BLACK AIR

Aldo Tambellini, Otto Piene, Ibrahim R. Ineke, Semiconductor, Ayako Kato, Max Kuiper, Lisa Slodki, Hans de Wit


at Casino Luxembourg — Forum d'art contemporain
41, rue Notre-Dame L-2240 Luxembourg
05.10.2024 – 05.01.2025


Air is black.
It is without color, without luminosity, and without form.
Its blackness is not void, but constitutes pure potential,
raw creative energy.

Air is free.
It circulates everywhere, all at once and always,
without conceding to architectural or political borders.

We are intimately immersed in black air.
We are born into it.
We breathe it.
We move and act through it, speak from within it.

Full of electromagnetic energy,
black air animates us,
it vibrates and sounds,
it carries and transmits.


Curated by Amelia LiCavoli, Black Air takes its name from a 1968 electronic environment of video and pneumatics by Aldo Tambellini and Otto Piene. In addition to this re-activation, a new publication, site-specific installations, and performances have been commissioned. Ibrahim R. Ineke's painting and artist book set the human scale. Semiconductor maps scientific data from expanses of dark energy within superclusters of galaxies, and visualizes them as sculptural reliefs, accompanied by sound. Ayako Kato performs a physical exploration of metaphysical black air throughout space and time. Max Kuiper constructs a mixed-media installation of sound, video projections, and transparent sheets with encased materials and prints. A suspended video installation by Lisa Slodki depicts a series of dynamic vignettes captured during a search for ether. Landscapes by Hans de Wit indicate bursts of radiation, churning air, and biological antennae, suggesting that the earth's surface is more like a lung than a hard crust. Together these artworks demonstrate the amorosity of black air—which becomes visible or tangible only through its interactions, relationships, and effects.

Event Program


       














4 October 2024 (opening reception)
"Air Noir" live magnetic-cassette tape sound performance with sounds of materials and objects from "Z/W/A/R/T Magazine Nr.29" installation by Les Horribles Travailleurs (Max Kuiper)

5 October 2024
Guided tour with the curator through black air

6 October 2024
"Transmission Ecology" radio workshop with Jeff Kolar (of Radius)

10 October 2024
"Black Air" radio sound performance by Jeff Kolar

18 October 2024
Guided tour with the curator through black air

5, 7, and 8 December 2024
"Kuroi Kūki: a seed" movement performance by Ayako Kato

7 December 2024
"Art of Being: Energy, Flow, and Form" movement workshop with Ayako Kato

5 January 2025 (closing reception)
"In the Ether" live video-processing performance of the installation by Lisa Slodki (Noise Crush) with etherphone soundscape


Views


Foyer "staging space" for performances and discussions, with poster collage by Ibrahim R. Ineke and Amelia LiCavoli. Photo ©Andrés Lejona.



Scene detail of "staging space" after opening performance by Max Kuiper, radios used for listening to radio broadcast during performance resting on top of display case enclosing Ibrahim R. Ineke's artist book Black Air (2024). Photo by Max Kuiper.



Hans de Wit, "Conjunction 15" (2023), "Conjunction 12" (2023), "Conjunction 06" (2022-2023), and "Radiation 11" (2021), all pastel, toner, on fine art paper [hung with 'baget needles' on plane of black-painted wall, lighting design by Patrick Scholtes]. Photo ©Andrés Lejona, with adjustment to color by Amelia LiCavoli..



Ibrahim R. Ineke, "Static Agent" (2024), acrylics on plywood [installed on frame of sage-violet painted wall, lighting design by Patrick Scholtes]. Photo by Amelia LiCavoli.



Lisa Slodki's "In the Ether" (2024) [five (5) VCRs, series of 5 VHS videotapes, 5 suspended CRTs and plenty of cable]. Photo ©Andrés Lejona, with adjustment to color by Amelia LiCavoli.


Otto Piene's "Pneumatic Garden of Eden" (1968/2024), reactivated by Amelia LiCavoli with technical assistance from Leif Heidenreich [three (3) air sculptures of clear polyethylene tubing, with a set of two stems on each; noise-making cylinders of compressed air, with work-lamps and timers attached]. Photo ©Andrés Lejona, with adjustment to color by Amelia LiCavoli.


