Exhibition
2021 Triennial: Soft Water Hard Stone
10/28/21-01/23/22
Conversations · Exhibition-Related
Soft Water, Hard Stone: (But I Know) A Change Is Gonna Come
Cover Image:
Gabriela Mureb, Machine #4: stone, 2014–17. Stone, electric motor, and aluminum, 13 ¾ x 29½ x 9 7/8 in (35 ×75 × 25 cm). Courtesy the artist and Central Galeria, São Paulo
The title of the 2021 New Museum Triennial, “Soft Water Hard Stone,” is inspired by a proverb the curators first encountered in Brazil: Água mole em pedra dura, tanto bate até que fura (Soft water on hard stone hits until it bores a hole). Join Triennial artists Laurie Kang, Gabriela Mureb, and catalogue contributor and curator Raphael Fonseca for a roundtable exploration of this axiom, which offers multiple readings that simultaneously engage historical and contemporary contexts. Moderated by Bernardo Mosqueira, ISLAA Curatorial Fellow at the New Museum, the panel will consider the proverb and how it relates to each participant’s practice and the Triennial at large.
About the Speakers
Raphael Fonseca is a researcher in the areas of curating, art history, art criticism, and education. He was curator of the Niterói Contemporary Art Museum, Rio de Janeiro, from 2017 to 2020, and is one of the curators of the next edition of the SescVideobrasil Biennial (2023).
Laurie Kang (b.1985) lives and works in Toronto, Canada. Recent solo exhibitions of her work include “Her Own Devices,” Franz Kaka, Toronto (2020); “Eidetic Tides,” Southern Alberta Art Gallery, Lethbridge, Canada (2019); “Beolle,” Oakville Galleries, Oakville, Canada (2019); and “Channeller,” Interstate Projects, Brooklyn (2018). Her work has been shown in group exhibitions at SculptureCenter, New York (2020); Remai Modern, Saskatoon, Canada (2019); Cue Art Foundation, New York (2019); Cooper Cole, Toronto (2017); and The Power Plant, Toronto (2015).
Bernardo Mosqueira is a curator, writer, and researcher based in New York and Rio de Janeiro. He is ISLAA Curatorial Fellow at the New Museum, New York, and artistic director of Solar dos Abacaxis, Rio de Janeiro.
Gabriela Mureb (b. 1985) lives and works in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Recent solo exhibitions of her work include “Rrrrrrrrrrrrr,” Central Galeria, São Paulo (2017). Mureb has participated in group shows at Fosso, Rio de Janeiro (2019, 2018); Museu de Arte do Rio, Rio de Janeiro (2018); Parque Lage, Rio de Janeiro (2018); Festival Multiplicidade, Rio de Janeiro (2017); Festival Internacional de Música Experimental, Barcelona (2017); Centro Cultural, São Paulo (2017); Museu Histórico Nacional, Rio de Janeiro (2016); Centro Municipal de Arte Hélio Oiticica, Rio de Janeiro (2016); and Queer NY International Arts Festival, New York (2013). Mureb is part of the experimental music Project MUTA.
Accessibility
We strive to make our programs as accessible as possible. For full accessibility information, including services available by request, please click here.
Sponsors
New Museum Digital Initiatives are generously supported by Hermine and David B. Heller.
This program is made possible, in part, by public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, and from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.
We gratefully acknowledge the Bowery Council of the New Museum for its support of Education and Public Engagement Programs.
Endowment support is provided by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund; the Skadden, Arps Education Programs Fund; and the William Randolph Hearst Endowed Fund for Education Programs at the New Museum.
Support for “2021 Triennial: Soft Water Hard Stone” can be viewed here.
