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All over the map
Mikhailov and McKenzie at the ICA; Clemente, Ji, and Kentridge at the Rose
BY RANDI HOPKINS

The appearance of the color red — in a work of art, or on the street, say, on a banner, or a sash — is no simple thing to photographer Boris Mikhailov, who was born in 1938 in the eastern Ukraine city of Kharkiv and lived through the tumultuous rise and ultimate fall of the Soviet Union, where the color took on great symbolic import. Neither is the concept of "realism" straightforward to this artist, who grew up surrounded by images of smiling workers rendered in the Soviet-approved "Socialist Realism" style. These complexities play a major role in "Boris Mikhailov: A Retrospective," which opens at the Institute of Contemporary Art this Wednesday. Taken over a 35-year period but shown in public only since the early 1990s, the photographs reflect the height, the decline, and the after-effects of the era that Mikhailov witnessed.

At the same time, downstairs, the ICA is bringing us part two of its new series dedicated to "young blood and fresh ideas" with "Momentum 2/Lucy McKenzie." McKenzie is known as a lively cultural mover and shaker back home in Glasgow, where she not only makes art but also writes short stories, DJs, designs record covers, and organizes art "happenings" featuring avant-garde music, film, and art. Her artwork similarly brings together a lot of elements, including art history, pop culture, graffiti, and political propaganda.

Those aren’t the only corners of the globe converging here this month. The Rose Art Museum at Brandeis opens three shows with distinct international roots, each exploring themes of identity and narrative. "Francesco Clemente: Tandoori Satori and Commonplace 2004," which opens next Thursday, and "Yun-Fei Ji: The Empty City" and "William Kentridge: Tide Table," which opened last week but will share an opening reception with the "Francesco Clemente" on Wednesday, present artists from Italy, China, and South Africa who bring their own geographical experiences to bear on their work. Italian artist Francesco Clemente has been painting up an influential storm since the mid 1980s; his beguiling images of the human body and his mystical explorations of the human spirit are informed by a love of travel, of place, and of history. The artist has been making repeated trips to India since the early 1970s, and his Rose show will feature recent paintings influenced by tantric mysticism and folklore.

Yun-Fei Ji, on the other hand, explores the displaced inhabitants and the environmental destruction of China’s enormous Three Gorges Dam project in the paintings of "The Empty City," using traditional materials to bring this contemporary subject matter to a surreal, hybrid life — one in which such historical figures as Chairman Mao make the odd appearance along with pedestrian objects thrown up by the flood, an old tire or seat cushion. And artist and filmmaker William Kentridge — who’s renowned for his distinctive animated films, or, as he calls them, "drawings for projection" — presents "Tide Table," a new work about the devastating impact of HIV and AIDS on South Africa.

"Boris Mikhailov: A Retrospective" and "Momentum 2/Lucy McKenzie" are at the Institute of Contemporary Art, 955 Boylston Street in Boston, September 22 through January 2; call (617) 266-5152. "Francesco Clemente: Tandoori Satori and Commonplace 2004" is at the Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University, 415 South Street in Waltham, September 23 through December 12. "Yun-Fei Ji: The Empty City" and "William Kentridge: Tide Table" are also at the Rose through December 12. An opening reception for all three shows will be held this Wednesday, September 22, from 6 to 9 p.m.; call (781) 736-3434.


Issue Date: September 17 - 23, 2004
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