David Medalla's 'The Aromatic Mandala' in Berlin
MANILA, Philippines - Berlin-based General Public and Discoteca Flaming Star presents “The Aromatic Mandala” featuring Filipino artist David Medalla. The show is curated by Lian Ladia and Jerlyn Jareunpoon.
“The Aromatic Mandala” is a development of David Medalla’s continuous explorations of olfactory sculpture, participatory art, impromptus and ephemeral environments. Rooted from an early work, “Window of papiers d’armenie” which he created in his room at No.17 Rue des Canettes in Paris in 196l, it then developed to be his first bio-kinetic sculpture, “The Smoke Machine” in 1963 (Redfern Gallery, London), as well as an actualized olfactory environment through a “golden incense burner” in 1963, followed by an “impromptu” that happened in 1990 at Times Square in New York City.
In collaboration with General Public, Discoteca Flaming Star and Johannes Paul Raether, the program kicks off Zeig Her, Führ Vor, Tausch Ein, a three-day performative exhibition/situation featuring performances and acts, alongside images and objects. This will integrate discussion into presentations as a means of opening up a discursive space.
David Medalla’s work stretches back to the Sixties when he co-founded Signals Gallery in London and presented international kinetic art, among other art forms. He initiated the “Exploding Galaxies” which mediated relationships between international artists and was a pioneer in participatory art, his work highly resonated with (was highly influential in) the works of Conceptual artists from Brazil (Tropicália/Tropicalismo movement with Lygia Clark and Hélio Oiticica) the Exploding Galaxies.
Aside from his deeply rooted underground core work on the avant-garde scene of London, he became increasingly known for a series of works he did titled, “Cloud Canyons”: thick bubbles that slowly come from a central machine which produces random shapes that glisten like rainbows when perceived by light.
His work was included in Harald Szeemann’s exhibition “Weiss auf Weiss” (1966) and “Live in Your Head: When Attitudes Become Form” (1969) and in the Documenta 5 exhibition in 1972 in Kassel.
Marcel Duchamp honored him with a “medallic” object, as a tribute to his name. In 1997, he was a DAAD artist in Berlin. Very recently, he has exhibited at the New Museum in New York where the curator hailed his “Cloud Canyons No. 14” as an iconic sculpture in contemporary art.
For further information and images, contact Lian Ladia at lian@plantingrice.com. Other inquiries with regard to Zeig Her, Führ Vor, Tausch Ein, e-mail flamingstar@snafu.de. E-mail General Public at info@generalpublic.de or visit www. generalpublic.de
