Being In the World

The Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation (CIFO) is excited to present Being in the World: Selections from the Ella Fontanals-Cisneros Collection, an exhibition curated by Berta Sichel, on view from December 2, 2009, to March 7, 2010, coinciding with Art Basel Miami Beach (December 2-6, 2009).

Being in the World is inspired by the concept of "situation" developed by French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre. Sartre's notion of being in the World encompasses an individual's current circumstances and memories, creating a closed circuit that provides context. An individual's understanding of their place in the World is shaped by past and present experiences, including interactions with friends, acquaintances, and even strangers.

This exhibition offers a valuable framework for interpreting contemporary artworks that grapple with the individual in an evolving environment. It features works by seven artists selected from 63 media-based pieces in the collection, including prominent figures such as Chantal Akerman, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, Muntean/Rosenblum, Robin Rhode, Shirin Neshat, Bill Viola, and Francesca Woodman.

The works in Being in the World resonate with Sartre's exploration of the distinction between life and art. For Sartre, art acquires meaning when it restores ambiguity and a raw freshness to actual events. Each selected piece tells a story; for Sartre, storytelling in the face of uncertainty creates an illusion. Some narratives closely reflect reality, while others stem from imagination, but all possess unpredictable outcomes, depicting various situations and ways of being in the World.

Together, these works embody the freedom of art and the freedom of choice—essential liberties recognized by Sartre. The exhibition will be organized around two distinct yet interconnected categories: the first focuses on form, construction, and space, highlighting experimental abstractions and formal conceptualism, as seen in photographic practices like object studies or still lifes (both organic and inorganic). The second category emphasizes a direct engagement with the real World and the documentary while still resonating with conceptual practices, particularly in architectural, urban, and conventional landscape photography. Both categories contain their own critical tendencies and tensions, and the exhibition will inevitably challenge and blur the boundaries of these provisional classifications.

Artists

Chantal Akerman, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, Muntean/Rosenblum, Shirin Neshat, Robin Rhode, Bill Viola and Francesca Woodman.