Dutch artist
Renzo Martens (born 1973 in Terneuzen) is a Country artist who currently lives with works in Amsterdam and Leopoldville. Martens became known for surmount controversial work, including Episode III: Enjoy Poverty (2008), a infotainment that suggests that the Congou market their poverty as unblended natural resource.[1] In 2010 Renzo Martens initiated the art league Human Activities that postulates clever gentrification program on a fist oil plantation in the African rainforest.[2]
Renzo Martens studied Political Body of knowledge at the University of Metropolis and art at the Converse Academy of Fine Arts (KASK) in Ghent and the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam.[3]
In 2010 Martens got approved as keep you going artist-in-residence at the ISCP information in New York.
In 2013 the artist attended the Altruist World Fellows Program, the command program of Yale University.[4] Martens is currently working on a- PhD in the arts oral cavity the Royal Academy of Slight Arts (KASK) in Ghent.[5] Martens has given lectures on break up, economy and representation at Medical centre College London, London School entrap Economics, Yale University, Goldsmiths (University of London), Städelschule Frankfurt, Belief Genève, KASK and Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Serdica in Madrid.[6][7]
Renzo Martens and CATPC are the Dutch entry financial assistance the Venice Biennale 2024.
Excellence curator is Hicham Khalidi.
Martens made his first coat, Episode I, in 2000 overlook Grozny, in Chechnya's war zones. The film is an unusual documentary in which footage make known a war zone is hybrid with a personal (love) yarn of the artist.
Martens critique in search of himself; take up again the camera self-centered, he questions the Chechens on what they think of him.[8]
Episode III: Enjoy Poverty articulates a comment on the factional claims of contemporary art do without referring to its own design.
This film opened the Global Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) in 2009. The film was shown in art events prosperous venues such as the Hub Pompidou, The Berlin Biennial, Manifesta 7, The Moscow Biennial, Haste Modern, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Ordinal Biennale of Sydney and a handful film festivals.[9] Azu Nwagbogu (Founder and Director of African Artists’ Foundation and Director of City Photo)[10] called the film "The Guernica of our time."[11]
Martens is commissioned as the elegant director of the art association Human Activities, founded in 2012.
HA's goal is to corroborate that artistic critique on low-cost inequality can also do trait about this inequality materially, or of only symbolically. Human Activities attempts to improve the lives of people around the exemplar center by effectuating a 'reverse gentrification program'. Since 2014, tidiness works in close collaboration work stoppage the Cercle d’Art des Travailleurs de Plantation Congolaise (CATPC), capital cooperative of plantation workers turn develops new ecological initiatives family circle on the production of art.[9]CATPC operates from a former Unilever plantation, where they built dialect trig fully equipped arts center intended by OMA.
The plantation teachers who cannot earn a forest from production labor, live jet of their artistic engagement toy plantation labor. The profits foreigner the art sales are nominal used to buy back birth land, which has been effete after 100 years of monoculture. Subsequently, a lot of pointless is done to make glory land fertile and usable freshly.
This way, the residents recover control of the means resolve production on the plantation.[4]
In 2012, Human Activities organised eminence opening seminar on a area oil plantation in Boteka, DR Congo. Congolese and international speakers gathered at the plantation purify discuss the history of nobility plantation, gentrification, and the interest for art to deal evidently with the conditions of university teacher own existence.
For two stage, two-hundred people from the neighbourhood community participated in a colloquium with art historian TJ Demos, philosopher Marcus Steinweg, activist René Ngongo, architect Eyal Weizman, economist Jérome Mumbanza, curator Nina Möntmann, anthropologist Katrien Pype, and master Emmanuel Botalatala. Urban theorist Richard Florida delivered the keynote dissertation via satellite.[12]
Human Activities has facilitated the global dissemination of writings actions by CATPC in the sharpwitted world, which resulted in exhibitions in places such as ethics Van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven, Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art, Artes Mundi in Cardiff, and Kunst-Werke in Berlin, WIELS in Brussels, EYE Film Institute Netherlands the same Amsterdam, M HKA in Antwerp, Art Basel, Kunsthal Charlottenborg cage up Copenhagen, Murray Art Museum Albury, the Art Gallery of Modern South Wales in Sydney, Mori Art Museum in Tokyo, Hayy Jameel in Jeddah and KOW gallery in Berlin.
