Solaris Chronicles

Atelier de la Mécanique, LUMA Arles Campus
Parc des Ateliers, Arles, France

From 6 July – 28 September 2014, LUMA Arles will present the second phase of Solaris Chronicles, an exhibition that examines the creative vision of Frank Gehry through a series of artistic interventions and projects that bridge art and architecture. Commissioned and produced by the LUMA Foundation, the exhibition is on view in the Atelier de la Mécanique, located on the 20-acre (10 ha) LUMA Arles campus. The presentation will feature new contributions by Cai Guo-Qiang and David Lynch evolving around large-scale models of a number of the architect’s seminal works. A collaboration among artists, Solaris Chronicles is emblematic of LUMA Arles, a new institution dedicated to creative exchange and artistic production.

An ever-evolving exhibition, the second phase of Solaris Chronicles will continue to explore the ways in which varying forms of visual art shape and influence the spaces in which they are presented. David Lynch shows a new series of photographs in response to Gehry’s work, and Cai Guo-Qiang conceived a unique firework within the premises of the exhibition on July 6th. Further to Frank Gehry’s architectural models of the Loyola Law School and Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, the Guggenheim Museums in Bilbao and Abu Dhabi, Brooklyn-Atlantic Yards project, and the National Art Museum of China, there will be two new additions: the new Facebook West Campus Building in Menlo Park, USA and the Quanzhou Museum of Contemporary Art (QMOCA), which is being designed for China.

These large-scale models of Gehry’s work are situated within a changing mise-en-scène created by artists, presenting an exhibition in constant motion. Solaris Chronicles opened with interventions by John Baldessari Pierre Boulez, Liam Gillick, Philippe Parreno, and Tino Sehgal to which the new group of artists is being added. These and other artistic gestures are conceived as homages, extensions and revisions. The exhibition aims to transform the usual relationship between an architect and artists, offering other possibilities for collaboration between practitioners in the two fields. It also reflects Gehry’s own cross-disciplinary range, and his collaborations with musicians, filmmakers and writers. Solaris Chronicles is curated by Liam Gillick, Hans Ulrich Obrist and Philippe Parreno and is produced by Asad Raza.

“Solaris Chronicles is a unique collaboration of artists and curators centered on works of great architecture, and it challenges the traditional notion of an exhibition,” said Maja Hoffmann, Executive Producer of LUMA Arles and President of the LUMA Foundation. “Solaris Chronicles is a manifestation of the LUMA Arles mission—it provides an opportunity to create artist-driven experiences across disciplines and allows visitors to engage with art in new ways.”

The first phase of Solaris Chronicles, which opened in April 2014, coincided with the groundbreaking for the new Arts Resource Center designed by Frank Gehry – the centerpiece of the LUMA Arles campus. The first phase of the show includes music composed by Pierre Boulez and two works by Philippe Parreno: a series of flashing marquees and a work that simulates the sun that travels across the gallery. Tino Sehgal created choreography for the movement of the models of Gehry’s builidings, which produces an ever-changing tableau of encounters and juxtapositions. These works will continue to be part of the exhibition together with the new ones being added.

Upon viewing the first incarnation of Solaris Chronicles, Gehry said “It is fascinating for me to see the interplay of my models with the work of other artists. Solaris Chronicles, and LUMA Arles itself, demonstrates the extraordinary creativity that is unleashed when artists from across disciplines work together. These models have a sense of movement I couldn’t have imagined – I never thought I would have the opportunity to see them dance.”

Solaris Chronicles
With
Frank Gehry, John Baldessari, Nicolas Becker and Djengo Hartlap, Pierre Boulez, Liam Gillick,Cai Guo-Qiang, David Lynch, Greg Lynn, Philippe Parreno, Asad Raza, Tino Sehgal

Curated by Liam Gillick, Hans Ulrich Obrist and Philippe Parreno, in collaboration with the LUMA Arles Core Team.
Produced by Asad Raza with Marc Baettig.
Commissioned and produced by Maja Hoffmann / LUMA Foundation.