For the blind man in the dark room looking for the black cat that isnt there

Culturgest is pleased to present two new exhibitions, running in Lisbon until 29 August: the group showFor the blind man in the dark room looking for the black cat that isn't there and the survey exhibitionNasreen Mohamedi: Notes. Reflections on Indian Modernism.

Our story begins in Ancient Greece, with Socrates announcing, "I know that I know nothing." Clearly, confusion has always been at the heart of wisdom. Centuries later comes a statement many have attributed to Charles Darwin: "A mathematician is like a blind man in a dark room looking for a black cat that isn't there." As a scientist committed to cataloguing, explaining, and drawing a clear picture of nature, Darwin mocked the mathematician's inability to describe the physical world in anything but abstract and speculative terms. But artists also understand the world in speculative terms. With their help, we can learn to enjoy the experience of not-knowing and the playfulness of being in the dark.

For the blind man… celebrates the speculative nature of knowledge and proposes that curiosity matters more than understanding. While the artists featured in the exhibition all share our common urge to understand the world, they are also eager to keep art separate from explanation. As speculations, the works on view each allude to a search for knowledge, while insisting that art is not a code that needs cracking. Embodying a spirit of playful non-knowledge, unlearning, and productive confusion, For the blind man… is dedicated to the inquisitive mind and to the pleasures of finding our way in the dark.

Participating artists: Anonymous, Dave Hullfish Bailey, Marcel Broodthaers, Sarah Crowner, Mariana Castillo Deball, Eric Duyckaerts, Ayşe Erkmen, Hans-Peter Feldmann, Peter Fischli & David Weiss, Rachel Harrison, Giorgio Morandi, Matt Mullican, Bruno Munari, Nashashibi/Skaer, Falke Pisano, Jimmy Raskin, Frances Stark, Rosemarie Trockel, Patrick van Caeckenbergh, David William.
Curated by Anthony Huberman, this exhibition is organised by the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis in collaboration with Culturgest, de appel art centre in Amsterdam, the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London, and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Detroit.

For the blind man in the dark room looking for the black cat that isn't there
Kurator: Anthony Huberman
Künstler: Anonymous, Dave Hullfish Bailey, Marcel Broodthaers, Sarah Crowner, Mariana Castillo Deball, Eric Duyckaerts, Ayse Erkmen, Hans-Peter Feldmann, Fischli / Weiss, Rachel Harrison, Giorgio Morandi, Matt Mullican, Bruno Munari, Rosalind Nashashibi, Lucy Skaer, Falke Pisano, Jimmy Raskin, Frances Stark, Rosemarie Trockel, Patrick van Caeckenbergh, David William