Zhana Ivanova

Ongoing Retrospective (Chapter 1)

Zhana Ivanova, Ongoing Retrospective (Chapter 1), view on All the Players, 2013/2015, Kunsthalle Basel, 2015. Photo: Philipp Hänger/Kunsthalle Basel

Zhana Ivanova, Ongoing Retrospective (Chapter 1), view on All the Players, 2013/2015, Kunsthalle Basel, 2015. Photo: Philipp Hänger/Kunsthalle Basel

Zhana Ivanova, Ongoing Retrospective (Chapter 1), view on All the Players, 2013/2015, Kunsthalle Basel, 2015. Photo: Philipp Hänger/Kunsthalle Basel

Zhana Ivanova, Ongoing Retrospective (Chapter 1), view on All the Players, 2013/2015, Kunsthalle Basel, 2015. Photo: Philipp Hänger/Kunsthalle Basel

Zhana Ivanova, Ongoing Retrospective (Chapter 1), view on All the Players, 2013/2015, Kunsthalle Basel, 2015. Photo: Philipp Hänger/Kunsthalle Basel

Zhana Ivanova, poster for the exhibition, Ongoing Retrospective (Chapter 1), Kunsthalle Basel, 2015. Design: Atlas Studio

Exhibitiontext and related events (PDF)

The Bulgarian­born, Amsterdambased performance artist Zhana Ivanova (*1977) will have her first institutional solo show at Kunsthalle Basel. The nature of her performances often involves revealing, on the one hand, the underlying codes, rules, and structures in society, and, on the other hand, a form of prediction or future tense; thus her exhibition proposes to operate a bit like her work, revealing something about the codes, rules, and structures of exhibition making and setting those into an indeterminate future Called Ongoing Retrospective, it will reverse the typical nature of the retrospective — as something that comes at the end of an established artist’s career and looks back— since here we will start at the beginning of this emerging artist’s career and look forward. Her exhibition of performances will be staged over time instead of merely space, and in “chapters,” to be presented one at a time, spread over several years (as many as the current director is in place) and whenever it is decided that there is another important work that merits inclusion in her “retrospective ”. Ongoing Retrospective (Chapter 1) will feature one recent performance piece by the artist A selection of older, current, and future pieces will become visible in a gradual and ongoing manner as the artist’s oeuvre develops.