Aldo Tambellini's "Black Air" (1968/2024), reactivated by Amelia LiCavoli based on archival records, with technical assistance from Leif Heidenreich and Anna Salamone [Projector 1 and 2: digitized hand-painted 2 x 2 inch glass slides from "lumagram" series (circa 1965) each "tray" projection lasting 6 minutes (with 3 second delay between advances); Projector 3: "Black Is" (1965) digitization of 16 mm film, 4 minutes; Projector 4: "Black Trip [1]" (1965) digitization of 16 mm film, 5 minutes; Projector 5: "Black Out" (1965) digitization of 16 mm film, 9 minutes] with "Black Video 2" video construction. Photo ©Andrés Lejona, with adjustment to color by Amelia LiCavoli.


Aldo Tambellini, "Black Video 2" video construction, with digitized CV tapes of "Black Video 1" (c.1967/2012) and "Black Video 2" (c.1967/2012) displayed on Hanterex monitors. Photo ©Andrés Lejona.



Detail view of "Black Video 2" video construction, showing vintage CV-2000 Videocorder, vintage test oscillator, vintage microphone, and Kenneth Wise/Aldo Tambellini video-control box (non-functional shell) recreated by Amelia LiCavoli based on archival documents (placed with ZKM Collections after exhibition). Photo by Amelia LiCavoli.



Semiconductor's "Nothing is Possible" (2024) [six (6) digitally plotted Cinefoil sheets (matte black foil), combined into 3 separate structures, suspended, and manually sculpted with animated light "pillow" (digitally programmed LED lights); one (1) 1.2 x 1.2 meter sheet of Cinefoil, wall-mounted with animated LED light "pillow"; 4-channel looping generative sound based on Baryonic Acoustic Oscillations]. Photo ©Andrés Lejona, with adjustment to color by Amelia LiCavoli.


Max Kuiper's "z\w\a\r\t magazine nr. 29–Black Air Issue" (2024) [sheets of plastic and textiles hung within multiple wooden-frames modules, prints, paintings, and drawings on mixed materials, photographs, objects; 6 projectors playing 6 digital-video files; and sound]. Photo ©Andrés Lejona, with adjustment to color and crop by Amelia LiCavoli.


Detail of Ayako Kato's "Kuroi Kūki: a seed" installed in "staging space," with fennel-seed mandela by Ayako Kato, costume by Yuria Tsuchiya Roebke, and video documentary of movement performance by Dominique Weber of SKIN (2024). Photo by Amelia LiCavoli.



Video by SKIN (2024) documenting the immersive BLACK AIR exhibition.



Publications


Art of Being through Emptiness [a philosophical essay on dance and life]


text by Ayako Kato (2024)
editing and layout by Amelia LiCavoli (2024)
cover illustration by Ibrahim R. Ineke (2024)

published by Casino Luxembourg — Forum d'art contemporain (2025)

abt 148 mm x 210 mm
60 pages
text in American English

printed by Casino Display, Luxembourg (2024)

inside pages risograph-printed with Black, Sunflower, Bright Red, and Blue inks on [135gsm Context Natural?] recycled paper stock, cover risograph-printed in Black and Bright Red on [225gsm Loop Straw?] eco-friendly paper, staple bound

ISBN 978-2-919790-51-7
edition of 150, first printing
in EU available through Casino bookstore
in US available through Ayako Kato



BLACK AIR, a facsimile of an artist book

images and drawings by Ibrahim R. Ineke (2024)
text and lettering by Amelia LiCavoli (2025)

published by Casino Luxembourg — Forum d'art contemporain (2025)

210 mm x 297 mm
40 pages
text in American English

printed by Imprimerie Centrale, Luxembourg (2025)

inside pages offset printed on Bio Top 3 160 g/m2 paper,
cover silk-screen printed on Sirio Dark Black 290 g/m2 paper,
thread bound

ISBN 978-2-919790-50-0
edition of 250, first printing
distribution information coming soon!


z\w\a\r\t magazine nr. 29–Black Air Issue

Additionally, as part of Max Kuiper's contribution to the exhibition, the artist self-published both the "z\w\a\r\t magazine nr. 29–Black Air Issue" (2024) as a limited-edition "book" release, and the audio compilation Schwarze Luft available on his webpage at Bandcamp. Photo by Max Kuiper.


