BERLIN.- Cain Schulte Contemporary Art Berlin & San Francisco's joint exhibition Magna Carta explores the diverse and innovative creations of international artists who work with and on paper. The artists involved have been asked to create pieces that are thematically anchored in an investigation of the 13th-century legal document the Magna Carta, which is widely considered a pivotal turning point in the attempt to establish individual liberties, and a key element in the radical transformation of constitutional thought. The works in this exhibition explore contemporary issues focusing on the protection of personal freedom, individual rights, and unlawful imprisonment. The exhibition seeks to highlight the universality and contemporary relevance of the issues emanating from the Magna Carta in today's increasingly globalized world.
The works on display a range in size and media. Some of the works offer novel perspectives on the deterioration and transgressions of the Magna Carta's ideals by focusing on current interpretations of cultural colonialism. Other artists have conceptualized the literal translation of Magna Carta ("big paper") as a basis for their thematic explorations within the limits of the medium of paper.
Curated by directors Marina Cain and Kit Schulte, the Magna Carta exhibition will open at the San Francisco, US gallery on November 17, 2010 and will then continue on to Berlin, Germany with an opening on March 18, 2011. Each location will show a variation of works created by a selected group of gallery and guest artists. Magna Carta is the first of an annually-occurring group exhibition, jointly produced by the Cain Schulte galleries as part of an intercultural conversation of contemporary art.
The exhibitions are produced in conjunction with the following galleries: Mixed Greens, New York; ZieherSmith, New York; Donna Seager, San Rafael; Raphael Barbibay Art Connections, Israel; Hosfelt Gallery, San Francisco.