This volume documents two parallel solo shows by Angela Bulloch and Maria Zerres, framed by the notion of entropy.
This volume accompanies the eponymous exhibition at the Sharjah Art Museum—two parallel solo shows by Angela Bulloch and Maria Zerres brought together under one title, framed by the notion of entropy. Likewise, the publication takes the form of two separate but related exhibition catalogues, each leading toward the book's center.
A key term that characterizes the movement toward chaos, entropy appears in a variety of fields such as physics, probability theory, sociology and information technology. Within contemporary art, entropy has emerged to refer to installations often associated with representations of order, disorder and information, and their homogeneity. Through the works of Angela Bulloch and Maria Zerres, suggestions of entropy transpire in different ways and through their respective artistic forms. Inherent to both practices is a representation of a movement towards chaos.
Angela Bulloch works with sculpture, installation, and sound. Her interdisciplinary practice spans forms that manifest her interest in systems, patterns, and rules, and the creative territory between mathematics and aesthetics. She proposes that this experience can be “subliminally programmed”; her work stages that which is beyond our grasp. Maria Zerres's paintings explore the aesthetic languages of abstraction and figuration. Her canvases play with the use of space by emphasizing the blank space of the canvas and overpainted areas that emerge from improvisation and result in compositions that bridge abstract and figurative painting.
Published following the eponymous exhibition at Sharjah Art Museum, from March 10 to May 31, 2016.
Angela Bulloch (born 1966 in Rainy River, Ontario, Canada, lives and works in Berlin) is an artist working across many forms such as sculpture, installation'and sound. In her work, Bulloch adopts an interdisciplinary approach, incorporating references from a'wide array of sources, be it history, film or music. Bulloch's works span many forms, but they all manifest her interest in systems, patterns and rules, and the creative territory between mathematics and aesthetics. A common thread in her artistic practice is the manipulation of codes and a sense of control. Whether that code is music- or text-based, the artist plays with and orchestrates our perception and experience of art. She proposes that this experience can be “subliminally programmed” and her work stages that which is beyond our grasp. Bulloch is affiliated with the generation of the "Young British Artists".
The paintings of Maria Zerres (born 1961 in Linden, Germany, lives and works in Traunreuth, Germany, and New York) explore the aesthetic languages of abstraction and figuration. In her work, Zerres is wary of realistic and familiar depictions. Instead, she conveys emotions through her paintings with the use of bold, gestural brushstrokes and colours. Her canvases play with the use of space by emphasising painted and over-painted areas that emerge out of improvisation and result in compositions that bridge abstract and figurative painting.