Reviews


-Anina Valle Thiele, "Schwarze Löcher, kosmische Welten," d'Lëtzebuerger Land (22.11.2024)

Asthetisch eindrucksvoll entführt Black Air im Casino einen kosmische Welten. In der immersiven Ausstellung folgen Künstler/innen auf unterschiedliche Weise den Spuren schwarzer Luft [...] Black Air gelingt es tatsachlich, mit den alltagsverstandnis nicht wahrnehmbare raume und energien erlebber zu machen, bisweilen in uberwaltigender dichte, wenn man sich denn darauf einlasst. Es ist eine sinnliche schau, die mit den komtrasten spielt, gleichermassen verwunshen wie verstorend-surrend wirkt und einen ratselhaften sog wie ein schwarzes loch entfallet. Bei aller (technischen) darstellbarkeit bleibt ... anteil, wir schon beim ether in allen historischen varianten, nicht abzusteifen

Translation: Aesthetically impressive, Black Air at Casino takes you into cosmic worlds. In the immersive exhibition, artists follow the traces of black air in different ways. [...] Black Air actually succeeds in making spaces and/or energies that are not perceptible with everyday understanding tangible, sometimes in overwhelming density, if you allow yourself to get involved. It is a sensual show that plays with contrasts, seems both enchanted and disturbingly buzzing, and creates an enigmatic pull like a black hole. The mythological element, as with Ether in all its historical variants, cannot be shaken off.

-Marie-Anne Lorgé, "Nuit magique," Marie-Anne-Lorge.com (11 oct. 2024)

Black Air qui réactive les expériences visuelles d'Aldo Tambellini, artiste italo-américain né en 1930, décédé à 90 ans en novembre 2020, peintre – travaillant l'esthétique binaire du noir et blanc dans l'abstraction—, sculpteur, poète et, surtout, afin de rendre sa peinture vivante et instable, pionnier de l'intermédia électronique; artiste en l'occurrence tombé dans l'oubli puis réhabilité récemment, et ce que le "Casino" propose aujourd'hui, c'est une redécouverte de cet adepte de la matière noire intimement liée … à la lumière. Et au son. / Redécouverte d'autant plus méritoire qu'il n'existe quasi plus de trace matérielle de l'œuvre, à l'exception de photos. [...] Donc, à partir de documents d'archives et moyennant du matériel d'époque, dont magnétophone, écrans à cathode et ventilateur, le premier étage du "Casino" est l'écrin nébuleux d'une réactivation-adaptation de vidéos exploratoires de Tambellini — combinant pellicules peintes à la main, flux électrique, système d'aimants, oscilloscope et images réelles distordues – associées à une sculpture-installative d'Otto Piene (1928-2014), constituée d'éléments gonflables tubulaires transparents [...] Mais alors que Tambellini, vrillé à la cosmologie, arpente davantage les ténèbres, Piene aspire à des Chemins vers le paradis: «J'affronte l'obscurité, je l'examine à la lumière, je la rends transparente, je lui ôte ses peurs, j'en fais un volume de force animé par la respiration à l'instar de mon corps». [...] Dans la galaxie, Amelia LiCavoli, la commissaire de l'expo qui devait initialement investir le "Casino" en 2019, a convoqué 6 artistes, aussi alternatifs que Tambellini et Piene, dont les œuvres partagent le même esprit sans en être une relecture.

