Review: Ian Kiaer, Vassivière
Rahma Khazam, frieze
September 2013

In the catalogue accompanying Ian Kiaer’s exhibition at Vassivière, philosopher Jonathan Lahey Dronsfield suggests that the conditioning power of the architecture of a gallery can be minimized by the art works exhibited within it. This was the objective Kiaer set himself when he installed his show in the iconic art centre, which was designed in the late 1980s by neo-rationalist architect Aldo Rossi in collaboration with François-Xavier Fabre. Kiaer deployed his works in the centre’s five spaces, corresponding to Rossi’s concept of the different stages in the making of an art work, from genesis to display. Responding to the Italian architect’s views not only on architecture but also on art, Kiaer questioned the function of each space. […]