MOCA CLEVELAND (2016)

New York -- Equator Production is pleased to announce its latest participation in Wall to Wall: Carpets by Artists at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) Cleveland, exhibiting from September 23, 2016 through January 8, 2017.

Curated by Dr. Cornelia Lauf, Wall to Wall traces the long and distinguished history of the artist’s carpet, from Raphael and Peter Paul Rubens, to Pablo Picasso, Fernand Léger, and Joan Mirò. Wall to Wall is distinctive in its handling of the artist’s carpet, and departs from the traditional ethnographically-centered critique. The exhibition elevates both the medium and the works to be viewed as the essential elements of modern art they are. Revealing the advances in contemporary art practice through this ancient medium, Wall to Wall challenges the separation of art from craft and elucidates the rich history of weaving as an art form.

Wall to Wall begins with Alighiero Boetti, one of the first contemporary artists to employ craft traditions in foreign ethnic contexts as a form of readymade. Exploring the interconnectivity between Eastern and Western art styles, this exhibition also highlights the work of Ken Lum, creator of the Equator-produced carpet,  Path from Shallow Love to Deeper Love. Lum’s labyrinthian designs extend beyond the architectural forms and patterns traditional to one area and traverse the globe in their influence and depth. Joseph Kosuth’s conceptual pieces strip emotion from language creating new linguistic objects and relationships, while Liam Gillick calls into question the functionality versus form of architectural space using the blueprint for Margarete Schuette-Lihotzky’s famous 1926 Frankfurt Kitchen - all in the form of carpet.

Constructivist influences resonate within Juliao Sarmento’s Blocks, while Alan Belcher’s round Dog Chew Rag is a contemporary totem, using an Algonquin shield within a sculptural mode. Heimo Zobernig’s Carpet Rug is a dimensional exploration of innovative design and typography. Ilya and Emilia Kabakov boldly create a new canvas on carpet with pure color and fluid abstraction. A longstanding artist, Rosemarie Trockel’s Plus-Minus carpet joyfully embraces flat patterning and pushes the boundaries of the intersection between design, capitalism, and craft.

Wall to Wall is an exceptional chronicle of an underrepresented and vastly significant medium, and Equator Productions is proud to be so thoroughly represented.

Artists: Faig Ahmed, Polly Apfelbaum, Stefano Arienti, Alan Belcher, Guillaume Bijl, Pierre Bismuth, Alighiero Boetti, Mircea Cantor, Flavio Favelli, Liam Gillick, Christian Jankowski, Ilya and Emilia Kabakov, Alexandra Kehayoglou, Joseph Kosuth, Ken Lum, Marilyn Minter, Jonathan Monk, Sarah Morris, Paulina Olowska, Jorge Pardo, Richard Prince, Julião Sarmento, Nedko Solakov, Rosemarie Trockel, Franz West, Christopher Wool, Heimo Zobernig.

MOCA Cleveland’s hours are Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, 11 – 6pm; Friday, 11 – 9pm; Saturday, Sunday, 11 – 5 pm; closed Monday.

MOCA Cleveland, founded in 1968, is a leading force in Northeast Ohio’s cultural scene and is recognized nationally and internationally for its presentation of contemporary art and ideas. For more information on MOCA and all of its programming, visit www.MOCAcleveland.org or call 216-421-8671.

Equator Production · New York, NY · info@equatorproduction.com