As the show Gedi Sibony: My Arms Are Tied Behind My Other Arms came to and end, reviews began. Look for these reviews here. Here is the intro of one that was published in ArtReview.

Much of what Gedi Sibony has done in this radiantly beautiful exhibition is so subtle, it almost escapes notice. In one gallery, for example, he shortens a black curtain to reveal two panes of a clerestory. And throughout, he installs his pieces so that correspondences between material and form – remnants of carpet or shoddy plasterboard doors, say – create triangular relationships across the exhibition space. Such moves pull the eye away from his own work and lead it around the broad proportions of Brad Cloepfil’s much-praised architecture – which to Sibony’s credit comes off as sublimely balanced rather than elegant and cold.

For more of this review, visit our website here.

Recently the Contemporary invited the public to come to the museum for a lecture by Philippe Vergne, the director of the Dia Art Foundation in 2008, co-curator of the 2006 Whitney Biennial, and for ten years a curator at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. Vergne talked about the work of Gedi Sibony and also spoke on the question “Why is this Art?” For those of you unable to attend the lecture in person, or those of you who missed something and would like to take a second listen, you can watch here. After watching, tell us what you found interesting.

One great aspect about the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis is that not only do our exhibitions in the Main Galleries completely change three times a year (and in The Front Room even more than that), but the space often completely changes as well. Since we are tearing down walls and building new ones, visitors will have a totally new experience and feel as if they are in a new museum every time an exhibition opens. I usually take a little stroll through the galleries during the installation process, and when I am not thinking about it, almost feel lost. (Obviously, I follow the path of the doorways and can make my way out…except that one time…okay, just joking). But when we go from two or three giant rooms to four or five smaller rooms, with hallways and changed doorways, you get a little disoriented. It is interesting to try and image what the space was like before the changing process begins…and it is often difficult.

Here are images and a video of the installation and the building of a new wall in progress.

The Contemporary is lucky to have an incredible group of people ready and willing to give the museum their time and support. Contemporary volunteers contribute to the success of Opening Nights, Family Days, the promotion of events, obtaining museum memberships, fundraisers, and so much more. They deserve a big pat on the back and are incredibly appreciated by museum staff members. Way to go.

Click here for information about our volunteer program.

It was amazing to see the hundreds of people gathered to raise funds for the museum, to honor two incredible Saint Louis artists, and to celebrate the first five years of this institution. During the program, I was standing in the back of the room just in awe of the energy and excitement. There were three compelling videos presented (one about each honored artist, and one about our educational program, New Art in the Neighborhood). Each was shown on all four giant screens in the Four Seasons ballroom, and were moving enough to make me (who works at the museum and knew exactly what was to happen next) choke up a bit. I watched people get so excited they had to stand up and clap, then catch themselves, and hurry up to sit back down. I experienced the excitement throughout the crowd during the auction…listening to the bids going  higher and higher. I also watched one of our volunteers smile, glowing and proud, during the entire video about New Art in the Neighborhood-her daughter is part of the program, and volunteering is her way to give back to us for the a program that she and her daughter value so much. Once the emotions of the videos, the auction, the raise the paddle and the awards subsided, everyone was invited to relax and enjoy each other’s company at the after-party. And that they did.

View a little glimpse of the after-party and read all about the gala here and here.

Tom Johnson is an American artist who produces sculptures, video monologues, and live performances, and for his Front Room exhibition he produced a new series of drawings. Johnson was at the museum for the installation of his exhibition and completed some of his work here. In the first video you can see him making his final additions to a piece, and in the second video you can see the final installation. Visit the Contemporary’s website for the gallery guide.

Philippe Vergne, named the director of the Dia Art Foundation in 2008, co-curator of the 2006 Whitney Biennial and for ten years a curator at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, comes to the museum to speak about Gedi Sibony’s work on Wednesday night. This same evening, Chief Curator Anthony Huberman will give a wine and cheese tour of Gedi Sibony’s work for ArtLink members only.

