Artist Tino Sehgal’s Live Artwork Yet Untitled To Be Presented At Auckland Art Gallery Toi O Tāmaki From Saturday

Internationally renowned contemporary artist Tino Sehgal, whose experimental live arts practice has been presented around the world, brings his critically acclaimed work, Yet Untitled 2013, to Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki from Saturday 1 October. The display also celebrates the first acquisition of a live work for the Gallery’s collection.

Yet Untitled is proudly presented in association with Dame Jenny Gibbs and Auckland Contemporary Art Trust.

Auckland Art Gallery Director Kirsten Lacy says, ‘The acquisition of Yet Untitled is an important milestone for Auckland Art Gallery. We are extremely proud to be the first art museum globally to acquire this artwork, presented live in our atrium for free, every day for six weeks, and to be the first public gallery in Australasia to present a major work by the artist to the public. It really is a milestone globally.’

Sehgal’s artistic practice has been shaped by his formative studies in dance and economics. It consists of live interactions between participants enacting the work and the visitorship, which he refers to as ‘constructed situations.’ Yet Untitled is a powerful work in movement and sound, combining song, beatboxing, dance, and meditative actions. Based on Sehgal’s choreography and compositions, Yet Untitled is presented by two to three dancers and singers.

The work will be enacted continuously during opening hours at Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki from Saturday 1 October, and the public are invited to drop in and experience a live artwork. As Sehgal’s work is not recorded, the only way to view the work is to see it in person. This ensures his art is observed in realtime and lives in the memories of those present.

The Gallery’s Senior Curator, Global Contemporary Art, Natasha Conland says, ‘Tino Sehgal is one of the most highly regarded contemporary and live artists of his generation. By placing the lived as the focal point of his work, rather than physical objects, he challenges the traditional way that art is produced and experienced, while also extending key movements of the late 20th century.’

Yet Untitled was first presented in the 55th Venice Biennale in 2013, where Sehgal received the Golden Lion award for best artist. It was acquired by Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki for its collection in 2020 with support from Auckland Contemporary Art Trust.

As part of the exhibition, Sehgal has also curated a selection of sculpture from the Gallery’s collection, which complements and sets the scene for live encounters with the work within the Gallery.

Participating dancers:

• Bijou Akel
• Josie Archer
• Linus Conland Ingram
• Joshua Faleatua
• Rana Hamida
• Naoe Hashimoto
• Celia Hext
• Amber Liberté
• Molly Mason
• Helena May
• Adam Naughton
• Chris Scherer
• Zoe White

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