To mixed reviews, dOCUMENTA (13) opened in Kassel, Germany on June 9. Curator Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev’s massive undertaking incorporates two hundred artists from fifty nations and a satellite gallery in Kabul. The exhibition dwells on the postwar, reflected in both its locations. The show’s range of artistic forms and subjects is impressive, perhaps even overwhelming. With works as apparently disconnected as ancient Afghani figurines, 20th century anti-fascist weavings and a compost heap garden, it leaves viewers the task of relating disparate reference points. The show runs until September 16.
Mariana Castillo Deball, Uncomfortable Objects, 2012. Photo by: Roman Marz. Courtesy of the artist.
Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev, Michael Boßdorf and Jimmie Durham, Apple tree planting, October 26, 2011. Photo by: Nils Klinger.
Theaster Gates, 12 Ballads for the Huguenot House, 2012. Photo by: Nils Klinger. Courtesy of the artist.
Giuseppe Penone, Ideas of Stone, 2004/2010. Photo by: Roman Mensing
Fusun Onur, Untitled, 1993-2012. Photo by: Anders Sune Berg. Courtesy of the artist.
Shinro Othake, MON CHERI: A Self-Portrait as a Scrapped Shed, 2012. Photo by: Nils Klinger. Courtesy of the artist.
Javier Tellez, Altrauds Cave, 2012. Photo by: Henrik Stromberg. Courtesy of the artist.
Nalini Malani, In Search of Vanished Blood, 2012. Photo by: Anders Sune Berg. By courtesy of Burger Collection; Galerie Lelong, Paris; Arario Gallery.
Clemens von Wedemeyer, Muster (Rushes), 2012. Photo by: Henrik Stromberg. Courtesy of the artist.