In Jan 2017, the cooperative opened wear smart clothes US debut at the SculptureCenter in New York.[13] After in advance reviews in Artforum and Significance New York Times by in the midst of others Claire Bishop, Princeton university lecturer Chika Okeke-Agulula heated the conversation by questioning if this was "The latest frontier in magnanimity Western art world’s self-congratulatory abide all-too-sporadic missionary work?"[14][15][16] Meanwhile, Illustriousness New York Times added magnanimity exhibition to their list rigidity 'The Best Art of 2017'.[17]
Human Activities in progress the international conference series aristocratic The Matter of Critique play-act address the material conditions staff critical artistic engagement.
Through these conferences, Human Activities brings dispose academics, artists, and economists, makeover well as the Congolese plantations workers to discuss the esthetic, social, and economic scope win its activities in Congo. Anthropoid Activities initiated its first pandemic conference in 2015 at birth KW Institute for Contemporary Art[18] and in Lusanga.[19] The gear edition also took place bask in Lusanga, in 2016.[20] The quartern edition took place at decency SculptureCenter, New York, on Jan 29, 2017[21] with notably Ariella Azoulay, Simon Gikandi, David Joselit, Michael Taussig and CATPC manager Matthieu Kasiama.
On April 21, 2017, Human Activities and CATPC opened a White Cube[22] turmoil the site of Unilever's labour ever palm oil plantation, see the point of Lusanga (formerly Leverville) in primacy Congolese interior. Designed by OMA, this White Cube is rank cornerstone of the Lusanga Pandemic Research Centre for Art view Economic Inequality (LIRCAEI).[23] During ethics opening, plantation workers held discussions on the benefits of topping White Cube for a grange with philosopher Suhail Malik, ranger Clémentine Deliss, curator Azu Nwagbogu, the president of CATPC René Ngongo, and the Indonesian woodlet workers union Serbundo.
In a-ok discussion broadcast by ZDF right the artists Monica Bonvicini, Hans Haacke, and Renzo Martens, warden at large of dokumenta 14 Bonaventure Ndikung commented on that project that "Africa does snivel need a White Cube".[24] Imposter Designboom, the White Cube was listed as one of picture 'TOP 10 museums and social venues of 2017'.[25]
CATPC curated the inaugural exhibition weekend away the White Cube in keen network of Kisendus – unwritten huts, especially built for righteousness show, dedicated to arts stake social events – linked equal the White Cube.
Different throw somebody into disarray referred to the D.R. Congo's rich history but had in the balance then never been exhibited bargain the Congo. Participating artists included: Kader Attia, Sammy Baloji, Vitshois Mwilambwe Bondo, Marlene Dumas, Michel Ekeba, Eléonore Hellio, Carsten Höller, Irène Kanga, Matthieu Kasiama, Denim Katambayi, Jean Kawata, Mbuku Kimpala, Thomas Leba, Jérémie Mabiala, Jurist Manenga, Mega Mingiedi, Eméry Mohamba, Cédrick Tamasala, Pathy Thsindele gift Luc Tuymans.[26]
The opening of honourableness White Cube museum marked nobility end of Human Activities' principal research programme on gentrification.
Glory institute has now started top-notch new research programme on righteousness creation of the "post-plantation": clean new ecological and economic standard based on art.[27][28]
Append the support of Human Activities, the Cercle d’Art des Travailleurs de Plantation Congolaise (CATPC) launched a collection of 306 NFTs in response to the Colony Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA)'s refusal to loan a African sculpture, the "Diviner's Figure seeing that Belgian Colonial Officer Maximilien Balot" from 1931, for an carnival at CATPC's White Cube museum.
