Being Far / Being Close
Muntadas
2024. 04. 27 — 2024. 06. 2
Vanguard Gallery is pleased to present “Being Far/Being Close” on April 27th, a solo exhibition featuring the renowned Spanish conceptual artist Muntadas. The exhibition will showcase eight artworks, including Muntadas’ works spanning the last four decades, offering audiences insight into Muntadas’ integration of art and social science research.
Look, See, Perceive
Desk lamps and cut vinyl graphics
5 x 180 x 22 cm｜2019
Born in Barcelona in 1942, Muntadas moved to New York in 1971. He has been instrumental in advancing video art within contemporary discourse and is also a pioneer in multimedia installations and urban interventions. His works incorporate interdisciplinary investigations and research from linguistics, history, anthropology, sociology, and beyond. By initiating collaborative research projects in various regions, he has further loosened the constraints imposed by singular geographical contexts on the creation of art, transforming viewers from “passive observers” to “active participants” through diverse mediums and methods.
CITY SENTENCES (Brazil)
Digital print
120 x 80 cm｜1999
CITY SENTENCES (Argentina)
Digital print
120 x 80 cm｜2002
After relocating to the United States, Antoni Muntadas has taught in numerous countries across Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Moving between different cultural environments and social systems, the distinctions in culture, language, and shared understandings among regions become evident in the process of exchange and dialogue. Drawing upon these cultural dissonance experiences, the “On Translation” series explores the mechanisms of transcription, interpretation, and translation, highlighting differences in reception and interpretation due to varying structures. From language to code, from subjective to objective, from private to public, the artist invites viewers to step into and experience the multicultural ecosystem of the “in-between” binary structures as connections and transitions.
ON TRANSLATION. STAND BY II
6 Duratrans in light box
65.5 x 121 x 2.5 cm each｜2006—2018
The production of the “City Sentences” series follows Muntadas’ travel trajectory over years, with each piece including a phrase or saying that identifies its country of origin. Mass media, as a crucial medium influencing social, economic, and political communication and shaping perceptions in a region, is central to Muntadas’ creation. These images and textual statements are selected from different media landscapes, closely associated with identity and local stereotypes, leading viewers to reflect on the impact of mass propaganda on the construction of self/national identity.
ARCHITEKTUR/RÄUME/GESTEN II
10 digital prints
59 x 83.5 cm each｜1988—2017
In the Chinese context, differences in language and cultural systems have led to ideological differences between China and the outside world. In the exhibition “Being Far/Being Close”, Vanguard Gallery invites viewers to explore a path shaped by their personal encounters, by engaging with the artworks through their senses, visitors are encouraged to discover connections and shared experiences between themselves and Antoni Muntadas’ practices.
MALAS HIERBAS
Plates on round table
Variable dimensions｜2021
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Muntadas
Born in 1942 in Barcelona, Spain. Currently works and lives in New York. Muntadas is an internationally acclaimed pioneer of media art and conceptual art. Muntadas aims to address social, political, and communication issues such as the relationship between public and private space within social frameworks, and investigates channels of information and the ways they may be used to censor or promulgate ideas.
His recent solo exhibitions include: “Being Far/Being Close”, Vanguard Gallery, Shanghai, China, 2024; “Muntadas: Exercises on Past and Present Memories”, Ateneo Art Gallery, Manila, Philippines, 2023; “Muntadas: Exercises on Past and Present Memories”, Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo, Sevilla, Spain, 2022; “Nights after Days”, The Store, Seoul,South Korea, 2022; “Muntadas: Exercises on Past and Present Memories”, Ateneo Art Gallery, Manila, Philippines, 2021; “Muntadas: Interconnessioni”, Villa delle Rose, MAMbo, Bologna, Italy, 2020; “Palabras, El País”, Arco Madrid, Madrid, Spain, 2020.
He also participated in the following group exhibitions:”An Atlas of the Difficult World”, Macalline Center of Art, Beijing, China, 2024; “Vanguard Onwards”, Vanguard Gallery, Shanghai, China, 2024; “Sistema Tempo”, Centro de Nuevas Culturas de Brescia, Brescia, Italy, 2023; “Ficciones reales”, Centro Cultural Kirchner, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2023; “Història de les mans”, Museu de l’Art de la Pell, Vic, Spain, 2023; “Histories of a Collection”, Centro de Arte Moderna, Lisboa, Portugal, 2023; “Signals: How Video Transformed the World”, MoMA, New York, USA, 2022; “Los nuevos 90”, San Telmo Museoa, San Sebastián, Spain, 2022; “10 × 10: OCAT Shanghai in pictures”, OCAT Shanghai, Shanghai, China.
