Maria Hassabi: Artist Talk

The Stedelijk Museum and Het Veem Theater are pleased to present an artist talk with artist and choreographer Maria Hassabi about her live installation PLASTIC, which can be seen in the entrance hall of the Stedelijk Museum from April 16 to 23. PLASTIC is a special commission executed in collaboration with the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. The work is composed of dancers, occupying interstitial spaces of the museum,  such as stairwells and balconies, exploring the relationship between space, time, and physicality.

PLASTIC reflects upon conventions of display, the language surrounding performance-based work, and the idea of stillness in relation to the physical body. Over the years, Maria Hassabi has developed a unique choreographic way of working which focuses on the relationship between the body and the sculptural image. Her methods are characterized by a formal approach to the body, a long-term effect, and aesthetic precision. Hassabi’s work is an exercise in abstraction and takes its strength from the tension between the human subject and the artistic object: the dancer as a performer and as a physical entity. Her approach to abstraction, which is reflected in the reduction of movement in relation to time, results in the body being seen as a powerful medium. The pronounced slow movements and the gradual development of Hassabi’s choreography make it possible to “wait.” Her iconography is not only presented in this way but can also be examined in greater detail.

Maria Hassabi will be interviewed by assistant curator Britte Sloothaak (Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam) and independent (co-) curator Mels Evers, continuing their earlier talks in New York about Hassabi’s performance PREMIERE which debuted in 2013 at the Kitchen in New York. Hassabi’s most recent live installation, PLASTIC, serves as a starting point for their discussion about the relationship between the human body, sculptural iconography, and architecture. Both PREMIERE and PLASTIC can be seen in Amsterdam as part of the project Maria Hassabi (in the context of Amsterdam).

MORE ABOUT MARIA HASSABI (IN THE CONTEXT OF AMSTERDAM) 

Maria Hassabi (in the context of Amsterdam) is a four-part program to be held in Het Veem Theater and the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam over two weeks. It comprises the performance of Hassabi’s key work PREMIERE, the newly developed work PLASTIC, an Artist Talk during a Forum evening in the Stedelijk, and a Context evening in Het Veem Theater, Amsterdam.

These two Amsterdam institutions, based on different traditions, work together for the international promotion of performance and dance. The work by Greek-American artist Maria Hassabi will take place in the overlapping area between the visual arts and performance, the fields of the Stedelijk and Het Veem respectively. 

PREMIERE, April 10 & 11, 2015, 8:30 p.m.
Location: Het Veem Theater, Amsterdam
More information and reservations

PLASTIC, April 16 – 23, 2015, during museum opening hours
Location: Entrance hall of the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam
More information

stedelijk | forum, April 16, 2015, 8:00 – 9:00 p.m. 
Maria Hassabi: Artist Talk
Location: Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam
More information and reservations

Context Night, April 22, 2015, 8:30 – 10:30 p.m.
Location: Het Veem Theater, Amsterdam
More information and reservations soon online

MORE ABOUT THE ARTIST 

Maria Hassabi (born in Cyprus) is a New York-based artist and choreographer. Her works draw their strength from the tension between the human subject and the artistic object—the dancer as a performer and as a physical entity. Hassabi is a 2015 recipient of the Alpert Award in the Arts; a 2011 Guggenheim Fellow; and a recipient of the Foundation for Contemporary Arts, 2009 Grants to Artists Award. In 2012, she received The President’s Award for Performing Arts from the LMCC, and in 2013 she represented Cyprus as part of Cyprus and Lithuanian Pavilion at the 55th Venice Biennale. 

Her works include PLASTIC (2015), PREMIERE (2013), INTERMISSION (2013), Counter-Relief (Kaai 2013), SHOW (2011), Robert and  Maria (2010), SoloShow (2009), Solo (2009), GLORIA (2007), Still Smoking (2006), Dead is Dead (2004) and LIGHTS (2001). She has also created several short-form pieces, art installations including PLASTIC (2015) and CHANDELIERS (2012), and a short film, THE LADIES (2012). Her works are presented in theaters, museums, galleries and public-spaces worldwide.

CREDITS

PLASTIC
2015
Live installation

Performers: Hristoula Harakas, Maria Hassabi, Molly Lieber, and Oisín Monaghan

Sound design by Morten Norbye Halvorsen

Styling by threeASAFOUR

Produced by Ash Bulayev

PLASTIC was developed in collaboration with the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam.

The presentation of PLASTIC in the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam has been made possible with the generous support of co-curator Mels Evers and Het Veem Theater Amsterdam.

PLASTIC has received generous support from the Jerome Foundation and the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council’s Extended Life Dance Development 2013–2014 program. The artist would like to thank the French Institute / Alliance Française and Steven Kahn for his kind support and generosity.