ZURICH.- Galerie Eva Presenhuber is presenting Ugo Rondinone’s exhibition "the water is a poem unwritten by the air no. the earth is a poem unwritten by the fire" at Paris’ Petit Palais, including the world premiere of the six-channel video installation burn to shine installed in the museum’s North Pavilion.
In the late spring of 2020, I started to work on the six-screen video installation 'burn to shine.' It’s the third time that I am collaborating with the art producer Corinne Castel. It has been inspiring working with Corinne and I continue to learn a lot from her. The captivating choreography for burn to shine was developed by Fouad Boussouf, a Franco-Moroccan and dancer, who for this film blended traditional Moroccan trance dance with modern dance. — Ugo Rondinone.
Ugo Rondinone’s exhibition at the Petit Palais comprises two ensembles of works enhanced by a new video installation. Revolving around human bodies in contact with the elements and nature, these works are in keeping with the multiple families of works produced by the artist since the late 1980s. Earth, sky, air, water and fire, associated with beings at rest or in movement, are invoked in the fullness of their spiritual dimension.
'burn to shine' features 12 drummers and 18 dancers dancing in an unnamed desert around a fire from sunset to sunrise. The initial inspiration for this new work came from a poem by John Giorno: 'You Got to Burn to Shine,' which itself comes from a Buddhist saying describing the coexistence of life and death. This is similar to the much older Greek myth of the phoenix, the immortal bird that cyclically regenerates. According to the legend, a phoenix lived for 500 years. Just before its time was up the phoenix built a nest and set itself on fire. Then at sunrise a new phoenix arose from the ashes. — Ugo Rondinone
The exhibition is made possible through the collaboration and support of Galerie Eva Presenhuber, Zurich; Esther Schipper, Berlin; Sadie Coles HQ, London; Gladstone, New York; kamel mennour, Paris; Kukje Gallery, Seoul.
