“Theater of the World”

Upon entering this exhibition, visitors are confronted with a dark foyer containing a small amphitheater of objects. Modernist paintings, wood sculptures, and golden artifacts fill its shelves. Posted on the wall is the key to this curatorial assemblage: a folio-size copy of an etching depicting The Memory Theater, ca. 1530s, by philosopher Giulio Camillo. Camillo designed this auditorium for François I of France, hoping it would “assemble every human concept and every thing that exists in the entire world.” Curator Jean-Hubert Martin uses this historical invention as the basis for his resonant show, which explores death, abstraction, epiphany, and ritual. Martin’s curatorial style is particular: He curates with a deliberate and sculptural aesthetic by placing works side by side, like an installation artist with a wide-ranging but systemic logic.

The exhibition spans sixteen rooms, the most successful of which highlight the theatricality of Martin’s curatorial flair. Especially engaging is the dark tomblike room that focuses on death, memorial, and the abject. The audience here observes several glass display cases, which present, in turn, a visceral sculpture from Berlinde De Bruyckere, Lange Eenzame Man, 2010; an Egyptian coffin (of Tai-es Khen), ca. 600–525 BCE; and the decorative, hand-painted Coffin: Mercedes-Benz, 2010, by Paa Joe, which is indeed a casket made of wood, glass, alkyd paint, acrylic, fabrics, foam, glitter, and nails. Nearby, in the “Phantasm Gallery,” Martin restricts the viewpoint to a black semicircular wall. What ensues is a dance with objects. Illuminated by a dramatic pin light, a series of masks and animal bones are unveiled one at a time in a steady rhythm. These performative curatorial actions are what make this exhibition successful insofar as they negotiate a space between museum and gallery show, and between performance and exhibition.