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An image of if there were anywhere but desert. wednesday by Ugo Rondinone
Alternate image of if there were anywhere but desert. wednesday by Ugo Rondinone Alternate image of if there were anywhere but desert. wednesday by Ugo Rondinone Alternate image of if there were anywhere but desert. wednesday by Ugo Rondinone

Ugo Rondinone

(Switzerland 1963– )

Title
if there were anywhere but desert. wednesday
Year
2000
Media category
Sculpture
Materials used
fibreglass, paint, clothing
Edition
unique
Dimensions

52.5 x 212.0 x 92.0cm

Credit
John Kaldor Family Collection at the Art Gallery of New South Wales
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program
Accession number
245.2011
Copyright
© the artist
Location
Contemporary galleries
Further information

Spanning a broad array of material practices and media, Ugo Rondinone’s works are often unsettling and deal with themes of isolation and disenchantment. At once distinct and interrelated, the works installed in this room cross-pollinate, shaping a single narrative. The looped conversation of the wall and sound installation ‘what do you want?’ suggests a relationship permeated with miscommunication, doubt and loneliness. Coupled with this soundtrack, the reclining clown in ‘if there were anywhere but desert. wednesday’ appears bored and disaffected. In a similar vein of inversion and directionlessness, ‘all MOMENTS stop here and together we become every memory that has ever been’. resembles a window, yet rather than opening onto a view, it reflects the interior space back onto itself in sombre black tones.

Bibliography (5)

Wayne Tunnicliffe (New Zealand; Australia) (Editor), John Kaldor Family Collection, Art Gallery of New South Wales, 2011, 314, 316-17 (colour illus.).

Sophie Forbat (Australia) (Editor), 40 years: Kaldor Public Art Projects, Sydney, 2009, 197 (colour illus.). illustration is an installation view

Juliana Engberg (Australia) (Author), Ugo Rondinone: Clockwork for Oracle, Melbourne, 2004.

Museum of Contemporary Art (Australia, estab. 1989) (Author), Ugo Rondinone: Our Magic Hour, 2003.

Adam Free (Australia) (Author), Journey to now: John Kaldor art projects and collection, Adelaide, 2003, 10 (colour illus.), 61. illustration is an installation view

Exhibition history (3)

Journey to Now: John Kaldor Art Projects and Collection, Art Gallery of South Australia, 18 Apr 2003–06 Jul 2003.

Ugo Rondinone: Our Magic Hour, Museum of Contemporary Art, 25 Jun 2003–31 Aug 2003.

Ugo Rondinone: Clockwork for Oracle, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, 28 Jan 2004–07 Mar 2004.