The 13th edition of the periodic survey of international contemporary art, documenta, has opened to the public Jun 9 in Kassel, Germany. Organized by artistic director Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev, documenta 13 spreads across a range of traditional and unconventional venues, spanning the historic Fridercianum, the Neue Galerie, Orangerie and documenta-Halle as well as the Brothers Grimm Museum, the Gloria Cinema, the Breitenau Memorial and numerous other locations in Kassel and its vicinity. Indeed, so dispersed is the exhibition that it extends to events to be held later this year in Banff, Canada, and Kabul/Bamiyan, Afghanistan. The exhibition does not have a specific theme, but loosely weaves together concerns ranging from the continued legacy of World War II and reflection on the history of the documenta project itself to the possibility of challenging the antropocentrism of human knowledge. Christov-Bakargiev has selected a diverse line-up of artists and displays, whereby the expected leading representatives of mainstream contemporary art are juxtaposed with peers who have had minimal international exposure to date, as well as artifacts like a group of Bactrian figurines. Also included are participants from beyond the sphere of art altogether, such as the physicist Anton Zeilinger. The sole participant from Japan is Shinro Ohtake, who has created a new multimedia installation for the Karlsaue Park.
The exhibition continues through Sep 16.
ART iT’s extended coverage of documenta, including interviews with the choreographer Jérôme Bel and the mixed-media artist Thea Djordjadze, can be found here.