Renée Green & Rirkrit Tiravanija "Renée Green & Rirkrit Tiravanija"

From 26 January through 24 March, 1996, De Appel showed two solo exhibitions: Certain Miscellanies by Renée Green on the first floor and works by Rirkrit Tiravanija on the second floor. Both artists are based in New York and both travel a great deal all over the world, realizing their projects. What connects Green and Tiravanija is their relationship in working method. Their ways of settling into a local environment and culture, however, are different. Renée Green's Afro-American roots set the stage for an analysis of the various components of a given culture. An almost studious unravelling branches out into a new network of ramifications and her own storylines, Green saying that her attitude is 'pessimistic in intellect, but optimistic in will'. Green has written film scripts and books. In De Appel, different storylines from previous installations were reworked into a new configuration. Certain Miscellanies consisted of photographs, scenes, furniture and a CD-ROM the public could look through. One of the spaces showed activities of the FAM, a company which produces books, films and exhibitions. Rirkrit Tiravanija not only has his roots in South America and England, but particularly in Thailand. For him the context, the 'raw materials' of an exhibition, are broken down into individual and social aspects. In order to transcend the barriers between these aspects while preparing for a group show, he might appear as a Thai chef, preparing and serving the ingredients of a communal meal. Then, the exhibition culture itself, part and parcel to major international exhibitions such as the big Biennials, becomes the breeding ground, the topsoil nourishing Tiravanija's work. Tiravanija installed a bar where visitors could replenish themselves during their silent, meandering observation of the exhibition with a drink and perhaps a chat. Tiravanija had also reconstructed a rectangular 'box' as an alternative for an exhibition space for showing videos. Accompanying the exhibition the following catalogues were published: Renée Green: Certain Miscellanies. Some Documents, 1996. De Appel & Daad, Berlin. Concept and text: Renée Green and interview by Isabelle Graw. English. Bio- & bibliography included. 164 Pages: 37 f.c., 119 b.w., 17 x 24 cm. Hardcover. Design: Renée Green & Irma Boom. BEST BOOK DESIGN AWARD 1997. ISBN 90 73501 29 6. SOLD OUT. Rirkrit Tiravanija: Supermarket, 1998. De Appel, Amsterdam; Migros Museum für Gegenwartkunst, Zürich; Wexner Center for the Arts, The Ohio State University, Columbus; Le Consortium, Centre d'art contemporain Dijon. Text: Rein Wolfs, Sherri Geldin, Saskia Bos, Eric Troncy, Ami Barak, Gavin Brown, Elizabeth Peyton, Hans-Ulrich Obrist & Hou Hanru & Navin Rawanchaikul & Rirkrit Tiravanija, Rochelle Steiner, Francesco Bonami, Thomas Kellein, Douglas Gordon, Udo Kittelmann, Laura Hoptman, Franz Ackermann, Josef Müller & Fritz Riefle, Jörn Schafaff, Bice Curiger, Jacqueline Burckhardt & Dieter von Graffenried, Dorothea Strauss, Joao Fernandes, Barbara Steiner/Andreas Spiegl. Deutsch & English. 303 Pages: 150 f.c.. 17 x 24 cm. Hardcover. Design: Rirkrit Tiravanija, Frank Hyde-Antwi. Editing: Jean-Noël Jetzer. ISBN3-907064-07-0. € 30,-.