On Hannah Arendt: Eight proposals for exhibition

This 12-month programme of exhibitions is dedicated to the writings of the German-born, American political philosopher Hannah Arendt (1906-1975). Since the gallery's inception in 2012, Richard Saltoun has sought to shed light on difficult questions concerning inequality and identity. Its unwavering dedication to Feminist and Conceptual artists particularly from the 1970s onwards has inevitably imbued its programme with a strong political focus, and the gallery's curatorial approach has been guided by a vision to serve a wider societal purpose.

Following 100% Women, a year-long programme to support female artists and address gender imbalance in the art world, On Hannah Arendt: Eight Proposals for Exhibition looks to one of the most important thinkers of the post-war generation to confront some of the most pressing socio-political issues of our time.

Launching in January 2021, On Hannah Arendt will be organised around eight exhibitions that seek to explore the questions put forth in the eight chapters of Arendt's book Between Past and Future: Eight Exercises in Political Thought. The exhibitions will involve over 20 international artists working across a variety of media, including artists represented by the gallery and artists outside the gallery roster. Rarely does a commercial gallery dedicate an entire year to a single theme or collaborate with such a range of non-represented artists.

While the world has changed dramatically since Arendt published the final version of Between Past and Future in 1968, her call for thoughtful reflection on difficult subjects remains impressively relevant today. Arendt's subtitle, 'Eight Exercises in Political Thought', reflected her desire to avoid providing definitive answers, instead instructing the reader that the "only aim is to gain experience in how to think." Hence, artists have been selected who might suggest, interpret, extrapolate and elucidate ideas in the book ,and by extension, their engagement with Arendt's ideas should be approached less as descriptive or explanatory and more as something that has the potential to alter and inform our attitude toward phenomenological questioning, for example, towards issues of exile, agency, freedom, prejudice and spirituality.

Launching the programme in January 2021, 'The Modern Age' addresses themes of dislocation, statelessness and social alienation, as well as the discomfort and uncertainty these conditions produce and will include key works by Siah ARMAJANI (b. 1939, Iran; d. 2020, USA), Thomas BAYRLE (b. 1937, Germany), Véronique FILOZOF (b. 1904, Switzerland; d. 1977, France), Vivienne KOORLAND (b. 1957, South Africa) and Jo SPENCE (b. 1934; d. 1992, UK).    

In March, 'The Concept of History', a solo exhibition by Peter KENNARD (b. 1949, UK) highlights the artist's extraordinary contribution to politically informed art over the past 50 years. The exhibition will showcase three bodies of work: his little-known STOP paintings from the 1960-70s informed by events such as the Paris student riots, The Prague Spring and Vietnam War protests; his series of Pallets from the 1990s, with traces of human images and figures barely visible on battered wooden pallets; and a new series of works on paper 2020.

In April, 'What is Authority?' examines structural antagonism and everyday discrimination – thoughts, glances, implied judgments that flourish in an environment where more explicit acts of inequality have been outlawed, with work by Lili DUJOURIE (b. 1941, Belgium), Everlyn NICODEMUS (b. 1954, Tanzania) and Lerato SHADI (b. 1979, South Africa).

From June, Bracha L. ETTINGER puts us in relation Arendt's question to the tragic fate of women in periods of war, especially the Holocaust, in 'What is Freedom?' and relates to the tragic fate of women in periods of war, especially the Holocaust. Dealing with the themes of trauma and compassion, investigating the historical and psychological landscape of transgenerational memory, community and feminine subjectivity, Ettinger's solo show, opening in June, will include a selection of paintings and drawings created during the last seven years.

In August 'The Crisis in Education' features a joint presentation between two female artists known for their embrace of photography, including Eleanor ANTIN and Siân DAVEY.

From October 'The Crisis in Culture' features a selection of drawings by Renate BERTLMANN, Annette MESSAGER's soft sculptures and an installation by Pamela ROSENKRATZ.

In December Truth & Politics is the penultimate exhibition in the gallery's year-long series dedicated to Hannah Arendt, featuring ULAY's polaroid series Black Judges (1992), Allan SEKULA's video projection Waiting For Tear Gas (1999/2000), together with three new specially commissioned sculptures by Aleksandra DOMANOVIĆ from her Worldometer series.

In February and March, the final exhibition, The Conquest of Space, will feature works by Sylvia PLIMACK MANGOLD,  Elaine REICHEK, and Carey YOUNG.

Brazilian sound artist and music producer Laima Leyton creates a new sound piece in response to each chapter of Arendt’s Between Past and Future, available to experience on the gallery’s website as part of Saltoun Online and during live events held throughout the programme. Titled Infinite past, infinite future and NOW, the series engages with themes of time, culture, truth and spirituality. 

In partnership with the Hannah Arendt Center for Politics and Humanities at Bard College, a wide-ranging public programme of talks, artist interviews, lectures and an online discussion series, modelled from the Hannah Arendt Center’s official Virtual Reading Group, will accompany the series of exhibitions. Watch previous events here.