pOEtry pArk will take place in Regent’s Park and incorporate various activities and performances relating to an expanded idea of poetry. A unique first-time collaboration by Ei Arakawa and Karl Holmqvist, the ‘park’ will include sculptural and print interpretations of poetry as a physical existence. pOEtry pArk will also function as a refuge from the fair, a haven to which visitors can temporarily retreat from the preoccupied atmosphere of the fair, incorporating relaxing and meditative activities and an environment influenced by Japanese-american artist Isamu Noguchi.
Ei Arakawa (b.1977) is a Japanese artist based in New York. Recent solo projects and shows include Casco, Utrecht and Galerie Neu, Berlin (both 2010); Künsthalle Zürich; Prochoice, Vienna; Künstlerhaus Stuttgart; New Jerseyy, Basel; Taka Ishii Gallery, Kyoto (all 2009); Front Room at Contemporary Art Museum, St Louis and Franco Soffiantino Gallery, Turin (both 2008). Recent group shows include: ‘Greater New York 2010’, P.S.1 Centre for Contemporary Art, New York (2010); ‘Tblisi 6: Never on Sunday’, Tblisi and ‘Calling Out of Context’, ICA, London (both 2009); Yokohama Triennale, Kanagawa and ‘2008 Altoids Award’, New Museum, New York (both 2008); Performa07, New York (2007). Forthcoming projects include; Nam June Paik Art Center, Seoul (2010); Reena Spaulings Fine Art, New York (2010).
Karl Holmqvist (b.1964) is a Swedish artist based in Stockholm and Berlin. Recent solo shows include: ‘I’ll Make the World Explode’, Giti Nourbakhsch, Berlin and Gaga Arte Contemporaneo, Mexico City (2009); and ‘The Grey Triangle’ Hollybush Gardens, London (2007). Recent group shows include: ‘The Malady of Writing’, MACBA, Barcelona (2009); ‘poor.old.tired.horse’, ICA, London (2009); and ‘The Soul, or Much Trouble in the Transportation of Souls’, Manifesta 7, the European Biennial of Contemporary Art, Trento. Forthcoming group shows include ‘27 Senses’ at Chisenhale Gallery, London; Moderna Utställningen at Moderna Museet, Stockholm, and Manifesta 8, the European Biennial of Contemporary Art, Murcia, Spain (all 2010). A selection of his collected writing was published last year in the artist’s book ‘What’s My Name?’ by BookWorks, London 2009.
