Kim? is pleased to announce THE ESTATE, its summer off-site exhibition by Tobias Kaspar. THE ESTATE, curated by Zane Onckule, plays with its double entendre; an “estate” being both the sum of a deceased person’s possessions, and an extensive piece of (privately owned) land often accompanied by a vast home. THE ESTATE’s first chapter SUMMER opened August 3 in Salacgrīva parish in form of a fictional collectors house — not with a capital C or H but rather a modest countryside house decored with artworks cum contemporary conversation pieces.
WITH
Eriks Apalais, Tristan Bera, Gerry Bibby, Drew Kahu’āina Broderick, Stefan Burger, Merlin Carpenter, Nicolas Ceccaldi, Vija Celmins, Jay Chung & Q Takeki Maeda, David Douard, Ramon Feller, Ffixxed Studios, Gina Folly, Oleg Frolov, Ryan Gander, Liam Gillick, Edgars Gluhovs, Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster, Guerilla Girls, Karl Holmqvist, Daniel Horn, Morag Keil, Emil Michael Klein, Ilya Lipkin, Fred Lonidier, Miltos Manetas, MAY, Daria Melnikova, Daniele Milvio, Jonathan Monk, Sveta Mordvskaya, Carter Mule, Kärt Ojavee, Josephine Pryde, Cinzia Ruggeri, Hinrich Sachs, Cindy Shermann, Nolan Simon, Mike E. Smith, Sarah Staton, Rikrit Tiravanija, Lucas Uhlmann, Miriam Visaczki, Danh Vo, Marie-Pascale Wellinger, Pedro Wirz, Seyoung Yoon, Artur Zmijewski.
THE ESTATE SUMMER
Opening: Saturday, August 3, 4-8pm
Dates: August 4 – September 30, 2019
Venue: Between Kuiķule and Lauvas (Salacgrīvas lauku teritorija, 4054 Latvia)
GPS: 57.729323, 24.535533
What if an art collector—or in more modest terms, a person interested in art who from time to time also happened to purchase, exchange, and receive art works as gifts—spent summers in rural Latvia? What would that house—let’s play it grand—that Estate look like? Of what would it be reminiscent of? Would the house pay homage to the shabby chic of Anna Karenina, or the Eurodesign that dominated 1990s interiors? Would it lean towards the Soviet-esque, or stick with a pre-revolution, Baltic-German style?
THE ESTATE’s SUMMER takes place in an abandoned Latvian summerhouse and imagines a fictional art collector who (could have) lived in a remote place such as this. Different artworks, ephemera, and leftovers from artistic productions join everyday utensils in creating a portrait that engages the entire house. Looking at the displayed artworks, it becomes clear that the collection or taste of this Collector is far from blue chip, where “signature style” and “key works” prevail. It is instead inclusive of many by-products and leftovers. Smaller, earlier works provide an image of a rather eclectic but engaged collection, in which the artworks form part of what could be described as a “conversation piece”, to quote the eponymous 18th-Century English portraiture style and Luchino Visconti film (1974).
THE ESTATE’s SUMMER opens on August 3 and remains open by appointment throughout September.
For inquiries please call +371 29600916.
Tobias Kaspar’s THE ESTATE is curated by Zane Onckule and produced by Kim? Contemporary Art Centre.
Photography: Stefan Burger and Filips Smits, courtesy The Estate.