moldova regions. The joint actions undertaken by the project teams from the KSAK - Centre for Contemporary Art in Chisinau and that from the Vector Association in Iasi are nothing else, but an attempt to create a rapprochement and to understand the nature of the relationship between Romanian and Moldovan societies at the present stage, to analyze the causes and effects of a shared historical and identitary trajectory in the context of divided regions and societies.

RO-MD/Moldova in Two Scenarios is a project organized by the Center for Contemporary Art, Chisinau in partnership with VECTOR Association, Iasi

The project was supported by the Romanian Cultural Institute through

the CANTEMIR Program, Bucharest; PATTERNS Program /ERSTE Foundation,

Vienna and MONDRIAAN Stichting, Amsterdam.

*Center for Contemporary Art-[KSA:K] is a non-profit, independent institution registered in the year 2000. The new strategy of the Center is the development of cultural forms and art practices, which would reflect the dynamic of the social, political and economic transformations of the society. Center supports the advocacy activities in promoting of cultural policies suitable for the defining and the consolidation of artist position and contemporary art practices in the society. (www.art.md)

* Vector> Association is a non-profit cultural association that provides the production of exhibition and educational programs, research and editing activities, analyzes of the relations between the art practices and visual culture in socio-political context. Vector> supports those practices related to social re-articulation, political consciousness and economical transformation that brings critical analyses that could offer reinterpretations of the attitudes and behavior from the perspective of cultural action. (www.periferic.org)

Stefan Rusu – visual artist/curator

RO-MD/Moldova in two scenarios project curator

Details about the project:

Centrul pentru Arta Contemporana, Chisinau -[KSA:K]
Address: str. Banulescu Bodoni 5, ap-2,

post code 2000, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova
tel/fax: +37322 237272

http://www.art.md

Tel Aviv 1996-1997

work with jossy

Stedelijk Museum Tentoonstellingen Gemeentelijke Kunstaankopen 2009 - Fotografie
my work with Jossy was not selected, and I thought it is worth to show anyway...

Official Launching of MB ART AGENCY Amsterdam with the international exhibition: ...Expectations

MB Art Agency

has the pleasure to invite you to the opening of the international exhibition

Friday 15th May 2009

....EXPECTATIONS

Emily Bates, Calin Dan , Sagi Groner, Boukje Janssen, Inti Hernandez, Iosif Kiraly, Matthieu Laurette, Alexandra Leykauf, Sanja Medic , Ana Maria Micu, Sebastian Diaz Morales, Catalin Petrisor, Ilya Rabinovich , Victor Racatau, Kathrin Schlegel, Ulay, Vera Weisgerber, Carine Weve, Xing Danwen, Maria Zervou

Curator: Maria Rus Bojan

Opening: Friday 15th May 2009, 18-22 hours

The exhibition is open through 20 June 2009

Exhibition organized on the occasion of the official launching of MB Art Agency , a professional company that aims to present contemporary art in new curatorial formats.

Location: Barbara Strozzilaan 314-316, 1083 HN Amsterdam .

Open 16 May through 20 June 2009Thursday through Sunday from 12 to 18 h. Guided tours by special appointment.

Within walking distance from RAI Station /near Holiday Inn Hotel and Sotheby’s Amsterdam . Metro & train to RAI Station / tram no. 4/ RAI Parking just in front of the exhibition space.

With the kind support of: Dé is Ka & de Verzameling, Project Foundation, Galerie Martin van Zomeren, Galerie Hof & Huyser Amsterdam and C-Space Beijing

For more information please contact: info@mbagency.nl // www.mbagency.nl

“…. EXPECTATIONS” is a project born from the desire of 19 artists and a curator to investigate the dynamics of ambiguity in the present.

Taking into account that we perceive history through intervals and that expectation is our way of anticipating the future, this exhibition aims to underline how modernity has reshaped our perception on the present. According to the German philosopher Peter Sloterdijk, the present can be understood only as an intermediary time; a time that is situated after the moment when the most valuable predictions become true yet before the entire prognosis can be verified though reality.

It is precisely within this indefinite respite – that we call present - that the hope and illusion finds its playground, putting to work our desires and expectations.

Capitalism has succeeded because it has never been a utopia. Its products have become more and more "open”, actually transforming the process of offer and request into a relation of artistic communication: the receiver is the one that gives ”content” to the message, filling it in his own expectations.

Contracting the markets and shaking the very foundation of capitalism, the actual crisis unveils the internal void of our culture. And the fragile domino constructions have collapsed revealing the true dynamics of the global ambitions. Moreover, media’s failure to ensure the right critical climate within society underlines the general incapacity to resist against the „libidinal” capitalist temptations. Not only that critique itself has become a lifestyle, a kind of fashionable activity that is drafted and prepared for sale, but the ethical has been completely subsumed by a consumerist society.

".... Expectations" provides a framework for a set of artistic critiques that are in fact natural reactions and comments to the actual state of things. This exhibition explores the degree in which artists reflect the contradictions of our time in their work. This all takes place in a rather unusual space: an empty office building with its own unfulfilled expectations. Presently the glamorous space meant to host the most successful business initiatives, is now simply an empty place without character nor history.

By squatting this space, the curator assumes in fact the role of a modern invader, conquering new teritories for art and drawing the attention to art as the single force that is able to re-animate and fill these emptied spaces with sense.

Good Morning Chisinau 2008

I have traveled to Chisinau Moldova three times in the second part of year 2008. I have stayed every time in another rented apartment . The combination of going back to my birth city staying in a rented apartment which were decorated in the style of the communist era was puzzeling in space and time for me. Above are some photographs from those places.