ExhibitionAugust 30, 2022
Ad Minoliti at Tate St Ives
Tate St Ives presents the first UK solo exhibition by Argentinian artist Ad Minoliti. Minoliti (b.1980) draws on the geometric abstraction legacy in Latin America to create alternative universes influenced by feminist and queer ideas. For Biosfera Peluche / Biosphere Plush, Minoliti transformed the gallery space into an imagined world, merging ideas around modern art, social justice, internet subcultures, and science fact and fiction.
The exhibition takes as its starting point a critical exploration of Biosphere 2 – the world’s largest Earth science experiment, launched in the Arizona desert in 1984. This monumental project isolated eight people in domes to study whether humans could create and sustain life in artificial environments such as space stations. Interested in how this experiment highlighted the colonial and capitalist intentions of space exploration and perpetuated a patriarchal and monocultural society, Minoliti has created an experimental station that subverts these purposes, valuing all identities, experiences, and abstractions forms.
A focal point of the installation is Minoliti’s Feminist School of Painting – an anti-school of art. Transforming the gallery space into an active classroom, the school hosts a series of free workshops open to visitors. These experimental sessions apply feminist and queer theory ideas to reimagine portraiture, still life, and landscape, concerning power, gender, and sexuality. Through discussion and practical art activities, visitors are invited to rebuild a new world that focuses on generosity and cooperation.
Ad Minoliti: Biosfera Peluche / Biosphere Plush has been produced by BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, curated by Irene Aristizábal. This exhibition has been adapted for Tate St Ives in collaboration with Anne Barlow and Giles Jackson.
The exhibition takes as its starting point a critical exploration of Biosphere 2 – the world’s largest Earth science experiment, launched in the Arizona desert in 1984. This monumental project isolated eight people in domes to study whether humans could create and sustain life in artificial environments such as space stations. Interested in how this experiment highlighted the colonial and capitalist intentions of space exploration and perpetuated a patriarchal and monocultural society, Minoliti has created an experimental station that subverts these purposes, valuing all identities, experiences, and abstractions forms.
A focal point of the installation is Minoliti’s Feminist School of Painting – an anti-school of art. Transforming the gallery space into an active classroom, the school hosts a series of free workshops open to visitors. These experimental sessions apply feminist and queer theory ideas to reimagine portraiture, still life, and landscape, concerning power, gender, and sexuality. Through discussion and practical art activities, visitors are invited to rebuild a new world that focuses on generosity and cooperation.
Ad Minoliti: Biosfera Peluche / Biosphere Plush has been produced by BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, curated by Irene Aristizábal. This exhibition has been adapted for Tate St Ives in collaboration with Anne Barlow and Giles Jackson.
Gallery
