Past Residents
Pietro Ruffo
Pietro Ruffo’s paintings, drawings and sculptural installations reflect his intense social and moral concerns. The large ‘maps’ which trace the cultural and military influence of some of the world’s largest imperial powers appears also in the artist’s choice of techniques. Technical drawing and geographical maps are elaborated further with free-hand drawing, installations achieved with highly technical materials and an intensely manual practice. Last year, the themes of colonialism and the desire of liberty led Ruffo to develop a project named The rise of liberalist thought in the U.S.A. through the figure of Isaiah Berlin, an Oxford Professor considered to be one of the strongest exponents of
liberalism in the 20th century.
Pietro Ruffo was in 1978 in Rome, Italy, where he later studied architecture. Recent exhibitions include: MAD, Museum of Art and Design, New York; TEA, Tenerife Espacio de Las Artes, Islas Canarias Spain; Schöndeling Kunstverein-Langenhagen, Germany; MAXXI Museum of Art of the XXI century, Rome, Italt; MACRO, Museum of Contemporary Art, Rome, Italy; in M.A.R Museum of Ravenna, Italy; La Pescheria Museum of Contemporary Art, Pesaro, Italy. In 2005, Ruffo travelled to Beslan, Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, Russian Federation, to work with children who survived the Chen rebels massacre in their local school. Ruffo also worked on other public projects, including a sculptural proposal for Ground Zero in New York, a special project at the psychiatric hospital in Colmar, France, and various art workshops with children in disadvantaged situations.
Pietro Ruffo, Isaiah Berlin, 2010, Watercolor and cut-out on paper, 65 × 80 in. (165.1 × 203.2 cm). Courtesy of the artist.
Pietro Ruffo, Liberty, 2010, Ink on paper cut-out, 0 × 40 × 40 in. (0 × 101.6 × 101.6 cm). Courtesy of the artist.
Pietro Ruffo, Liberty (Detail), 2010, Graphite and paper cut-out, 80 × 80 in. (203.2 × 203.2 cm). Courtesy of the artist.
Residents from Italy
Past Resident2010: Foundation for a Civil Society
Maja Hodošček
The idea of democracy is defined by important characteristics such as freedom and equality. In her work, Hodoscek explores deviations from this concept, but also explores to what extent democracy is actually present in contemporary societies. Furthermore, Hodoscek surveys the impact of global capitalistic systems on our everyday lives, the essence of her work being the exploration of social exclusion. Her work is based on participatory, process-based approaches and is most often in the form of video, photography, installation and intervention in the public space.
Maja Hodoscek lives and works in Celje, Slovenia. She graduated in 2009 from the Faculty of Education, Department of Fine Arts, University of Maribor, Slovenia. Her work has been shown nationally and internationally at multiple video festivals and exhibitions. In 2010, Hodoscek received the OHO Award for Young Visual Artists organized by Zavod P.A.R.A.S.I.T.E, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Maja Hodošček. Courtesy of the artist.
Maja Hodošček, Promised Land, 2010, Video still. Courtesy of the artist.
Maja Hodošček, Landscape, 2010. Courtesy of the artist.
Maja Hodošček, Landscape, 2010, Photographs. Courtesy of the artist.
Maja Hodošček, Promised Land, 2010, Postcards. Courtesy of the artist.
Residents from Slovenia
Past Resident2011: National Arts Council, Singapore
Sookoon Ang
Sookoon Ang works with various media, including video, installation, drawing and printmaking. Her work addresses both the physical and metaphysical world—the space which we physically dwell and the interior space within us that is our spiritual, emotional and imaginative world. Ang explores how these two both reflect and have an effect on each other. Her artistic endeavour is to create visual representations of the eclipse between these two realms. Ang often takes common or everyday objects and occurrences, and presents them in a way that goes beyond their practical functions or mundane appearances. Ang majored in sculpture at the School of Visual Arts, New York and has participated in the Rijksakademie Artist Research Residency in Amsterdam. Her work has been shown internationally.
Sookoon Ang, It Came Out of Now Here (Love Is The Ultimate Outlaw), 2007, Metal, acrylic sheets, and tube lights, 72 × 23 × 10 in. (182.88 × 58.42 × 25.4 cm). Courtesy of the artist.
Sookoon Ang, Gentle Good Night, 2009, Mixed media, 78 × 59 in. (198.12 × 149.86 cm). Courtesy of the artist.
Sookoon Ang, 6 Horses, 2007, Sheet metal and mylar balloon, Dimensions variable. Courtesy of the artist.
Sookoon Ang, Love Is The Ultimate Outlaw, 2007, Watercolor and pencil on paper, 47 × 67 in. (119.38 × 170.18 cm). Courtesy of the artist.
Sookoon Ang, The Waves/Waifs, 2009, Wood, strings, and artificial hair, Variable dimensions. Courtesy of the artist.
