The formal title of this exhibition by Regina-born, Toronto/London based artist Bill Burns is Beatrix Ruf Protect Us: A Project About Longing.
When I first heard about this show a few months ago, I initially assumed that the first part of the title was some sort of Latin-style beatitude or blessing. But it turns out that Beatrix Ruf is the name of an actual person — a German curator, who in 2012 was named one of the top 10 most influential people in the art world by Art Review, and who recently assumed the position of artistic director at Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam after a stint at Kunsthalle Zurich.
Above is a photo of a work from Burns’ exhibition. Along with the bobbleheads of influential art world figures (Beatrix Ruf is the third from the right), there’s a variety of paintings, videos and scale models of famous art museums, all assembled by Burns with the goal of critiquing the notion of hierarchy in the art world where elite artists and curators move in rarefied circles while the vast majority of their colleagues labour in obscurity.
You can find out more about Beatrix Ruf Protect Us here. The exhibition opens with a talk by Burns on Friday, Nov. 28 at 6 p.m. followed by a reception. On Saturday, Nov. 29 at 3 p.m. there’s a performance that possibly involves the milking of a goat. The exhibition runs until Jan. 15, and you can look for a review in an upcoming issue of Prairie Dog.
