Articles

Anna Maria Maiolino

Exhibition View, Anna Maria Maiolino: Making Love Revolutionary. Whitechapel Gallery.

Exhibition View
Anna Maria Maiolino: Making Love Revolutionary
Whitechapel Gallery


Gallery:
Whitechapel Gallery

Exhibition:
Anna Maria Maiolino: Making Love Revolutionary

On Display:
September 25, 2019 – January 12, 2020

Hours:
FR-WE: 11am - 6pm
Th: 11AM - 9PM

Admission:
FREE


 
 

“As an artist, you modify things, objects, materials. But art is working on you at the same time—you are transformed in the artistic process. As an individual, I have been seeking that transformation my whole life.” 

– Anna Maria Maiolino

 
 
 

“I’ve made you an art friend,” Charlie texted as I was putting the boys to bed. 8 p.m. in Raleigh, I quickly did the math— it looked like Charlie was still struggling to adjust to Greenwich Mean Time. In the 45 minutes it took me to get the boys asleep (not always a walk in the park), an email had gone out connecting me with my new friend, Sofia Victorino. Two days later, I pulled up to the Whitechapel Gallery and was delighted to be met not only by Sofia, Daskalopoulos Director of Education and Public Programmes, but also Lydia Yee, Chief Curator.

For an hour, Sofia, Lydia and I chatted over coffee/tea as I learned more about their robust programing, the London art scene, and all the places I needed to visit while I was there. Then, although it was greedy of me to take up even more of their time, we spent another hour walking through the incredible contemporary art of Italian-born Brazilian citizen Anna Maria Maiolino. 

Exhibition View, Anna Maria Maiolino: Making Love Revolutionary. Whitechapel Gallery.

Exhibition View
Anna Maria Maiolino: Making Love Revolutionary
Whitechapel Gallery

 
 
 

Sem título 2, Anna Maria Maiolino.

Sem título 2
Anna Maria Maiolino

Sem título 2, Anna Maria Maiolino.

Sem título 2
Anna Maria Maiolino

 
 
 

Entrevidas, Anna Maria Maiolino.

Entrevidas
Anna Maria Maiolino

 
 
 

Glu Glu Glu, Anna Maria Maiolino.

Glu Glu Glu
Anna Maria Maiolino

Entre Pausas, Anna Maria Maiolino.

Entre Pausas
Anna Maria Maiolino

 
 

As I drank in Maiolino’s first UK retrospective, I was mesmerized by the breadth of her creations and her ability to subtly (and occasionally not so subtly) address issues of inequality, oppression, and censorship. At the same time, much of Maiolino’s work also spoke to the undeniable power of love and the strength of motherhood. Making Love Revolutionary spanned two floors and six decades. Present among her 150 pieces were her labor-intensive works: unfired clay and exceptional cast pieces… photos and video of her past performances… In Entrevidas (the most powerful to me), Maiolino walks blindfolded through an area filled with eggs, a delicate dance to address fragility, complexity, and political corruption.  Her version of walking on eggshells—or trying so hard not to. I was equally moved by Maiolino’s small compositions on paper… her "kitchen table art”… her refusal to stop creating even when life and motherhood required greater domesticity. I could see through her work the power of art to transform—not only the creator, but also all those who choose to truly see and be with it.

What a lovely time I had at Whitechapel Gallery… Charlie had not just introduced me to one amazing woman in the arts but three—well done, Charlie!

 
 
 

Exhibition View, Anna Maria Maiolino: Making Love Revolutionary. Whitechapel Gallery.

Exhibition View
Anna Maria Maiolino: Making Love Revolutionary
Whitechapel Gallery