Translation: Black Air, which reactivates the visual experiments of Aldo Tambellini, an Italian-American artist born in 1930, who died aged 90 in November 2020. Tambellini was a painter–working with the binary aesthetics of black and white in abstraction–sculptor, poet and, above all, a pioneer of electronic intermedia; an artist who fell into obscurity but was recently revived, and what "Casino" is proposing today is a rediscovery of this devotee of dark matter, intimately linked to... to light. And sound. This rediscovery is all the more meritorious in that there is virtually no material trace of the work, except for photographs. / Working from archival documents and using equipment from the period, including tapeplayers, cathode ray screens and blowers, the second floor of the "Casino" is the nebulous setting of a reactivation-adaptation of Tambellini's exploratory videos – combining hand-painted film, electrical currents, a magnetic systems, an oscilloscope, and real distorted images–combined with a sculpture-installation by Otto Piene, made up of transparent tubular inflatable [...] while Tambellini, steeped in cosmology, delves more into darkness, Piene aspires to Paths to Paradise: "I confront darkness, I examine it in the light, I make it transparent, I take away its fears, I turn it into a volume of strength animated by breath, in the same way as my body." [...] Much more than an exhibition [...] Black Air is truly an experience, infused with energy, totally immersed in the dark but eminently stroboscopic [...] In this galaxy, Amelia LiCavoli, curator of the exhibition originally scheduled to take over the "Casino" in 2019, has invited 6 artists, as diverse as Tambellini and Piene, whose works share the same spirit without being a reinterpretation of it. [...]Black Air is a nocturnal plunge into an atmospheric landscape[...]

-Augusta Weydert Hernandez, "Suivre la lumière à travers "l'air noir" au Casino de Luxembourg", Rue89 Strasbourg (8 décembre 2024)
Les artistes réussissent à établir une connexion entre les œuvres et les spectateurs, incitant à la réflexion et à la créativité. C'est un appel à célébrer la beauté et la complexité de l'air, tout en abordant des inquiétudes contemporaines d'une manière immersive et engageante. Cette exposition est à ne pas manquer pour quiconque souhaite explorer les interconnexions entre art, science et environnement.

Translation: The artists succeed in establishing a connection between the works and the viewers, inciting reflection and creativity. It's a call to celebrate the beauty and complexity of air, while addressing contemporary concerns in an immersive and engaging way. This exhibition is a must-see for anyone interested in exploring the interconnections between art, science and the environment.


Thank you

Aldo Tambellini Foundation, Anna Salamone, Otto Piene Estate, Andreas Schleicher-Lange of Sprueth Magers, Ibrahim R. Ineke, Ruth Jarman, Joe Gerhardt, Ayako Kato, Yuria Tsuchiya Roebke, Max Kuiper, Saskya Kamps, Lisa Slodki, Hans de Wit, John Marchant Gallery, Jeff Kolar, Kevin Muhlen, Stella Arieti, Stilbé Schroeder, Katharina Stütze, Nadina Faljic, Filipa Lima, Bettina Heldenstein, Charles Rouleau, Virginie Dellenbach, Sandra Kolten, Nadine Clemens, Kalonji Tshinza, Charline Guille, Marc Szaryk, Benoît Schmit, Linda Da Costa, Leif Heidenreich, Nuredin Ismajli, Patrick Scholtes, Joseph Nechvatal, Mark Solotroff, Joseph Clayton Mills, Cercle Cité (Luxembourg), Le Trianon/Cravat (Luxembourg), Sazio Resturant (Luxembourg), Neumünster Abbey, Dominique Weber of SKIN, Laurent Martin of Imprimerie Centrale, John Cecchini of Hatcher Models (Chicago), MainzAIR (Aachen), Les Amis des Musées d'art et d'histoire Luxembourg, Susan Sgorbati and Cordelia Sand and Elena Demyanenko of Center for the Advancement of Public Action at Bennington College, Darin Reid of Custom Case Company, Ana Gonzalez Ewens of Masterpiece International, Gabrielle Carlo of Buffalo AKG Art Museum, Pamela Jones, Aurore Osellame, Scott Speh of Western Exhibitions, Margit Rosen and Philipp Ziegler and Dorcas Müller of ZKM, Jason Soliday, and especially Keefe Jackson and Gast Bouschet

Casino Luxembourg is financially supported by the Ministry of Culture, Luxembourg.