MAGNA CARTA: Art / Paper
Berlin: 18th of March until 30th of April, 2011
San Francisco: 17th of November 17 until 22nd of January 2011

The basis of the Magna Carta, like that of all legal systems, is essentially its binding nature. This bond encounters difficulties and challenges wherever it is unclear who is a participant in the system. Legal systems fray at their edges.                                              
--Juliane Laitzsch

Cain Schulte Contemporary Art Berlin & San Francisco's joint exhibition Magna Carta explores the diverse and innovative creations of international artists who work with and on paper. The artists involved have been asked to create pieces that are thematically anchored in an investigation of the 13th-century legal document the Magna Carta, which is widely considered a pivotal turning point in the attempt to establish individual liberties, and a key element in the radical transformation of constitutional thought. The works in this exhibition explore contemporary issues focusing on the protection of personal freedom, individual rights, and unlawful imprisonment. The exhibition seeks to highlight the universality and contemporary relevance of the issues emanating from the Magna Carta in today's increasingly globalized world.

The works on display a range in size and media. Some of the works offer novel perspectives on the deterioration and transgressions of the Magna Carta's ideals by focusing on current interpretations of cultural colonialism. Other artists have conceptualized the literal translation of Magna Carta ("big paper") as a basis for their thematic explorations within the limits of the medium of paper.                                                                                                                .     

Curated by directors Marina Cain and Kit Schulte, the Magna Carta exhibition will open at the San Francisco, US gallery on November 17, 2010 and will then continue on to Berlin, Germany with an opening on March 18, 2011. Each location will show a variation of works created by a selected group of gallery and guest artists. Magna Carta is the first of an annually-occurring group exhibition, jointly produced by the Cain Schulte galleries as part of an intercultural conversation of contemporary art.

The exhibitions are produced in conjunction with the following galleries: Mixed Greens, New York; ZieherSmith, New York; Donna Seager, San Rafael; Raphael Barbibay Art Connections, Israel; Hosfelt Gallery, San Francisco.

Berlin Exhibition dates: 18th of March until 30th of April 2011, Opening: 18th of March 2011, 7.00 pm. Contact Info: Cain Schulte Contemporary Art Berlin, Kit Schulte, Winterfeldtstr. 35, 10781 Berlin, info@CainSchulte.de, phone: +49.(0)30/21005237

San Francisco Exhibition dates:  17th of November 2010 until 22nd of January 2011, Opening: 17th of November, 6.00 pm, Contact Info: Cain Schulte Contemporary Art San Francisco, Marina Cain, 251 Post Street, Suite 210, San Francisco, CA 94108, info@CainSchulte.com, phone: +1.415.543-1550

High-resolution images and additional information available on request.

Participating Artists: Anke Becker (Berlin, Germany), Matteo Bergamasco (Milan, Italy), Brad Brown (San Francisco, CA), Miri Chais (Tel Aviv, Israel), Max Diel (Berlin, Germany), Peter Foucault (Oakland, CA), Mark Fox (New York, NY), Daniele Girardi (Milan, Italy), Veronike Hinsberg (Berlin, Germany), Diane Jacobs (Portland, Oregon), Linda Karshan (London, UK), Ruven Kupermann (Tel Aviv, Israel), Juliane Laitzsch (Berlin, Germany), Werner Linster (Berlin, Germany),Koho Mori-Newton (Japan/Paris, France), Nadja Poppe (Dresden, Germany), Justin Quinn (St. Cloud, Minnesota), Susanne Ring (Berlin, Germany), Margot Schmitt(Berlin, Germany), Ben Sleeuwenhoek (Middelburg, Netherlands).