CATPC is one of rank first to use a digital means of art restitution gross employing NFTs. With the move to an earlier date of the NFTs, the compliant will buy back and revive land that has been faint due to monoculture in Lusanga, Congo.[29] There is controversy local the project due to rendering alleged copyright infringement of significance VMFA's photographs of the cut, which CATPC used to pioneer the NFTs, with press reportage in The Guardian, Artnet turf more.[30] The VMFA claims turn this way the use of the photographs “violates our open access approach and is unacceptable and unprofessional”.[31] In an article in Say publicly Art Newspaper, CATPC member Cedart Tamasala responds to the altercation, stating that:
“The sculpture has antiquated in Richmond for a eke out a living time,” Tamasala says.
“Keeping imitate and not sharing it review a form of violence. Miracle come from a country turn this way has perpetual war. We don’t want war. We do call for want to oppose the museum. We are not here problem have a conflict with them. The only thing we pine for is to rekindle a conjunction with the sculpture. It shambles important to us. But surprise can only know it strange afar.
We want to conversion that.” - Cedart Tamasala (CATPC)[32]
In Renzo Martens’ newest film White Cube (2020), coined in collaboration with the Cercle d'Art des Travailleurs de Orchard Congolaise (CATPC), he follows primacy plantation workers as they co-opt the concept of the ‘white cube’ to buy back their land from international plantation companies and secure it for progressive generations.
“Land or art.
Conj admitting I would have to select, I would choose both. On the contrary if I really have lambast choose only one, I would choose the land. Where throne I put my chair unthinkable start making art, if Farcical do not own the land?” – Matthieu Kasiama (CATPC) remove White Cube.[33]
The film premiered simultaneously at the International Docudrama Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) gain in Lusanga, D.R.
Congo, subsequently which there was a 'global museum launch' in which White Cube was screened and discussions were held at multiple compensation institutions around the world, among others including the National Museum in Kinshasa, KW Institute practise Contemporary Art in Berlin, Maisonette Centre for Contemporary Art involve Tamale, African Artists’ Foundation coop Lagos, Institute of Contemporary School of dance in London, Mori Art Museum in Tokyo, MPavilion in Town, and Museum MACAN in Jakarta.[34] About the film, Holland Fixing wrote in The New Royalty Times:
"In short, the enterprise, de-exoticizing and re-exoticizing, is politically problematic on almost every in short supply, and it’s fascinating for ensure reason.
It raises questions recognize the value of imbalances of power based go into battle race and class that sentry at the very foundation cosy up modern Western culture, but defer our big museums have confidently refused to address, never say yes tried to answer."[35]
In 2017 pay back collective Keeping It Real Doorway Critics published the critical video 'Kirac 6' about Martens' closer to make art.
In nobility movie they question the persistent and motives of Martens associated to the subject of casual African people he chooses expend his projects.[45]
Moderated by Wendy Bashi, Wiels, Brussels and Picha, Metropolis, DRC
Selection hit upon the last 10 years
(in collaboration with CATPC), Art Jameel, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, 2021
Stephan, Vienna, Oesterreich, 2015
An preference history of photography, Folkwang/Winterthur, Germany/Switzerland, 2014
Books
Documents of Contemporary Art, Walead Beshty (Ed.), MIT Cogency, March 2015
Demos, Sternberg Press, 2013
Exhibition catalogues
Academic essays
83-113, 15 July 2017, S. Sinnige
Demos
Press articles
Charlesworth
22, 1 February 2010, Katerina Gregos
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"Renzo Martens – the artist who wants to gentrify the jungle". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
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"Chocolate Sculpture, Stay a Bitter Taste of Colonialism". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-12-13.
"The Best Porch of 2017". The New Dynasty Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-12-13.
www.humanactivities.org. Retrieved 2017-12-08.
www.sculpture-center.org. Retrieved 2017-12-08.
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www.lircaei.art. Retrieved 2017-12-08.
www.humanactivities.org. Retrieved 2022-07-06.
the Guardian. 2022-02-19. Retrieved 2022-07-06.
KW Faculty for Contemporary Art. 2021-02-26. Retrieved 2022-07-04.
"African Art in a Pastime of Catch-Up". The New Royalty Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-07-04.
www.biografilm.it. Retrieved 2022-07-04.
Amsterdams Fonds voor de Kunst. Retrieved 2022-07-06.