Conceived as an anthology of the works and writings of the artist, author and educator Asier Mendizabal (Ordizia, 1973) from the last two decades, this book alternates between four different sections, four recurring modes: a long interview, a series of questions posed by various collaborators, the documentation of a selection of past exhibition projects, and a compilation of facsimiles of brochures published by the author since 2008. The aim of this concatenation of sections is to counteract and rethink the linear progression often suggested by monographic catalogs and the “biographical illusion” on which it rests, to use Pierre Bourdieu’s words from a famous 1983 text. Recto Verso thus offers an actualization of the reflection on what an artist’s life, after several decades of work, can be, and how to translate this in the form of a book.

Designed by Filiep Tacq, the book includes an essay by Kim West and a long-form interview by Beatriz Herráez, punctuated by questions from Filiep Tacq, Lisa Tan, Jon Mikel Euba, Antonio Menchen, Alex Valijani, Johanna Gustafsson Fürst, Itziar Okariz, Olatz Otalora, Antonia Majaca, Pablo Lafuente and Koenraad Dedobbeleer. Texts in English.

Asier Mendizabal is an artist and author who has been involved in several educational projects in addition to his current position as professor of sculpture at KKH, Royal Institute of Art in Stockholm. His work developed from an early interest in the way in which the reconstruction of Basque culture in the 20th century adopted the language of abstraction through a singular translation into popular and political uses. The representation of the collective, the construction of identity and the role of technique in these phenomena have been recurring themes in his work, which has often been described as a critique of ideology. His practice confronts conventional narratives of history, archival or ethnographic objects, or political and subcultural representations, looking at the technical and material conditions of all of them. Writing is a regular resource in his practice, always in relation to sculpture.

He has had solo shows in museums like MACBA, Barcelona; Museo Reina Sofía, Madrid, Culturgest, Lisbon; Raven Row, London; Galerie Miroslav Kraljevic, Zagreb; Hordaland Kunstsenter, Bergen; Museo San Telmo, Donostia-San Sebastián; Zarigüeya/Alabado contemporáneo, Quito. And group shows like Arts of the Earth, Chacun a son goût and El arte y el espacio, Museo Guggenheim, Bilbao; A Singular Form, Secession, Viena; Whose Subject am I?, Kunstverein Düsseldorf; Scenarios about Europe, GFZK, Leipzig, In the First Circle, Fundació Tapies, Barcelona; Às Artes, Cidadãos, Museu Serralves, Porto; Després de la notícia, at CCCB, Barcelona. Besides he has been selected for Manifesta 5, 54 Venice Biennale (ILLUMInazioni – ILLUMInations), 31 São Paulo Biennale, EVA International 2014, Limerick, Ireland; Taipei Biennale 2002; and Bucharest Biennale 4, Bucharest.

He lives and works in Bilbao and Stockholm.

Conçu comme une anthologie des œuvres et des écrits de l’artiste, auteur et pédagogue Asier Mendizabal (Ordizia, 1973) des deux dernières décennies, cet ouvrage alterne quatre registres différents : quatre modes récurrents : une longue interview, une série de questions posées par différents collaborateurices, la documentation d’une sélection de projets d’expositions passées et une compilation des fac-similés des brochures publiées par l’auteur depuis 2008. L’objectif de cette concaténation de sections est de contrarier et repenser la progression linéaire suggérée par le genre du catalogue monographique et « l’illusion biographique », pour reprendre les termes de Pierre Bourdieu dans un texte fameux de 1983, sur laquelle souvent il repose. Recto Verso propose ainsi une actualisation de la réflexion sur ce que peut être une vie d’artiste après plusieurs décennies de travail et comment en rendre compte sous la forme d’un livre.

Mis en page par le graphiste Filiep Tacq, le livre comprend un essai de Kim West et une longue interview de Beatriz Herráez, ponctuée de questions de Filiep Tacq, Lisa Tan, Jon Mikel Euba, Antonio Menchen, Alex Valijani, Johanna Gustafsson Fürst, Itziar Okariz, Olatz Otalora, Antonia Majaca, Pablo Lafuente et Koenraad Dedobbeleer. Textes en anglais