Dias & Riedweg...and it becomes something else

Dias & Riedgweg...and it becomes something else
Curated by Gabriela Rangel
May 12, 2009 - August 1, 2009

Mauricio Dias and Walter Riedweg have worked together since 1993, developing a cohesive body of work that delves into the poetic as well as the critical potential of the moving image. Americas Society’s exhibition was their first solo show in the United States. Based in Rio de Janeiro, the Swiss/Brazilian artists have won international acclaim for their projects at prestigious venues abroad.

• Read a review in The New York Times describing the work as "kind of ballet of ordinary beauties."
• Purchase the exhibition catalogue

The exhibition gathered a significant group of installations and single channel videos. Two outdoor screenings on a moving truck equipped with a video projection were presented in two New York City locations, to promote a fluid dialogue with diverse communities such as Harlem and the Bronx. All the pieces were produced by the artists from the mid-1990s to the present and invited reflection on the poetic potential of the moving image as a critical tool for contemporary thinking.
 

^{Throw (2004), Mauricio Dias and Walter Riedweg, Video still. Video duration: 39'. Image courtesy of the artists.}

The exhibition presented works in which the artists develop concerns with social and political issues related to the idea of displacement. Their joint public art works delve into the relationship between ethics and aesthetics, art and politics, and art and life. Dias & Riedweg depart from documentation and video dramatizations to examine global issues associated with immigration, hybrid identities, and the tensions between group and individual interactions.

The exhibition was accompanied by a publication that includes essays by John Handhardt and Gabriela Rangel and an interview between the artists and Paulo Herkenhoff.

Americas Society gratefully acknowledges the following donors for their generous support of the exhibition Dias & Riedweg…and it becomes something else, and accompanying public programs: Rockefeller Brothers Fund; Pro Helvetia Swiss Arts Council; Consulate General of Brazil in New York; and Consulate General of Switzerland in New York. These programs are also made possible in part with public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.