The exhibition transforms the wooden pavilion into a nondenominational chapel. Coloured vinyl on clerestory windows refracts light throughout the space. Some panes display pure colour fields, others are layered with collaged motifs of dancers in motion alongside iconography from dance culture. Relief sculptures and an altar painting anchor the pavilion. A sound installation by musician Greg Fox fills the room during the day, inviting reflection. Over the course of three nights the same space transforms into a dancefloor. From jook joints to basement raves, communities have always understood that the body in motion is a spiritual act. The installation holds both states at once: stillness and movement, prayer and celebration, without choosing between them.
- Venue
- Stadtgalerie Zwergelgarten
- Date
- 20. 7. – 28. 8. 26
Curtis Talwst Santiago
(b. 1979, Edmonton, Alberta) lives and works in Munich. Early in his practice he studied as an apprentice of Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun. He has exhibited internationally at venues such as The Drawing Center and The New Museum, New York, NY; The Eli and Edythe Broad Museum at Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI; the Institute of Contemporary Art at Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA; The Pérez Art Museum Miami, FL; Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Canada; Osage Gallery, Hong Kong, and various others. His works are in the permanent collections of Lenbachhaus, the National Gallery of Canada, the Kadist Foundation, Studio Museum, Harlem and the Nevada Museum of Art among others.
Santiago was included in the SITE Santa Fe SITELines. 2018 Biennial, Casa Tomada, the inaugural 2019 Toronto Biennial of Art in Toronto, Canada, and featured in the 2018 and 2022 Biennale de Dakar in Senegal.
Website
Exhibitions
Selected solo exhibitions
2025 Offsides, Nir Altman, Munich (DE).
Buttermilk Mood, Hiro Gallery, Tokyo.
2024 A man not in the mood for salsa, Martina Simeti Gallery, Milan (IT).
2023 Artissima, Torino, Nir Altman Gallery, Munich.
Moving through Burning Haze, Cooper Cole Gallery, Toronto (CA).
Joyvasted, Nir Altman, Munich.
Mas a Play, Capsule Gallery Shanghai, Art Brussels, Brussels.
Selected group exhibitions
2025 Deep Color, Halsey McKay Gallery, East Hampton, NY (US).
AGA100: Act 3 Words to Worldmaking, Art Gallery of Alberta, Alberta (CA).
Smaller Objects Larger Pictures, Halsey McKay Gallery, East Hampton, NY.
HOME: A Space of Sharing and Strength, National Art Gallery of Canada, Ottawa.
2024 Drawing Now Art Fair, Paris; Art Basel (HK).
Frieze, Los Angeles, CA (US).
Felix Art Fair, Los Angeles, CA.
V1 Gallery, Copenhagen (DK).
2023 Mickalene Thomas – Portrait of an Unlikely Space, Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, CT (US).
Poetry of the Evident, Galerie Droste, Düsseldorf (DE).
Crafting Resitance, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ (US).
Publications
Brown, Kate, "Why Is Small Art So Big Right Now?", in: ArtNet, 22 January 2025.
https://news.artnet.com/art-world/small-art-2599293?amp=1
Demircan, Saim, "Curtis Talwst Santiago’s Sonic Sensibilities", in: frieze, 4 March 2024.
https://www.frieze.com/article/curtis-talwst-santiago-a-man-not-in-the-mood-for-salsa-2024-review
Humber, Larry, "Former Art Gallery of Ontario curator wins Canadian foundation’s curatorial award", in: The Art Newspaper, 31 July 2024.
https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2024/07/31/wanda-nanibush-curtis-talwst-santiago-hnatyshyn-foundation-mid-career-award
Milnes, Daniel, „Curtis Talwst Santiago at Nir Altman“, in: Art Viewer, 16 March 2023.
https://artviewer.org/curtis-talwst-santiago-at-nir-altman/
Greg Fox
Greg Fox is a drummer with hundreds of credits, including a vast body of solo works as well as with Liturgy, Colin Stetson, Ben Frost, Zs, Ex Eye, Guardian Alien, and Marijuana Deathsquads. He has been profiled in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Rolling Stone, The Village Voice, Modern Drummer, and more. Beyond his work as a drummer, he has released electronic music albums, and has composed music and sound design for films, video games, and fine art. He is also a prolific teacher, with drum students all over the world. Ben Ratliff from The New York Times called him, “One of the most exciting drummers I’ve seen recently in any kind of music.
Website