Chris Sharp
October - November 2011
During an intense, ten week research period in Rome, Chris Sharp, curator in residence at Nomas Foundation, conducted over thirty-five studio visits with artists based in Rome and actively engaged in conversation with the city’s art scene. The exhibition Smeared with the Gold of the Opulent Sun will host the results of this moment of study, observation and digression, showcasing Chris Sharp’s personal vision on the city’s artistic situation through the works of eight artists (Luisa Gardini, Richard Gasper, Giovanni Kronenberg, Jochen Lempert, Matteo Nasini, Nicola Pecoraro, Alessandro Piangiamore, Carlo Gabriele Tribbioli).
Chris Sharp (b. 1974, USA) is a writer and independent curator. Recent exhibitions and projects include, Bouvard and Pécuchet’s Compendious Quest for Beauty, co-curated with Simone Menegoi, at the David Roberts Art Foundation, London, 2012; Antic Measures at Galerija Gregor Podnar, Berlin, 2011; Under Destruction, co-curated with Gianni Jetzer, at The Swiss Institute, New York, 2011; The Moment Pleasantly Frightful at Laura Bartlett Gallery, London, 2011; the performance 13 Pieces, 17 Feet, upon which he collaborated with Becky Beasley at the Serpentine Gallery, London, September 2010; Still Vast Reserves at Gertrude Contemporary, Melbourne, Australia, 2010, co-curated with Emily Cormack and Alexie Glass-Cantor; In Which the Wind is Also a Protagonist at La générale en manufacture, Sèvres, France, 2010; The Zero Budget Biennial 2009-10, co-curated with Joanna Fiduccia, which traveled from Paris to Milan, London, and Berlin; and a solo survey of the work of Alexander Gutke at Culturgest, Porto, 2009, which traveled to MoCAD, Detroit, 2009. A selection of forthcoming exhibitions includes: Mexico City Blues at Shanaynay, 2012, Paris; Manners of Matter at The Swiss Institute, New York, 2013; and Swiss Sculpture Exhibition, co-curated with Gianni Jetzer, Biel/Bienne, 2014. He is editor-at-large of Kaleidoscope magazine, a contributing editor of Art Review, and his writing has appeared in magazines and on-line publications including Frieze, Afterall, Mousse, Metropolis M, and Art-Agenda, among many others. He has contributed texts to publications on the work of artists such as Simon Dybbroe Møller, Dane Mitchell, Roman Ondà k, Michael Dean, Christian Andersson, Ian Kiaer, Nina Canell, Lara Favaretto, Nina Beier and Owen Land among many others for such institutions as Moderna Museet, Malmö, Nouveau Musée National de Monaco, Kunsthalle Bern, and the Sculpture Center, New York.