“Not For Sale”

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ME contemporary will present its second group show, titled ”Not For Sale.’ Each of the six artists featured in the gallery this year has been invited to exhibit a piece from his/her own collection, which as the title of the show implies, is not for sale.

In a time of unstable global economy and shaky markets whose success or downfall greatly affect the art world, ME contemporary’s newest exhibition looks introspectively at this relationship and challenges the traditional role of the art gallery as a commercial space. The exhibition will be on view through July 3.

‘Not For Sale’ poses the question: ‘What makes a piece of art off limit?’ To the artist, the decision is often of a personal nature – a strong emotional connection to the work. To the market, gallery and collector, the experience of desiring a work of art that is off-limits can be both highly exciting and incredibly frustrating. Utilizing the traditional art-historical tool of story-telling, ‘Not For Sale’ explores some of these reasons by exhibiting the artwork alongside a narrative inspired by each artist.

The displayed works in ‘Not For Sale’ range from an early piece by Ursula Reuter Christiansen upon which her teacher, Joseph Beuys placed the finishing touches, to an intimate music video recorded by Nin Brudermann to her husband, during her stay aboard an ice breaker in connection with the project, ’12 O’clock in London.’ Also exhibited is Morten Viskum’s first painting, created by ‘the hand that would not stop painting,’ and a work from Marco Evaristti’s ‘Crash’ project from 1995, painted with the blood of Bangkok traffic accident victims. Artist Milica Tomic’s most prized pieces are empty sketchbooks whose pages, filled with drawings of  victims of the Srebrenica Massacre, remained with the relatives who described their loved ones from memory. Mathias Kessler shows a photograph of an amorphous shape surrounded by white. Upon closer inspection, the amorphous form reveals itself as an obese body mired in thick rice pudding. Each work is followed by a story of the work’s origins and an explanation why the specific piece is not up for sale. In this way, the exhibition also provides a glimpse into the artists’ psyches – into their way of working and how they view their own art.

ME contemporary