We are delighted to announce a new solo project by Brooklyn-based, Argentinian artist Bibi Calderaro. Bibi is a multi-disciplinary artist working in installation, performance, film/video, photography, audio, and language.

Her project at MINUS SPACE, entitled Pineal Action IV, will be the fourth in a series of performance installations where viewers are invited to physically interact with her work. Her installation will consist of a single large, irregularly-shaped piñata, approximately five feet in diameter, suspended from the ceiling. The paper piñata will be covered with layers of language excerpted from the theory of aesthetics, as well as texts about human perception. A list of writings used to create the piñata will be available at the gallery.

The word piñata comes from the Latin word for pine nut, pinnea. The pineal gland in the human body, whose name reflects its pine nut shape, sits between the left and right hemispheres of the brain. According to ancient and recent studies on the human brain, it apparently acts as the hinge or connector between the two hemispheres. The French philosopher and scientist Rene Descartes referred to this gland as the seat of the soul and the place in which all our thoughts are formed. Similarly, yogis are also aware of the significance of the pineal gland. In Hatha Yoga, there is a technique called Kechari Mudra where a yogi places their tongue at the back of their mouth and into their nasal cavity near the pineal gland in effort to achieve a state of deep meditation.

For Pineal Action IV, visitors are invited to hit the piñata with a stick, one blow per visit, until it breaks apart and crumbles into pieces on the floor. About her project, Bibi remarks: "In my personal quest for meaning, the ideas of destruction and creation are two forces that constantly interact and fluctuate, as in a tide. Tracing and erasing and tracing. Shaking and moving and shaking. Dying and living and dying. The physical interaction in this work aims at freeing the energy of the visitors, to shake bodies and move minds."

Bibi's new publication, PRESENT: Selected Writings 2008-2009, documenting her recent performance at P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center / MoMA, will also be available at MINUS SPACE's bookstore.

Bibi Calderaro has exhibited her work nationally and internationally, including at museums such as P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center / MoMA, Bronx Museum of the Arts, El Museo del Barrio (all NYC), Museum of Modern Art, National Museum of Fine Arts (both Argentina), and Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (Spain).

She is the recipient of awards from the Marie Walsh Sharpe Art Foundation, Atlantic Center for the Arts, and Aaron Siskind Foundation, among others. Her work is included in the collections of the Museum of Fine Arts (Houston), Art Museum at Princeton University (New Jersey), Museum of Modern Art, and National Museum of Fine Arts (both Argentina). Bibi holds an MFA from Queens College/CUNY, NY, and a BA from Wesleyan University, CT.

SUPPORT

MINUS SPACE's programming is made possible by the generous support of The Golden Rule Foundation, as well as individual donors. We thank you!

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