PRESENTATION: Anri Sala-Ravel Ravel Interval
Born in Tirana, Albania, Anri Sala is a Berlin-based artist known for his captivating projects that bring together the unique qualities of different artistic mediums in order to invite reflection on culture, communication and the human condition. His work draws on an impressive array of modes of expression, such as video, photography, installation, sculpture, drawing and fresco painting.
By Dimitris Lempesis
Photo: MMFA Archive
Anri Sala presents “Ravel Ravel Interval” (2017), an immersive video installation in the Contemporary Art Square at the MMFA. Shown for the first time in Canada, this piece is adapted from the work “Ravel Ravel” (2013), which was presented at the 55th Venice Biennale. “Ravel Ravel Interval” simultaneouslypresent two interpretations of Maurice Ravel’s (1875-1937) “Piano Concerto for the Left Hand in D Major”. Created in 1929-1930, the piece was commissioned by pianist Paul Wittgenstein following the amputation of his right arm in the First World War. In “Ravel Ravel Interval”, Sala trains his lens on the left hands of the two performers, Montreal pianist Louis Lortie and French pianist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet. Each is accompanied by an unseen orchestra somewhere outside the shot. As they perform the piece, the two pianists vary their tempo: starting out in unison, they then split apart, come back together, drift apart again and finally resume their synchronous play. The interval between these two interpretations highlights the uniqueness of human expression, inviting us to accept and embrace uncertainty as an essential part of our artistic and personal experience. The undercurrent of Sala’s projects, such as “Ravel Ravel Unravel” or “Intervista (Finding Words)” is a fundamentally personal exploration of intimate, interwoven stories, resonating themes of a changing society and the individual. The artist’s interest in transition and rupture is demonstrated by the way in which he relates language, sound, music. The impact of his work featured at the world’s top venues and exhibitions endorses Sala’s conviction that art can transcend cultural references without losing any of its specificity, nor indeed, its power.
Photo: View of Anri Sala’s “Ravel Ravel Interval” (2017) in the exhibition Out of the Box, held at Schaulager, Switzerland, 2023. Schaulager, ® Münchenstein/Basel. © Anri Sala. Photo Tom Bisig, Basel
Info: Curator: Alexandrine Théorêt, Montreal Museum of Fine Art (MMFA), 1380 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Duration: 29/11/2024-27/4/2025, Days & Hours: Tue & Thu-Sun 10:00-17:00, Wed 10:00-21:00, www.mbam.qc.ca/
