Contemporary, Dutch artist Guido van der Werve and pianist Matthew Bengtson perform on the artist’s one-of-a-kind chess piano, accompanied by members of the St. Louis Symphony, conducted by Ward Stare. A collaboration with the World Chess Hall of Fame, Saint Louis Art Museum, and the St. Louis Symphony.
The World Chess Hall of Fame is proud to collaborate with the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, the Saint Louis Art Museum and the St. Louis Symphony on this project. In conjunction with the presentation of Guido van der Werve’s Number Twelve: Variations on a Theme, (the king’s gambit accepted, the number of stars in the sky, and why a piano can’t be tuned, or waiting for an earthquake), the World Chess Hall of Fame has collaborated with the Saint Louis Art Museum and the St. Louis Symphony.
Curated by Tricia Y. Paik, assistant curator of modern and contemporary art, Guido van der Werve: Number Twelve: Variations on a Theme is on view at the Saint Louis Art Museum in Gallery 301 from September 9, 2011 through January 8, 2012. This 40-minute film uses the chess piano to create three musical movements accompanied by a string ensemble. For more information about Number Twelve: Variations on a Theme at the Saint Louis Art Museum, visit http://www.slam.org/Exhibitions/nmsvanderwerve.php.
The live performance Number Twelve: Chess Piano in Three Movements was performed at the World Chess Hall of Fame on September 13, 2011 at 6:00 pm featuring Guido van der Werve, Matthew Bengtson and the St. Louis Symphony.
A large-scale version of Yoko Ono’s Play It by Trust (Garden Version), 2011 was on exhibit from September 9 – October 9, 2011 at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis as part of their Front Room Series.
Press
9/9/11: KWMU — Interview with Guido van der Werve, Matthew Bengtson, and Susan Barrett, Director of the WCHOF
