newsletter  141

September 2017

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We just opened fourth great exhibition of this year: Diaspora, with Kevin Morrow: see the Youtube clip for an impression.
This was surely a highlight of September, even although we are impressed by the work of the other residents of this month. And we still remember the fantastic Open Studio of 27 August and the participating artists: see the slideshow on this page.

The inauguration of Diaspora on 23 September has become a very special event, first of all because of the exhibition, but also because two artists presented works that were inspired by Díapora: a dance performance by Márcio Pereira and aninstallation of sound, light and performance by Matthew Manowski. A video impression is now on Youtube.

Kevin Morrow (USA) returned for having an exhibition in the Caste of Evoramonte, entitled: Diáspora. It is part of an ongoing project “The Great Exchange” in which he contemplates on migrations of cultures and civilisations.  Central in Díaspora is an installation with a dining table; the place where the stories of our journeys are told, with family and friends, and strangers who become friends.
People have moved about the globe since time immemorial, bringing with them entire visible and invisible universes. The reasons we leave are as infinite as the things we bring with us. Large or small, planned or frantic, giving rise to dynamic consequences and eventually becoming its own cause, its own effect. This awareness made Kevin a traveler in order to learn about cultures migrations and evolution; about why we have the world we have today. 
The preparation of the exhibition demanded nearly day and night working: he came with a lot of experience, but some hundred objects had to be made, including five two-meter tall statues and a big dining table. There are still some days to go and it seems that Kevin´s planning works out well.

Phoebé Guillemot (Canada) is a DJ, composer and performing musician. She tours with musical performances through Canada, the USA and Europe. Her residency was part of her preparation for a concert in Berlin (Berghain Säule: 28 September, 10 pm). This video gives an impression of her preparations. It is a try-out of a recently created piece.
Central in her artship is Ramzy, a tiny sfi-fi monkey-type of animal. Although Phoebé gives all space for own interpretations, Ramzy seems to have some autobiographical elements such as fragility, disorientation and jet a strong determination to survive in its own way in a world that is alien to him.
 
Taryn Noelle Cassella (visual artist; Canada) decided to sculpt in marble; a new, tiring but rewarding experience for her. One piece, seemingly simple, impressed everybody. Two beams of marble lean on each other and seem to have a perfect match. This triggers the viewer contemplating on whether one piece has a female and the other a male form. Taryn made also some paintings.
 
Jessica Yeandle-Hignell (visual artist; Canada) choose a dilemma as her theme: should she explore, exploit and enjoy the rich fantasy world that she is living in for whole her life, or should she start a new phase and step into the real word? She made an intriguing series of drawings that refers to this dilemma.  
 
Younghwa Kang (composer; South Korea) made several compositions for the Kayagum, a traditional Korean instrument: a 26 strings table harp. Her music is serene, introvert and spiritual.  
 
Paul Godwin (USA) and Miguel Angel Noya (Venezuela) are both composer and musician. They together form DOGON (www.dogonsound.com) and focus on electronic music in which they include voices and sounds from their surroundings. They composed and presented an “Acousmatic Environment” entitled: I'm the Size of What I See.  See the slideshow of the Open Studio for an impression.Their short concert on that event was more than exiting.
For this composition they mixed in their music the voices of fellow residents and a Swiss Air announcer, as well as the praying of members and pastor of the Santa Maria church of Evoramonte during a procession.
They also used texts of Fernando Pessoa from "The Book of Disquiet“.
 
András Kecskés (Hungary) did a great discovery: painting on marble sheets instead of on canvas has great potential for him. He started with trials, but soon he could optimally make use of the material: the scars from the sawing machine, the irregularity of the coloured veins and the rough sides of the slabs. He created some 40 works, most of them being half-abstract landscapes painted in a restricted colour spectrum. Not just the originality of the material, but even more the artistic quality was obvious.

Sabine Scholl (Austria, currently living in Germany) was working on a new novel: a variation on the Odyssey, written from a feminine point of view. She also wrote poems; one on the sound and behaviour of the free-living pigs around the nearby farm. And she was deeply inspired by the prehistoric grave 20 minutes walking from our house. Sabine also started collaborations with several fellow residents that may well have beautiful outcomes in the years to come.

Gaelle Pelachaud (France) came to work on the preparation of her exhibition in Évora (April 2018) and on her artist book on storks. She met Maria Sarmento, the poet who will contribute, both on the book and the exhibition. Gaelle also established a contact with a publisher from Évora who offered to edit and publish her book.

In the following updates of this newsletter attention will be paid to the residents in September: Kirsten Beets and Lucy Stuart-Clark (painters; South Africa), Istvan Kovacs (visual artist; Hungary) with partner Zsuzsa Szalai,  Kevin Morrow (sculptor; USA), Sherry Wiggins (multi media; USA), Mathew Manowski (sound artist; USA), Megan Roberts (Musician; USA), Raymond Girardo (sound artist, USA) and Stella Whalley (visual artist; UK).


Also good to know:

Jonathan Roson (Australia, currently living and working in London) was a resident in 2013 and 2014. He made lots of works in marble: see also his page of this website. His work can now bee seen in the DreamSpace Gallery (3 Dufferin Street, London, EC1Y 8NA).

Scott Sherk (USA) just released a beautiful and intriguing CD with sound compositions of the wind, sheep bells, crickets and the interior sounds of Evoramonte Castle. More info is on www.3leaves-label.com. A beautiful review is on A Closer Listen.
In an earlier version some of his compositions were part of Cor +Som, an exhibition together with Pat Badt, in the Castle of Evoramonte (2015). See also their page on this site.   

Kevin Morrow

András Kecskés

Gaelle Pelachaud