Opening Reception | Ari Benjamin Meyers: Kunsthalle for Music

Join us at Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara (MCASB) as we celebrate the opening of Ari Benjamin Meyers: Kunsthalle for Music.

Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara (MCASB) is pleased to announce the United States institutional debut of Berlin-based artist Ari Benjamin Meyers. Kunsthalle for Music, co-founded with the Witte de With Center of Contemporary Art, Rotterdam and Spring Workshop, Hong Kong, is an itinerant institution dedicated to the presentation of music within the histories and environments of the visual arts. For Kunsthalle for Music, an especially selected ensemble performs an on-site exhibition of musical works, which are drawn from a repertoire or “collection” that includes existing and newly commissioned solos, duets, and group pieces composed by Meyers as well as other artists. Ari Benjamin Meyers: Kunsthalle for Music at MCASB will transform the museum into a contemporary space for live performance of musical work, eluding the barriers between performers and audience.

Kunsthalle for Music was originally commissioned by Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art, Rotterdam, and developed in partnership with Spring Workshop, Hong Kong. Ari Benjamin Meyers is its founder and artistic director.

This exhibition is curated by Abaseh Mirvali, Executive Director, Chief Curator & CEO

About the Artist:

Ari Benjamin Meyers (b.1972, New York, USA) lives and works in Berlin, Germany. Meyers received his training as a pianist, composer, and conductor at The Juilliard School, Yale University, and Peabody Institute. Trading the concert format for that of the exhibition, his works as an artist—such as Kunsthalle for Music (2018), Symphony 80 (with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra) and Solo for Ayumi (both 2017)—explore structures and processes that redefine the performative, social, and ephemeral nature of music as well as the relationship between performer and audience. His diverse practice features musical performances for the stage and exhibition spaces as well as three operas including a commission for the Semperoper Dresden and a ballet for the Paris Opera. He has collaborated with artists including Tino Sehgal, Anri Sala, and Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster and bands such as The Residents, Einstürzende Neubauten, and Chicks on Speed.

Recent solo shows include Tacet at Kunstverein Kassel, Germany (2019) and In Concert at OGR Turin, Italy (2019). His works have been shown at Frac Franche-Comté, Besançon, France (2019); Pinault Collection, Punta della Dogana, Venice, Italy (2019); Liverpool Biennial, Liverpool, United Kingdom (2018); Nowy Teatr, Warsaw, Poland (2018); Public Art Munich, Munich, Germany (2018); Witte de With, Rotterdam, Netherlands (2018); Biennale de Lyon, Lyon, France (2017); Spring Workshop, Hong Kong, China (2017); Lenbachhaus, Munich, Germany (2017); and Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin, Germany (2016).