Nick van Woert

In May 2014, MAMbo - Museo d'Arte Moderna di Bologna hosted the first personal exhibition in Italy of Nick van Woert, one of the most original voices in contemporary US art today.

This catalogue includes an exclusive interview by art critic Aniko Berman, accompanied by a rich selection of photographs, highlighting the principal features of the artist’s poetics, and above all stressing his conviction that a semantics of materials exists, with each material generating an intrinsic value. Leaving aside their functional aspects, the objects populating our daily lives are regarded by Van Woert for what they are, for the way they are made rather than for how they appear.

Taking this reflection as a basis, together with his interest in such figures as Ted Kaczynski (Unabomber) and extreme “back to nature” movements sharing the man vs. machine dynamic and an attempt to change or “dissect” our way of life, he develops complex installations, hybrid classification of work tools and weapons for capturing animals, antique finds seen with a view to pass on knowledge and techniques with a view to the potential sabotage of order.