Abigail Reynolds is awarded the next BMW Art Journey. British artist to visit lost libraries of the Silk Road.

Munich/Basel. Art Basel and BMW are pleased to
present British artist Abigail Reynolds (represented
by ROKEBY, London) as the next BMW Art Journey winner. The
international jury selected her unanimously from a shortlist of three
artists whose works were exhibited in the Discoveries sector at this
year’s Art Basel show in Hong Kong. 

Abigail Reynolds’ artistic practice is closely linked to books and
libraries. Having studied English Literature at Oxford University, she
frequently draws inspiration from literary essays and figures to
imagine places and moments from the past, present and future. Given
this deep connection to libraries and literature, it is no surprise
that Reynolds’ BMW Art Journey project for 2016/17, “The Ruins
of Time: Lost Libraries of the Silk Road,”
will allow her
to connect the complex religious and secular narratives of Europe and
Asia and to expand her current interests and working methods through
an extensive multi-continent series of visits to historic and fabled
repositories of books. The artist will trace sixteen sites of
libraries lost to political conflicts, looters, natural catastrophes
and war. Conceptually, Abigail Reynolds intends to explore blanks and
voids, with the library symbolising the impossibility of encompassing
all knowledge. “The research I have done towards this journey
privileges the known,” the artist stated in her proposal for the Art
Journey, “but it will bring me to question what we understand as
knowledge. I do not want to embark on a history lesson, but on a
philosophical journey.” 

Along the way, Reynolds will gather representations in various forms:
3D scans, photography, microscope imagery, written text, plans or
cataloguing systems. Based on this extensive research, she intends to
create a cluster of book forms, prints, collages and moving-image
works, the latter being her first attempt to work in this medium.
Images, texts and other documents originating from the experience
will, after its conclusion, be included in a book – thus completing a
journey that both starts and ends with the institution of the library. 

The experts conducting the judging were Richard
Armstrong
, Director Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York;
Claire Hsu, Director Asia Art Archive, Hong Kong;
Matthias Mühling, Director Städtische Galerie im
Lenbachhaus, Munich; Bose
Krishnamachari
, President Kochi-Muziris Biennale, India;
and Pauline J. Yao, Curator Visual Art M+, Hong Kong. 

In a joint statement, the five-member international jury said about
their unanimous selection: “Abigail Reynolds submitted a monumental,
poetic and memorable proposal. Her articulate project links the
contemporary to ancient history by researching the phenomenon of
destroyed libraries, which has existed for thousands of years. Her
journey will take her along segments of the Silk Road, which has not
lost any of its political and cultural resonance. It will be
fascinating to see where this ambitious journey – which is so
thoroughly rooted in her practice of translating literary materials
into visual language – will take her, both physically and creatively.” 

In addition to Abigail Reynolds, the shortlisted artists from the
Discoveries sector for emerging artists at Art Basel in Hong Kong
included: Newsha Tavakolian with Thomas Erben Gallery, New York, and
Alvin Zafra presented by Artinformal, Mandaluyong City. 

The BMW Art Journey is a global collaboration between Art Basel and
BMW, created to recognize and support emerging artists worldwide. This
unique award is open to artists who are exhibiting in the Discoveries
and Positions sectors in the Hong Kong and Miami Beach shows of Art
Basel, respectively. Two judging panels comprised of internationally
renowned experts meet first to select a shortlist of three artists
from the sector, who are then invited to submit proposals for a
journey aimed to further develop their ideas and artistic work. The
jury reconvenes to choose a winner from the three proposals. The next
round of selections for the BMW Art Journey will take place during Art
Basel in Miami Beach.  

BMW is a global partner of Art Basel and has supported Art Basel’s
three shows in Basel, Miami Beach and Hong Kong for many years. 

Art Basel and BMW will collaborate with the artists to document the
journey and share it with a broader public through print publications,
online and social media.

For further information about the artists and the project, please visit:
www.bmw-art-journey.com

For further questions please contact:
Dr Thomas Girst

BMW Group Corporate and Intergovernmental Affairs

Head of Cultural Engagement

Telephone: +49-89-382-24753

www.press.bmwgroup.com;

E-mail: presse@bmw.de

 

Dorothee Dines

Art Basel

Head of Media Relations

Telephone: + 41 58 206 27 06

Email: dorothee.dines@artbasel.com

 

About Abigail Reynolds
Based in Cornwall, UK,
Abigail Reynolds read English Literature at Oxford University before
pursuing Fine Art at Goldsmiths University. Her interest in books
prompts her collages, sculptures, films and printmaking. The ideas
driving Reynolds’ work are based on images from reportage photography
books, her interest in networks of association and how our sense of
time is affected by technology. Represented by ROKEBY (London), she
has exhibited at art institutions and galleries in London, Vienna, Los
Angeles, Seattle, Berlin and Eindhoven.

About Art Basel

Art Basel stages the world’s premier art shows for Modern and
contemporary works, sited in Basel, Miami Beach, and Hong Kong.
Defined by its host city and region, each show is unique, which is
reflected in its participating galleries, artworks presented, and the
content of parallel programming produced in collaboration with local
institutions for each edition. In addition to ambitious stands
featuring leading galleries from around the globe, each show’s
exhibition sectors spotlight the latest developments in the visual
arts, offering visitors new ideas and new inspiration. For further
information, please visit artbasel.com 

About BMW Group’s Cultural Commitment
For almost
50 years now, the BMW Group has initiated and engaged in over 100
cultural cooperations worldwide. The company places the main focus of
its long-term commitment on contemporary and modern art, classical
music and jazz as well as architecture and design. In 1972, three
large-scale paintings were created by the artist Gerhard Richter
specifically for the foyer of the BMW Group’s Munich headquarters.
Since then, artists such as Andy Warhol, Jeff Koons, Daniel Barenboim,
Jonas Kaufmann and architect Zaha Hadid have co-operated with BMW.
Currently, female artist Cao Fei from China and American John
Baldessari are creating the next two vehicles for the BMW Art Car
Collection. Besides co-initiatives, such as BMW Tate Live, the BMW Art
Journey and the “Opera for All” concerts in Berlin, Munich and London,
the company also partners with leading museums and art fairs as well
as orchestras and opera houses around the world. The BMW Group takes
absolute creative freedom in all its cultural activities – as this
initiative is as essential for producing groundbreaking artistic work
as it is for major innovations in a successful business. 

Further information: www.bmwgroup.com/culture
and www.bmwgroup.com/culture/overview  

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and Rolls-Royce, the BMW Group is the world’s leading premium
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