NYAB Event - Pippo Lionni & Qasim Naqvi “Chronology 20160424 / 41°-74°”

Pippo Lionni & Qasim Naqvi “Chronology 20160424 / 41°-74°”

P!

This event has ended.

Curated by Prem Krishnamurthy

Chronology 20160424 / 41°-74° is a show in three motions, an evolving and experimental conversation between artist Pippo Lionni and composer Qasim Naqvi. This asynchronous call-and-response opens up a space in which painting, music, and graphic notation correspond through common and conflictual gestures. Juxtaposing previously existing with freshly-created works, the three part structure registers how this encounter has altered each participant’s process, with possibilities for diversion, error, and invention at every turn.

Motion 1 is a prelude, beginning in February 2016 with an introduction in New York over coffee and pastries, and continuing with the creation of visual and aural pieces across two continents. Engaged in close readings of the other’s art and music from a distance, Lionni and Naqvi test out new approaches that reflect a mutual influence.

Motion 2 presents works predating the conversation, including Lionni’s enamel paintings on paper and choral compositions by Naqvi. Subsequently, the gallery is transformed into a public studio for Lionni to develop a new large-scale painting, in which movement, collision, interruption, and formal contrast perform together. In tandem from afar, Naqvi scores a new musical piece.

Completing the exhibition, Motion 3 premieres Lionni’s gallery-size painting, with its layers of transparency, interference, and graphic form, alongside a new multi-part musical composition by Naqvi. Developed using a Moog Model D synthesizer, this recorded work is accompanied by a graphic score that uses notational systems to log the synthesizer’s pitch and durational settings. Installed together in the space, the primary works and fragments from the collaborative process present an index of the project’s entire arc.

Pippo Lionni was born in New York and has lived in Paris since the early 1980s. His multidisciplinary background and education has led to a diverse output ranging from large-scale wall installations, projected animations, and painting. Through the early 2000s, he was known internationally for his work as a graphic and industrial designer, creating visual identities and communications for a range of cultural organizations. Lionni’s enamel paintings on paper and canvas, his focus over the past decade, record a process of visual discovery and improvisation. He has exhibited in museums and galleries internationally and is included in the collections of the Centre George Pompidou, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, and the Rochester Institute of Technology. Lionni was awarded the distinction of “Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres” by the French Ministry of Culture in 2001. lionni.com

Qasim Naqvi is a drummer, composer, producer, and one of the founding members of the group Dawn of Midi. Naqvi’s soundtracks and arrangements for film have appeared on HBO, NBC, PBS, The Sundance Channel, The New York Times, The Tribeca Film Festival, The Academy Awards, The Sundance Film Festival, dOCUMENTA 13, and others. He has written works for the yMusic Ensemble, Now Ensemble, The Loos Ensemble, The New Century Players, The Contemporary Music Ensemble of NYU, and Nimbus Dance Works. Upcoming collaborations for 2016 include premieres for Yarn and Wire, The London Contemporary Orchestra, The Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Tigue, and others. He has completed fellowships at Harvest Works, Art Omi, Akademie Schloss Solitude, and Steim and has received grants from the New York Foundation for the Arts and Chamber Music America. qasim-naqvi.com