Vanessa Billy — Not Taught

22nd October — 3rd December 2011

Opening Friday, 21st October 2011, 6 – 8 pm

Not Taught is Vanessa Billy’s (born 1978 in Geneva, lives and works in Zurich and London) second solo show at BolteLang.

Vanessa Billy’s titles speak volumes, they complement and often further her artwork’s form and development. The title of the exhibition, Not Taught works the same way in relation to the exhibition itself. When spoken, the words Not Taught could be under- stood as Not Taut, this ‘taut’ meaning ‘stretched’ or ‘pulled tight’. This verbal game gestures towards a sense of fluidity instead of fixity and sets a tone for how the exhibition can be interpreted as a whole.

In the smaller of the two gallery spaces Billy is showing a single large-scale installation that uses rubble from a nearby building site. The rubble is entirely covered by over- lapping towels. This work, Making Do, 2011, is emblematic of the artist’s work in three dimensions. Here the seemingly spontaneous placement of the ‘found’ building waste determines the surface character of the piece. The solid elements covered by material become a fragile carpet that cannot be stepped on without altering the work or imperil- ing the viewer. What on first sight is reminiscent of a densely populated beach is in fact a subtle comment on the general state of things without being overtly political.

It is a similar case with Vanessa Billy’s Oil Spill on Skin series, 2011, which the artist makes by pouring used sump oil onto coloured and porous paper. Storage, materiality, and drying time all determine the final outcome of these images. But again one can barely refrain from interpreting a political tone in these works. For Billy the realization that meaning is embedded in a material itself (its provenance, its use in the real world etc) prevents the possibility of over determining what the artwork is about. Instead, simple physical laws dominate the artist’s entire oeuvre, where works are often the consequence of material experiments set in motion, every action is followed by a reac- tion. In fact, it could be argued that much of Billy’s work is the result of the interplay between natural laws, human intervention, coincidence and the co-dependency of matter.

Alongside the Oil Spills Billy is showing further sculptural works in the main space that play with simple physical processes, test the qualities of materials and do not follow rules. Hence their results are not predictable and Not Taught.

For further information and images, please contact:

t +41 (0) 44 273 00 10

Anna Bolte: anna@boltelang.com

Chaja Lang: chaja@boltelang.com

Push and Pull, 2011, ceramic, string, 31 x 34 x 3 cm

Installation view Not Taught

Broken Fountain V, 2011, steel, towel, plastic bag, water, concrete

Oil Spill on Skin V, 2011, sump oil, coloured paper, 70 x 100 cm

Installation view Not Taught

Oil Spill on Skin IV, 2011, sump oil, coloured paper, 70 x 100 cm

One and shadow, 2011, concrete, pigment, rods, 78 x 80 x 20 cm

Installation view Not Taught

Tabula Rasa, 2009, papercrete, pigment, 30 x 35 cm each

Table of Elements, 2011, table, ourse, soil, watch, plaster, pigment, ceramic, , 23 x 96 x 60 cm

Start here, go anywhere, 2011, collage, 31.8 x 25.4 cm

Installation view Not Taught

Making do, 2011, rubble, bath towels, site specific

Light, 2011, sump oil, coloured paper, 31.8 x 31.8 cm

Installation view Not Taught

Assimilate (wet), 2011, collage, 31 x 23.5 cm

Assimilate (dry), 2011, collage, 31 x 23.5 cm

BL: Vanessa Billy 'Not Taught'1 BILLV11246VANESSA BILLY

Push and Pull2011 Ceramic, string 31 x 34 x 3 cm ( 12 1/4 x 13 3/8 x 1 1/8 inch ) approx

2 BILLV11238VANESSA BILLYOil Spill on Skin V2011 Sump oil, coloured paper 70 x 100 cm ( 27 1/2 x 39 3/8 inch )

3 BILLV11242VANESSA BILLYBroken Fountain V2011 Steel, towel, plastic bag, water, concrete 290 x 50 x 30 cm ( 114 1/8 x 19 5/8 x 11 3/4 inch ) approx.

4 BILLV11237VANESSA BILLYOil Spill on Skin IV2011 Sump oil, coloured paper 70 x 100 cm ( 27 1/2 x 39 3/8 inch )

5 BILLV11245VANESSA BILLYOne and shadow2011 Concrete, pigment, rods 78 x 80 x 20 cm ( 30 3/4 x 31 1/2 x 7 7/8 inch )

6 BILLV11233VANESSA BILLYTabula Rasa2009 Papercrete, pigment 45 x 30 x 35 cm ( 17 3/4 x 11 3/4 x 13 3/4 inch ) each

28.10.2011 Seite 1

7 BILLV11244VANESSA BILLYTable of Elements2011 Table, purse, soil, watch, plaster, pigment and ceramic 23 x 96 x 60 cm ( 9 x 37 3/4 x 23 5/8 inch )

8 BILLV11236VANESSA BILLYStart here, go anywhere2011 Collage 31,8 x 25,4 cm ( 12 1/2 x 10 inch )

9 BILLV11241VANESSA BILLYMaking do2011 Rubble, bath towels Site specific

10 BILLV11234VANESSA BILLYAssimilate (wet)2011 Collage 31 x 23,5 cm ( 12 1/4 x 9 1/4 inch )

11 BILLV11235VANESSA BILLYAssimilate (dry)2011 Collage 31 x 23,5 cm ( 12 1/4 x 9 1/4 inch )

12 BILLV11248VANESSA BILLYMeet me in three quarters (light)2011 Concrete, pigment 28 x 28 x 2,5 cm ( 11 x 11 x 1 inch )

28.10.2011 Seite 2

13 BILLV11247VANESSA BILLYLight2011 Sump oil, coloured paper 31,8 x 31,8 cm ( 12 1/2 x 12 1/2 inch )

28.10.2011 Seite 3