A discussion in context of an exhibition, March 8, 9 and 10, 1978, Galerie Rüdiger Schöttle, Munich, DE, Installation view KW Institute for Contemporary Art, 2017, Photo: Frank Sperling
KW Institute for Contemporary Art is delighted to announce the solo exhibition by South-African artist Ian Wilson (born 1940 in Durban, ZA). Ian Wilson has been exploring the aesthetic potential of spoken language since the late 1960s. His ongoing body of work—beginning with “oral communication” and eventually including his signature Discussions—began in 1968 with the spoken word “time”. The artist, who began as a painter, soon transformed the act of discussion into his sole artistic medium. Over four decades, the focus of these exchanges has shifted from time to the nature of knowledge and non-knowledge, and awareness of ‘the Absolute’. His works are not recorded or photographed in any way, and exist only as long as the conversation itself. Wilson’s desire for abstraction first manifested as paintings that explored and tested the limits of perception. Although Wilson’s early paintings and sculptures are clearly physical objects, they also signal an inclination to take reduction and abstraction one-step further, to the point of ridding art of physical properties altogether.
The exhibition inaugurates the first season of director Krist Gruijthuijsen’s artistic program at KW, which examines Wilson’s work through three corresponding solo presentations by Hanne Lippard, Adam Pendleton, and Paul Elliman. Wilson’s work will be physically and conceptually embedded within each exhibition, serving as a framework for exploring roles of language and communication, and the broader significance of interaction between human beings. The exhibition is therefore in constant flux and changes gradually throughout the course of its duration.
In the spirit of Wilson’s practice, weekly commissioned performances, readings, lectures, and events titled The Weekends take place at KW, and throughout the city of Berlin.
Curator: Krist Gruijthuijsen
Assistant Curator: Maurin Dietrich
Ian Wilson, Circle on the floor (Chalk Circle), 1968, unlimited edition, Courtesy the artist and Jan Mot, Brussels, On the floor: Ian Wilson, The Pure Awareness of the Absolute / A Discussion, 2014, Courtesy the artist and Jan Mot, Brussels, On loan from Jan Mot, Brussels, Installation view KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin 2017, Photo: Frank Sperling
From left to right:
Hanne Lippard, Flesh, 2016, Courtesy the artist and LambdaLambdaLambda, Prishtina
Ian Wilson, Time (spoken), 1982, A typewritten sheet of paper with the text: This work is installed when the word ‚Time‘ is spoken, Signed and numbered by the artist, date of conception: 1982 (unlimited edition), On loan from Jan Mot, Brussels, Collection: Frac Lorraine, Metz, FR; Kröller Müller Museum, Otterlo, NL; Raymond Verbouwens; Jean-Philippe und Françoise Billarant, Paris; Yves Gevaert, Brussels, Installation view KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin 2017, Photo: Frank Sperling
Ian Wilson, Untitled (Disc), 1967, Moulded fiberglass coloured with white pigmented resin, Courtesy the artist, Collection: Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven, NL, Installation view KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin 2017, Photo: Frank Sperling
Ian Wilson, Circle on the Wall, 1968, Grey pencil (drawn on the wall by means of a thin wire
and nail with the centre at eye level); Courtesy the artist and Jan Mot, Brussels Collections: AGO Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, CA; Yves Gevaert, Brussels; Jonathan Monk, Berlin; Paul Goede, Amsterdam, Raymond Verbouwens, Brussels; Mario Garcia Torres, Mexico City, Installation view KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin 2017, Photo: Frank Sperling
Vitrine designed by Ian Wilson, Installation view KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin 2017, Photo: Frank Sperling
Ian Wilson, Sections 1–57, 1971–1990, Collection of 13 publications entitled Sections, published between 1982–2005, box made by the Artist, Courtesy the artist and Jan Mot, Brussels, Collection: Pedro Barbosa, Installation view KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin 2017, Photo: Frank Sperling
Ian Wilson, Circle on the floor (Chalk Circle), 1968, unlimited edition, Courtesy the artist and Jan Mot, Brussels, On the floor: Ian Wilson, The Pure Awareness of the Absolute / A Discussion, 2014, Courtesy the artist and Jan Mot, Brussels, On loan from Jan Mot, Brussels, Installation view KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin 2017, Photo: Frank Sperling
From left to right:
Hanne Lippard, Flesh, 2016, Courtesy the artist and LambdaLambdaLambda, Prishtina
Ian Wilson, Time (spoken), 1982, A typewritten sheet of paper with the text: This work is installed when the word ‚Time‘ is spoken, Signed and numbered by the artist, date of conception: 1982 (unlimited edition), On loan from Jan Mot, Brussels, Collection: Frac Lorraine, Metz, FR; Kröller Müller Museum, Otterlo, NL; Raymond Verbouwens; Jean-Philippe und Françoise Billarant, Paris; Yves Gevaert, Brussels, Installation view KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin 2017, Photo: Frank Sperling
Ian Wilson, Untitled (Disc), 1967, Moulded fiberglass coloured with white pigmented resin, Courtesy the artist, Collection: Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven, NL, Installation view KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin 2017, Photo: Frank Sperling
Ian Wilson, Circle on the Wall, 1968, Grey pencil (drawn on the wall by means of a thin wire
and nail with the centre at eye level); Courtesy the artist and Jan Mot, Brussels Collections: AGO Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, CA; Yves Gevaert, Brussels; Jonathan Monk, Berlin; Paul Goede, Amsterdam, Raymond Verbouwens, Brussels; Mario Garcia Torres, Mexico City, Installation view KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin 2017, Photo: Frank Sperling
Vitrine designed by Ian Wilson, Installation view KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin 2017, Photo: Frank Sperling
Ian Wilson, Sections 1–57, 1971–1990, Collection of 13 publications entitled Sections, published between 1982–2005, box made by the Artist, Courtesy the artist and Jan Mot, Brussels, Collection: Pedro Barbosa, Installation view KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin 2017, Photo: Frank Sperling