tacita dean: 'still life' exhibition in milan

‘still life’ palazzo dugnani via daniele manin 2, milan may 12 – june 21, 09

curated by massimiliano gioni, artistic director of the fondation nicola trussardi fondazione nicola trussardi is currently presenting ‘still life’ by british artist tacita dean. in her first solo exhibition in italy the show features a selection of fourteen films related to immobility. the exhibition is a series of slow, almost hypnotic portraits of landscapes and still lifes.

still cut from ‘merce cunningham performs stillness…’ 2007 image © designboom

tacita dean’s films, photographs, and installations construct entire universes out of endless pauses, by exploring distant, unattainable horizons. with her slow, reflective gaze, the artist opens a window onto a vanished world, transforming every landscape, object or character into an exquisite still life in motion. her films are small revelations and unforgettable epiphanies shot and reproduced solely on film. ‘merce cunningham performs stillness…’ is a series of six films in which the avant-garde choreographer (portrayed in life size) poses to the silence of john cage’s radical composition 4’33".

still cut from ‘merce cunningham performs stillness…’ 2007

still cut from ‘day for night’, 2008 commissioned and produced by fondazione nicola trussardi made in giorgio morandi’s studio in bologna, where he lived and worked for 50 years

‘day for night’ looks at morandi’s objects themselves. unable to touch or move the bottles and vases, dean filmed them singly, making random groupings that stand in contrast to morandi’s studies and mathematically rigorous compositions.

still cut from ‘day for night’, 2008

still cut from ‘prisoner pair’ 2008

in ‘prisoner pair’, tacita dean looks with maniacal attentiveness at the details and imperfections of a piece of fruit grown inside a bottle for schnapps.

tacita dean portrait © designboom

tacita dean is one of the most important artists at work today: she has been nominated for the turner prize, awarded the hugo boss prize by the solomon r. guggenheim museum in new york, and has previously exhibited at some of the world’s greatest museums, including new york’s MoMA and london’s tate gallery. tacita dean was born in canterbury, england in 1965. she lives and works in berlin, germany.