On Saturday at 12:00 noon, Director of Education Kathryn Adamchick will give the “Last Chance Tour” for the work on view in the Main Galleries. That is right; Gedi Sibony: My Arms Are Tied Behind My Other Arms and Bruce Nauman: Dead Shot Dan will close on Sunday, April 19. View our last blog entry which includes a sample of what has come from this show.

THEN Saturday evening is our 5^th Anniversary Gala, a night to celebrate the culmination of the first five years of the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis and to honor artists, Tom Friedman and the late Ernest Trova (read an online profile about the last interview with Ernest Trova in St. Louis magazine here). Also at the gala there will be a live auction with the work of six major contemporary artists. There have been many members of the public interested in the work in the auction, especially Trova’s piece. All of the work in the auction is on view at the museum and there is a link to the work on the museum’s website along with links to Ernest Trova’s obituaries and more information about the gala.

The exhibitions in our Main Galleries, Gedi Sibony: My Arms Are Tied Behind My Other Arms and Bruce Nauman: Dead Shot Dan are just about to coming to an end (this Sunday, April 19!). The show has received much attention and has produced much discussion. See below for just a sample of what has come out of the exhibitions.

There will be a “Last Chance Tour” of the exhibitions at the museum on Saturday, April 18 at 12:00 pm. The public seems to be incredibly interested in what others think about the work on view, and taking a tour is a perfect way to get a little more of that insight. During tours, connections through the two exhibitions are made by just discussing the work, or walking through it a new way, or hearing someone new talk about it. For example, Nauman introduces the idea of laughter, and since his show is located in the first gallery, maybe visitors will go on to see humor in Gedi Sibony’s work as well…”Kissing Carpets”  for example. Also, “behind-the-scenes” information is often revealed on tours, such as why a piece was placed a certain way and how. For example, when Sibony came to the museum to install his work and saw the giant, thick pieces of plywood that blocked the museum’s wall-to-wall windows for the previous exhibition, he decided to re-position them in his exhibition.

If you have been on a tour of these exhibitions or have viewed any of our video tours, share what you have gotten from your experience. (Or watch and read now and come back to share).

Clip of first walk-through of Gedi Sibony’s work

Clip of first walk-through of Bruce Nauman’s work

Video podcast on work of Gedi Sibony

Gedi Sibony and Bruce Nauman on STLToday.com

Bruce Nauman and Gedi Sibony in St. Louis Beacon

Chief Curator, Anthony Huberman talks about work of Gedi Sibony on KWMU

Gedi Sibony on ARTINFO.com

Bruce Nauman in Art Knowledge News

Bruce Nauman on Artdaily.org

 From the about us section of The New Museum’s blog “The Generational: Younger Than Jesus”:”The New Museum’s first triennial exhibition, “The Generational: Younger Than Jesus,” presents work by fifty artists under the age of thirty-three. On view April 8 – July 5, 2009. This blog features related articles, multimedia, and interviews about this Millennial generation.”

One of the fifty artists involved is Tris Vonna-Michell. Name sound familiar? He is exhibiting in The Front Room until this Sunday, April 12, and on the night before his show opened (Tuesday, March 31), he conducted a performance piece at the museum in which the outcome became his installation. Yesterday, “The Generational: Younger Than Jesus” blog added a post of a video interview with Vonna-Michell. Check it out there, and check him out here.

I have mentioned the project It Is What It Is: Conversations About Iraq a couple of times already, but now that it has passed through St. Louis, I wanted to step back and take a look at everything that came out of their stop here, and also to provide a resource for a variety of information on this project. This would be a good place to take a virtual look at the exhibition or see if it is coming to your city!

It Is What It Is: Conversations About Iraq website

Cities on the tour

Press release about the project 

St. Louis Art Map blog post discussion on the project (and art!)

St. Louis Post Dispatch blog

ArtDaily.com article

St. Louis Art Map wrap up blog post and images 

Road Diary