kurimanzutto - jimmie durham at musée d'art moderne de la ville de paris

jimmie durham at musée d'art moderne de la ville de paris

Jimmie Durham: Rejected Stones*
Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Francia

solo show
private view: january 28
january 30 - april 12, 2009

Press release of the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris

The Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris is presenting at ARC an exhibition that follows Jimmie Durham's career since he moved to Europe in 1994. The exhibition comprises sixty works, some of them not shown before. The originality of Durham's vision makes him one of today's major artists, yet he remains surprisingly little known.

The Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris is presenting at ARC an exhibition that follows Jimmie Durham's career since he moved to Europe in 1994. The exhibition comprises sixty works, some of them not shown before.
The originality of Durham's vision makes him one of today's major artists, yet he remains surprisingly little known.

Sculptures, installations, paintings, drawings, performances, videos and photographs: the Durham oeuvre is a protean one, often reflecting a process of assemblage and juxtaposition of raw materials and found objects – natural and manufactured items, leftovers, junk – brought together in unexpected ways and tweaking reality with a mix of violence and humour.

Born in Arkansas in 1940, this Cherokee artist was a leading figure in the struggle for Indian rights in the 1970s and 1980s. His art from this period revolves around a quest for identity driven by a critique of imperialism and segregation.

After moving to Europe – which he calls Eurasia – in 1994, he opted for a broader, less autobiographical approach critical of the knowledge systems and ideological frameworks that structure our relationship with the world. Stones in the form of objects and tools make regular appearances in his work as metaphors of contestation.

Encore tranquillité © Jimmie Durham

For Stoning the Refrigerator (1996) he pelted the object in question with stones every day for a week until its shape and appearance changed. Through action by the artist, then, something initially ephemeral takes on the status of a work of art. In Durham's performances domestic objects including refrigerators, tables and telephones become instruments for a radically immediate challenge to the established aesthetic order.

A lover of language, the artist also includes in his works simple words like "brave", "good" and "pure". Sonorous and strangely written, they play a part in the structuring of his works by enhancing their evocative power.

Jimmie Durham fits into no artistic pigeonhole. Embracing all categories and defying all hierarchies, he pursues in his work an ongoing demand for freedom.

* The exhibition title comes from the Biblical expression "stones rejected by the builders" (Psalms 118:22). It was chosen by the artist to designate the hierarchy of the state he himself rejects, within which the architect has the power to build or destroy the city and thus control the lives of its residents.

More information: www.mam.paris.fr

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