david medalla

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I am an enigma, even to my self

July 14 - August 05, 2016

VENUS over Manhattan, New York City


"This July, VENUS is pleased to present its second exhibition of work by
David Medalla, a pioneer of kinetic and participatory art. In 2014 VENUS
showcased Cloud Canyons, an eight-foot-tall bubble machine considered to
be Medalla's most iconic work (currently on view at the TATE Modern). The
second exhibition, titled I am an enigma, even to my self, will feature
paintings, photographs, sculpture, ephemera, and an interactive
installation, providing an overview of Medalla's artistic practice.
(...)
The exhibition will also include photographs of Medalla holding a previous
rendition of A Stitch in Time in front of various monuments around London
relating to the artist's unique interpretation of time and space.
Together, the photographs and installations explore elements of
temporality and chance in order to convey the duality of the outside world
versus the internal consciousness of the individual."



















'David Medalla - A Stitch in Time'

April 25 - May 11 2013

another vacant space. Berlin


'A Stich in Time'

Filipino artist David Medalla created his cosmic propulsion entitled 'A
Stich in Time' in London, in 1968, during the 'Summer of Love'. He gave
two of his ex-lovers a handkerchief each, a packet of needles and several
spools of cotton thread when he met them at Heathrow airport. He told them
they could stich anything they like - poems, names, messages, drawings,
etc. - on the handkerchiefs. Many years later, at another airport,
Schiphol in Amsterdam, David met a handsome young backpacker who carried
on his back a totem-like pole of pieces of multi-coloured clothes stitched
together, into which were attached various objects like old chinese coins,
keys, empty cigarette packets, and dried flower leaves, barks and roots of
tropical trees. When David asked the backpacker where he got the cloth
totem-pole the latter replied someone gave it to him in Bali. The
backpacker handed the cloth totem-pole to David to examine. When David
lifted the cloth totem-pole he saw to his amazement that the bottom piece
of cloth was one of the original handkerchiefs he gave to one of his
lovers. David handed back the cloth totem-pole to the backpacker without
telling him the fact that the handkerchief which David gave one of his
lovers was the start of the cosmic propulsion and participatory artwork
entitled 'A Stich in Time'.

D.M Berlin April 2013


During the late 1960's and early 1970's Medalla made a series of
'participation works' where the audience was encouraged to be involved in
the production of playful and experiential pieces which challenged the
notions of creative heirarchy. 'A Stitch in Time' is about travel, time
and chance, but it's also about production. Medalla described the piece as
"participation-production-propulsion". It involves the audience sewing
small objects of significance onto a large cloth in a public space, which
requires a creative concentration and an engagement with the artwork. The
pieces now exist as large, beautifully textured cloths but they are also a
testament to all those who contributed to them, as well as the
collaborative process through which they were created.


Since 1968, David Medalla created different versions of his participatory
artwork entitled 'A Stich in Time', they were installed in many places,
including:
1. Art Meeting Place, Covent Garde, London
2. Architectural Association, Bedford Square, London
3. Royal College of Art, London
4. University of Utrecht, the Netherlands, during the 'Toeval' exhibition
1971
5. DOCUMENTA 5, Kassel, Germany, curated by Harald Szeemann 1972
6. Gallery House, London, during the exhibition 'A Survey of the Avant-
Garde in Britain', curated by Sigi Krauss and Rosetta Brooks
7. University of Edinburgh School of Art, events curated by Lynn MacRitchie
8. Ikon Gallery, Birmingham, England, curated by Jonathan Watkins
9. The Clocktower Gallery, Manhattan, New York, exhibition 'The Big Apple',
curated by Ken Chu
10. Mexic-arte Museum, 'Voices and Visions', curated by Sylvia Orozco,
featuring art works by Regina Vater and David Medalla, Austin, Texas, USA
11. Studio Museum, Harlem, New York City
12. DAAD Galerie above the old Café Einstein on Kurfürstenstraße, solo
show by David Medalla, curated by Frederick Messchede
13. Live/Life exhibition, curated by Hans-Ulrich Obrist, at the Musee
d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris
14. Centro Cultural de Belem, 'A Stich in Time' installation organized by
Adam Nankervis, Lisbon, Portugal
15. MOCA, Los Angeles, California, 'Out of Actions' curated by Paul
Schimmel. The same show travelled to MAK (Vienna), MACBA (Barcelona), an
the Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo Japan
16. Johannesburg Biennale 2, directed by Okwui Enwezor, show in the
Johannesburg Art Gallery curated by Gerardo Mosquera
17. Arsenal, Kiev, Ukraine, 'A Spires Ember', curated by Adam Nankervis
18. Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
19. Gallery BARO, São Paolo, Brasil 2010
20. Liverpool Biennial 2013
21. another vacant space., Berlin 2013, curated by Adam Nankervis
22. Venus Over Manhattan, NYC July/ August 2016
23. Hepworth Prize for Sculpture, Hepworth-Wakefield September 2016


original image: David Medalla - Gallery House London 1972

'A Survey of the Avantgarde in Great Britain'
curated by Sigi Krauss & Rosetta Brooks


















Cloud Canyons
Kinetic works & Cosmic Propulsions
(1964/2011)

October 20 - November 20 2011

another vacant space. Berlin
















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