Door: Between Either and Or

The group exhibition “Door: Between Either and Or” aimed to develop a contemporary alternative to established forms of criticism against institutions. It began by examining the strategies used by the feminist and gay movements of the 1970s which directed their criticism toward art institutions and the art market, as well as the strategy of the 1990s – a time when female artists became part of the institutions and attempted to initiate change “from within”.
The contemporary artists who have been invited to present their works at the exhibition, such as Judith Hopf and Marlie Mul, offer no clearly defined positions, but focus instead on the conditions of artistic production and the mechanisms of evaluation applied by the art market. The Internet and social media allow them to constantly change their identities, interests and allies. The resulting independence makes new forms of institutional criticism possible.
As these female artists are accustomed to working alone on their own projects, the exhibition opened with a seminar to initiate exchange and establish them as a group for the first time. The seminar, exhibition and public events in art galleries in London, Zurich, Basel and Beirut produced new insights with regard to institutional criticism which will be compiled into a publication.

Artistic directors: Bart van der Heide, Judith Hopf, Marlie Mul (NL)
Academic research advisor: Kerstin Stakemeier
Participating artists: Judith Hopf, Marlie Mul (NL) and others
Kunstverein München, 12 Jul. – 13 Sep. 2013

International co-editors of the publication: Showroom (GB), Elaine MGK (CH) and others
Date of release: 13 Sep. 2013