Carsten Nicolai at the MAC

Montréal, April 30, 2012 — The Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal is delighted to be involved in the inaugural edition of the International Digital Arts Biennial in Montréal. In connection with this major event, the museum will present the latest installation by Berlin-based artist Carsten Nicolai, as part of its Projections series. This 2011 work, titled unidisplay, explores the notion of a universal language. It will be on view in Beverley Webster Rolph Hall from May 5 to 27, 2012.

In addition to taking part in the Projections series, Nicolai, under the stage name alva noto, will be featured in the MAC’s Friday Nocturne on May 4, starting at 5 p.m. For the first time in North America, he will present his performance piece univrs (uniscope version), taken from his most recent project on Raster-Noton, a leading Berlin label of which he is the co-founder. Nocturnes are unique and entertaining Montréal evenings featuring exhibitions, live music and bar service from 5 to 9. alva noto’s performance begins at 7 p.m.

A prominent figure in digital creation today, Carsten Nicolai is known for his conceptual and mathematical approach. He is as active in the contemporary art world as on the electronic music scene where he amazes audiences with his precise, subtle sounds and visual codes.

Nicolai won the Golden Nica, top prize at the Ars electronica event in Linz, Austria, in 2001, and participated in the 49^th Venice Biennale that same year and the 50^th Venice Biennale in 2003. His first major solo exhibitions, anti reflex, syn chron and audio visual spaces, were presented at Schirn Kunsthalle in Frankfurt, Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin and the Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst in Ghent. In 2007, the survey show Carsten Nicolai: static fades, mounted by Haus Konstruktiv in Zurich, traced twenty years of his career.

Acknowledgements

The Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal is a provincially owned corporation funded by the Ministère de la Culture, des Communications et de la Condition féminine du Québec. It receives additional funding from the Department of Canadian Heritage and the Canada Council for the Arts. The museum gratefully acknowledges their support and that of Collection Loto-Québec, the MAC’s principal partner.