Labels: andrew lamprecht, Blank, Cape Town Biennale, jonathan garnham

The 2nd Cape Town Biennale will be officially opened by Native intellectual and writer Ronald Suresh-Roberts at 6 p.m. at blank projects tonight.

After the enormously successful 1st Cape Town Biennale in 2006, curated by Kathy Coates, Executive Director Andrew Lamprecht decided to make the biennale an annual event in recognition of Cape Town's reputation as a city that moves twice as fast as the rest of the world. This year's biennale will consist of three consecutive "one night" exhibitions, curated by Lamprecht and Coates.

The opening exhibition, on Friday 14 September, will consist of a tribute to Suresh-Roberts's groundbreaking study of Thabo Mbeki, Fit to Govern: The Native Intelligence of Thabo Mbeki, published earlier this year. This will be followed by an exhibition of invited international artists on Wednesday , 19 September, curated by Kathy Coates. On 26 September Andrew Lamprecht will curate an exhibition of local artists. All these events will open at 6 p.m.

In response to queries about the choice of the opening speaker and event, Lamprecht commented, "Thabo Mbeki embodies an ideal of intellectual leadership that should stand as a model for the world. Suresh Roberts has highlighted his unique approach to the problems of our times which as a Native curator I find attractive and thought-provoking. I have no interest in 'illiberal' approaches to art-making and the control of the South African art market. This biennale highlights a truly locally-grounded approach to art within an international context."

The biennale runs until 28 September.

Labels: andrew lamprecht, Cape Town Biennale, listings, Ronald Suresh-Roberts

So this run of pretty confusing and, dare I say, idiosyncratic shows at Blank is continuing. In the series of one night shows curated by Lily Luz and Carrie Timlin, this was probably the oddest and most inscrutable. Andrew Lamprecht, theorist to the stars, was the artist this time. He claimed that it was a prelude to another show, a teaser. Which is fair enough. But I must admit I just didn't get it. The show consisted of a contract on the one wall with a man called Jacques Rousseau, apparently a poet, exchanging his soul for a carton of Marlboro Lights. A good exchange, I'd say, excepting the contract had not been signed yet. On the long wall was a series of photocopies of what seemed to be alchemical illustrations. On the third wall were the certified results of Andrew, Carrie and Lily's thankfully negative Aids tests. I just didn't follow the connections, unless it was purposefully inchoate. All I can say is either Andrew has jumped the shark with this one, letting his reputation carry him, or the follow up show is going to be an awesome penny-drop thing. I hope it's the latter.

Labels: andrew lamprecht, Blank

Labels: andrew lamprecht, Blank, listings