Aesthetica Magazine Issue 58

April / May 2014

We are at a particularly good time for artistic output. It’s not a coincidence that this reflects the extraordinary things that are happening in the world. The first 14 years of this millennium have progressed so exponentially, it’s simply staggering. It’s a moment of reflection, but also one of anticipation; the artists of today are helping us to make sense of it all.

Inside this issue, we start with an overview of Ernesto Neto’s latest exhibition, The Body That Carries Me, which is currently at Guggenheim Bilbao. Tobias Rehberger. Home and Away and Outside is on at Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt and presents that artist’s fascination with media and subject. Experimental photography and 1960s Los Angeles are surveyed in Robert Heinecken’s Object Matter, which is now at MoMA. The first major European retrospective of the architect and theorist Bernard Tschumi opens at the Pompidou Centre. We also examine the works of the shortlisted artists of the Aesthetica Art Prize who span media from painting to installation. In photography, we present Gianni Berengo Gardin’s iconic post-war images of Italy. Phil Bergerson shows the hidden sides of America and finds beauty in the everyday. Nadia Lee Cohen is one of the UK’s rising stars; we showcase an extract from her portfolio. Kourtney Roy’s practice is explored through breathtaking images that captivate the imagination.

In music, we discuss traditional perceptions of opera and observe how younger audiences are becoming interested in this form of musical experience. In film, Richard Ayoade speaks about his latest project The Double and what it means to have a doppelganger. Biyi Bandele tells us about his new release Half of a Yellow Sun, which portrays the struggle for Nigerian independence in the late 1960s. In performance, we expose the unique approach that Sean Gandini brings to juggling and the new found resurgence of circus arts with Smashed. Finally, the Last Words go to Sarah McCrory as she discusses the highlights at this year’s Glasgow International festival. Enjoy the issue.

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Sarah McCrory

Spending two years as curator of the Frieze Foundation, Sarah McCrory is familiar with commissioning public art. She steps into the role of Director for the 6th Glasgow International festival.

Bastards

Denis’ latest offering is littered with abusers and victims. The cause of their woes appears to be Laporte, a rich businessman, who becomes the focus of a thirst for retribution.

DENA

Berlin-based Denitza Todorova’s hip-hop-layered lyrics don’t waste time on metaphors, instead they are clear and concise with lashings of attitude.

Samaris

Each song on this record is beautifully crafted, resembling a soundscape more than a traditional piece of music.

Fire in the Blood

Fire in the Blood tells the story of how Western pharmaceutical companies and governments blocked access to low cost anti-retroviral drugs in the global South, causing millions of unnecessary deaths.

Vijay Iyer

Vijay Iyer’s Mutations is a montage of piano, electronics and strings. Constructed from fragmented melodies, the instrumental songs are ever-evolving.

Art & Ecology Now

Art & Ecology Now is an extensive survey of nature’s impact upon art’s involvement and responsibility in saving the planet.

Teenage

A celebration of adolescence in all its acne-ridden, rebellious glory, Matt Wolf’s Teenage is a compelling joyride through the evolution of the teenager.

Fill the Void

Less a consideration of the inflexibility of faith than a portrait of desperate women, Fill the Void is a brave film.

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