EVA Announces Full Artist List

Alexander Apóstol (in collaboration with Rafael Ortega), CONTRATO COLECTIVO CROMOSATURADO, 2012. Image courtesy the artists. Design Pony Ltd.

38th EVA International
April 14 – July 8, 2018
http://www.eva.ie

EVA International – Ireland’s Biennial, is pleased to announce the 56 artists who will participate in the 2018 edition:

Inji Aflatoun

1. 1924 – d. 1989 Egypt

Peju Alatise

1. 1975 Nigeria

Malala Andrialavidrazana

b.1971 Madagascar/France

Alexander Apóstol

1. 1969 Venezuela/Spain

Artists’ Campaign to Repeal the Eighth Amendment

1. 2015 Ireland

Jaime Ávila

1. 1968 Colombia

Akiq AW

b.1976 Indonesia

Patricia Belli

1. 1964 Nicaragua

Colin Booth

1. 1951 UK

Lee Bul

b.1964 South Korea

José Castrellón

1. 1980 Panama

Viriya Chotpanyavisut

1. 1982 Thailand

Steven Cohen

1. 1962 South Africa/France

Bruce Conner

1. 1933 – d. 2008 USA

Juan Dávila

1. 1946 Chile/Australia

Patrizio di Massimo

1. 1983 Italy/UK

Roy Dib

1. 1983 Lebanon

Rita Duffy

1. 1959 N. Ireland

Adrian Duncan and Feargal Ward

1. 1978 Ireland/Germany
2. 1976 Ireland/Germany

John Duncan

1. 1968 N. Ireland

Juan Pablo Echeverri

b.1978 Colombia

Gonzalo Fuenmayor

1. 1977 Colombia/USA

John Gerrard

1. 1974 Ireland/Austria

Dominique Gonzalez Foerster

1. 1965 France/Brazil

Alejandro González Iñárritu

b.1963 Mexico/USA

Laurent Grasso

1. 1972 France

Eileen Gray

1. 1878 – d. 1976 Ireland/France

Claire Halpin

1. 1973 Ireland

Sanja Iveković

1. 1949 Croatia

Mainie Jellett

1. 1897 – d. 1944 Ireland

Uchechukwu James-Iroha

1. 1972 Nigeria

Seán Keating

1. 1889 – d. 1977 Ireland

Sam Keogh

1. 1985 Ireland

Marie-Claire Messouma Manlanbien

1. 1990 France

Napoles Marty

1. 1982 Cuba/Spain

Francis Matthews

1. 1981 Ireland

Julie Merriman

1. 1963 Ireland

Kevin Mooney

1. 1973 Ireland

Locky Morris

1. 1960 N. Ireland

Isabel Nolan

1. 1974 Ireland

Masahito Ono

1. 1983 Japan/USA

David Pérez Karmadavis

1. 1976 Dominican Republic

John Rainey

1. 1985 N. Ireland

Dan Rees

1. 1982 UK

Marlon T. Riggs

1. 1957 – d. 1994 USA

Sutthirat Supaparinya

1. 1973 Thailand

Beto Shwafaty

1. 1977 Brazil

Mina Talaee

1. 1985 Iran

Jenna Tas

1. 1933 The Netherlands

Darn Thorn

1. 1975 Ireland

Top Lista Nadrealista

1. 1984 – 1991 Yugoslavia

Nicolás Vizcaíno

1. 1991 Colombia

Ian Wieczorek

1. 1958 UK/Ireland

Liu Xiaodong

1. 1963 China

Trevor Yeung

1. 1988 Hong Kong

The 38th edition of EVA International takes its starting point from the painting Night Candles are Burnt Out (1927) by Irish artist Seán Keating. The painting presents an allegory of the Irish psyche at the advent of the construction of Ardnacrusha, a hydroelectric dam, built that same year on the border of County Limerick. Ardnacrusha was a symbol of early twentieth century engineering, which accelerated the Irish economy and radically shifted the society of the new state. Keating’s painting depicts a host of characters set against the backdrop of the construction site, whose lives are set to change by the dawning of a new era of technological progress.

Included in the exhibition, Night Candles are Burnt Out takes part in the dialogue of contemporary and historical artworks addressing narratives on nationhood, electricity, and the metaphors of power. Rather than a monolithic thematic exhibition, the biennial exhibition proposes itself as a kaleidoscope of essayistic, retinal and bodily narratives of artistic presentation, featuring: new commissions by Malala Andrialavidrazana (Madagascar/France), Sam Keogh (Ireland), and John Rainey (N. Ireland); large-scale installations by John Gerrard (Ireland/Austria) and Sanja Iveković (Croatia); works by modernist visionaries of the 1930s Mainie Jellett (Ireland) and Eileen Gray (Ireland/France); and the experimental approaches of artists from the late twentieth century, including Bruce Conner (USA) and Locky Morris (Ireland/N. Ireland). The generational scope follows a proposition by curator Inti Guerrero of thinking the biennial as a ‘temporary museum’ where the past is reframed to enable a critical perspective on the present.

The 38th EVA International has no title, breaking with a tradition of the biennial that dates back to 1990. This decision, taken by Guerrero is designed to emphasize the word ‘International’ that is central to EVA’s identity. Guerrero explains, “in our current state of nationalisms, hard-borders, protectionism and a complete change of course in humanity, where the liberal belief of a ‘never again’ seems to be dismantling, the word ‘International’ suddenly carries an important weight worth embracing. Since its foundation in 1977 in Limerick, EVA has been a forerunner in understanding the world through art in a transnational, transcultural, international dialogue, presenting its contradictions, anxieties and possibilities.”

The 38th EVA International includes the work of 56 artists/collectives. 32% of artists/collectives are from Ireland and 38 artists are from 27 other countries including The Netherlands, Hong Kong, Yugoslavia, Dominican Republic, Brazil, Iran, Egypt, Nicuargua, Chile, Nigeria, UK, Italy, Madagascar, South Korea, Lebanon, Venezuela, Panama, France, Thailand, Croatia, Colombia, South Africa, Cuba, Indonesia, USA, and Japan.

The 38th EVA International includes the work of seven past EVA participants: John Gerrard (2001, 2003), Rita Duffy (1999, 2001), Julie Merriman (2003), Isabel Nolan (1998, 2012), Sanja Iveković (2012), and Sam Keogh (2012).

The 38th EVA International will open to the public on Saturday 14 April with previews on 12 and 13 April.