GIANA DE DIER, WHAT WE CHOOSE TO NOT SEE, NO. 1, 2022, MIXED MEDIA COLLAGE ON FABRIANO WATERCOLOR PAPER, 65 X 55 CM.

Works from more than 100 artists will converge in Pittsburgh in the longest-running North American exhibition of contemporary art.

The 58th Carnegie International, which has been presented every three-to-four years since 1896, begins Sept. 24 and runs through April 2. Works, ranging from those made in 1945 to new pieces, are meant to situate “international” within a local context and examine how art is shedding light on the current issues of the world.

THE FAMILY OF ÉDGAR CALEL PERFORMING THE OYONÏK HEALING RITUAL IN THE FIELDS OF SAN JUAN COMALOPA. IMAGE COURTESY OF PROYECTOS ULTRAVIOLETA AND THE ARTIST. PHOTOGRAPHY BY ÉDGAR CALEL.

“I’m really excited about all the new commissions we’re bringing to the International,” says Sohrab Mohebbi, the Kathe and Jim Patrinos Curator of the International. “They are very different, they come from different places, different voices, they’re really strong propositions … I feel equally taken by all of them.

“I think it’s going to be an impressive experience.”

LATOYA RUBY FRAZIER,ÊLATISH WALKER LEADING HER COMMUNITY WALKING TOUR IN EAST BALTIMORE WITH JOHN HOPKINS INTERNS, 2021, BALTIMORE MD, COURTESY OF ARTIST.

This title of this year’s International, “Is it morning for you yet?,” is taken from a Mayan Kaqchikel expression: Instead of saying “Good morning,” it is customary to ask, “Is it morning for you yet?”

Guatemalan artist Édgar Calel will present a new commission of the same name for the International.

“His work is really addressing the question of communication with absent entities,” Mohebbi says. “In a way, it also speaks to this moment, not only with all the tragedies that happened in the last couple years with the pandemic but thinking about migration and those who want to communicate with those who are not present. And also the experiences we’ve been having with various forms of virtual communication.”

MOCK-UP OF BANU CENNETOĞLU,ÊRIGHT?, 2022, STRING, HELIUM, AND MYLAR BALLOONS, DIMENSIONS VARIABLE, COURTESY OF ARTIST AND RODEO GALLERY, LONDON/PIRAEUS.

Among other works, “right?” a commission by Banu Cennetoğlu, an artist in Istanbul, will consist of balloon bouquets, one for every article from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

“What the work proposes is that rights could be deflated, [they] could be taken away, and we need the labor to protect them and expand them,” says Mohebbi.

INSTALLATION VIEW OF JULIAN ABRAHAM “TOGAR” EXHIBITION, RIJKSAKADEMIE OPEN STUDIOS, AMSTERDAM, 2021

Local visual artist LaToya Ruby Frazier has been working with community health care workers in Baltimore; her work will showcase professional photos side-by-side with photographs the workers took themselves, expanding on how community health care workers reflect on their lives.

DIA AL-AZZAWI,ÊRUINS OF TWO CITIES: MOSUL AND ALEPPO, 2020; PHOTO: MOHANNAD KHAMRA.

One difference from previous internationals is that the works will be on display beyond the museum’s walls. Some of these installations include:

• Artist Tony Cokes will have four digital billboards alongside Route 28 with moving text, still images and multichromatic color blocks depicting fragments of speeches, writing and lyrics; he’ll also have a piece in the museum’s theater.
• On the North Side, a tree that owns its own land will be planted on a plot donated by the Community College of Allegheny County; it’s a project by terra0, a Berlin-based artist collective.
• Artist James “Yaya” Hough installed a mural on Centre Avenue in the Hill District, his home neighborhood. His drawings will also be on view in the museum during the International.

I GUSTI AYU KADEK MURNIASIH,ÊBERDADAN, 2002, ACRYLIC ON CANVAS, 74.5 X 74.5 CM, COURTESY OF THE ARTIST.

The idea to have this International expand beyond the museum’s walls was fitting, Mohebbi says.

“As everyone in Pittsburgh knows, it’s a very textured city — different neighborhoods have different histories … It’s not a homogenous city, Pittsburgh, so we were really hoping to engage different communities, different places, in a way that made sense.”

58TH CARNEGIE INTERNATIONAL
Carnegie Museum of Art
Sept. 24-April 2
cmoa.org