Press release -
Ana Mendieta / Covered in Time and History
Blood, fire, earth, water and her own body; Ana Mendieta's poetic and striking works from the 1970s and 1980s are a delicate balancing act between vulnerability and strength. Welcome to Bildmuseet for a press preview on Thursday 15 June 10 am, of the largest presentation of Mendieta's artistry shown in Sweden to date.
Director Katarina Pierre greets welcome with curators Howard Oransky, Katherine E. Nash Gallery at University of Minnesota, and Brita Täljedal, Bildmuseet.
Bildmuseet presents Ana Mendieta's captivating oeuvre through 21 films as well as a selection of photographs, graphic works and objects.The exhibition Ana Mendieta / Covered in Time and History opens to the public on Sunday 18 June, at 2 pm.
Gender, identity and the body were recurring themes in Mendieta's art, as well as metaphors for life and death, trauma and exile. She drew inspiration from many of the movements of her day – land art, conceptual art, performance and feminist art – but her special combination of sculpture, land art and performance art (earth-body, as she called it) is a form of expression that is entirely her own. The acuity of her works still inspires today, making her art still relevant and important.
Ana Mendieta (1948-1985) grew up in Cuba and in the United States. When she was twelve years old, she was sent to the USA and during her teens she stayed with foster families. After studying art in Iowa, she moved to New York, where she was active until her untimely death at the age of 36. During her brief career, Anna Mendieta was astoundingly prolific – she made 104 film works between 1971 and 1981.
Following her death, Ana Mendieta's artistry was presented in solo shows around the world, including exhibitions at the Whitney Museum, New York; Tapiés Foundation, Barcelona; Hayward Gallery, London; and Berkeley Art Museum. Her work has also been displayed in important group shows such as WACK! Art and the Feminist Revolution, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; Haunted: Contemporary Photography / Video / Performance, Guggenheim, New York; Ends of the Earth: Land Art to 1974, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; and A Bigger Splash: Painting After Performance, Tate Modern, London.
Ana Mendieta / Covered in Time and History at Bildmuseet is the largest presentation of Mendieta's artistic practice shown in Sweden to date. It is an extended version of an exhibition that has been shown in the USA, produced by the Katherine E. Nash Gallery at the University of Minnesota and curated by Lynn Lukkas and Howard Oransky. For Bildmuseet, the exhibition has been supplemented with works from The Estate of Ana Mendieta Collection and Galerie Lelong, New York/Paris. Curator for the extended version of the exhibition is Brita Täljedal, Bildmuseet.
Our thanks to The Estate of Ana Mendieta Collection and Galerie Lelong, New York/Paris, and to Barbro Osher Pro Suecia Foundation.
Press images:
www.bildmuseet.umu.se/pressbilder
For further information, please contact
Brita Täljedal, Curator Bildmuseet
brita.taljedal@bildmuseet.umu.se, +46 90 786 77 14
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Bildmuseet exhibits contemporary international art, photography, architecture, design and other forms of visual culture. Existential, political and philosophical issues are key to the programme. Bildmuseet received a Special Commendation from the European Museum of the Year jury last year, and was one of the top candidates för the Swedish Museum of the Year Award as well as for the Council of Europe Museum Prize.
Bildmuseet is a part of Umeå University. It is housed in an acclaimed building at the Umeå Arts Campus, right next to the Umeå Academy of Fine Arts, Umeå Institute of Design, Umeå School of Architecture and Humlab-X. Umeå university is a multifaced university where studies and research within the creative realm make up an important part of the universty's cornerstone. It is one of Sweden's largest institutions of higher learning with over 32,000 students and 4,200 employees.
