Pipilotti Rist: A la belle étoile

Henry Art
Gallery
Media Release
August 28, 2012
Pipilotti Rist. A la belle étoile (Under The Sky) [video still]. 2007. Audio-video installation. Commissioned for the Centre Pompidou in 2007.
Centre Pompidou, Paris; Musée national d’art moderne/Centre de création industrielle. © Pipilotti Rist. Image courtesy the artist, Hauser &
Wirth, Zürich London and Luhring Augustine, New York.
Contact: Merith Bennett
[email protected]
206.221.3611
not for publication
Pipilotti Rist: A la belle étoile
October 6, 2012 – March 24, 2013
This Fall, the Henry is excited to install the work of internationally acclaimed video artist
Pipilotti Rist. A la belle étoile is presented in collaboration with Seattle Art Museum and in
conjunction with the exhibition Elles: Women Artists from the Centre Pompidou, Paris.
A la belle étoile will transform the Henry’s East Gallery by projecting moving images onto the
floor, filling the entire 850 square foot gallery space. The artist creates an environment where
the viewer is sucked into the video projection and where the camera zooms from microcosms,
like individual bodies, to macrocosms, like a galaxy of stars. Whether by viewing the piece from
the overlook above, or walking among the projected images, visitors will experience a sense
of disorientation and weightlessness as they become part of Rist’s visually fluid and hypnotic
space.
“With this work I want to generate a burst of awareness in the minds of viewers,
I want to send them the softness and get them to put their personal problems
aside. The video oscillates between micro-and macrocosm, so, new doors open on
complex subjects, such as our source of amniotic fluid, the assumption of a purgatory and an economic system. Spectators are expected to achieve a state of flux in
which many (other) things suddenly seem possible.”
Pipilotti Rist
(Translated from the Centre Pompidou website)
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Henry Art Gallery — Media release
The Henry is thrilled to launch its fall season with Rist’s work, known for its optical exuberance
and its ability to engage viewers’ bodies and senses. A la belle étoile was commissioned by the
Centre Pompidou in 2007 in celebration of the institution’s 30th anniversary.
Pipilotti Rist: A la belle étoile is organized by the Henry in collaboration with the Seattle Art
Museum as part of a city-wide celebration of French art and culture and the contributions
of women artists. The presentation at the Henry is generously supported by the Swiss Arts
Council Pro Helvetia, the Consulate General of Switzerland in San Francisco, and swissnex
San Francisco.
Pipilotti Rist. A la belle étoile (Under The Sky) [installation view at Centre Pompidou, Paris]. 2007. Audio-video installation. Commissioned for
the Centre Pompidou in 2007. Centre Pompidou, Paris; Musée national d’art moderne/Centre de création industrielle. © Pipilotti Rist. Image
courtesy the artist, Hauser & Wirth, Zürich London and Luhring Augustine, New York.
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Henry Art Gallery — Media release
About the Henry
THE HENRY ADVANCES THE ART, ARTISTS, AND IDEAS OF OUR TIME
The Henry was founded in 1927 and is the only museum in a nine-state region devoted to the
research, preservation, and presentation of contemporary art. The Henry is broadly known as
a test site and a laboratory for creative thinking and new ideas. The museum is internationally
recognized for its groundbreaking exhibitions, for being first in the field to champion artists
who go on to global acclaim, and for premiering and sponsoring new works by artists of note.
To reach audiences beyond its region, the Henry circulates its exhibitions internationally and
regularly brings artists working at the global level to the United States.
HOURS
The Henry Art Gallery is open 11 – 4, Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday and 11 – 9 on
Thursdays and Fridays; closed Mondays and Tuesdays. Holidays closed: Thanksgiving,
Christmas, New Year’s Day, and Independence Day.
ADMISSION
By suggested donation: $10 general, $6 seniors (62 and older); free to Henry Art Gallery
members, UW students, faculty and staff with ID, high school and college students with ID;
children 13 and under.
CONTACTS
Henry Art Gallery Information: 206.543.2280
General Email: [email protected]
Media/Press Contact: Merith Bennett
206.221.3611, [email protected] (Not for publication)
Address:
Henry Art Gallery
Faye G. Allen Center for the Visual Arts
University of Washington
15th Avenue NE and NE 41st Street
Box 351410
Seattle, WA 98195-1410
Web: www.henryart.org
Twitter: @henryartgallery
Facebook: facebook.com/henryartgallery
Blog: http://hankblog.wordpress.com/
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Henry Art Gallery — Media release