Brent Birnbaum
12 Oct - 01 Dec 2013
BRENT BIRNBAUM
Ride (W/) the Wind
12 October – 1 December 2013
Curator: Leonor Comin
For his first monographic exhibition in Europe, American artist Brent Birnbaum (born in 1977 in Dallas, living and working in New York) presents Ride (W/) The Wind, an exhibition and performance space, in the "Aquarium" of Casino Luxembourg.
Straightaway, the works of Brent Birnbaum are surprising and really grab you: the spaces, which look like curiosity showcases, and the prestigious person that the artist himself is, are seductive. In his installations, he humorously collects and brings together kitsch objects, retro clothes, romance novels, film billboards, furniture, and more. For a few years, Birnbaum has integrated performance into his artistic work, which, as a whole, has asked questions about popular culture, mass consumption codes, and (American) society and its shortcomings. To break through the boundaries between works of art and the public, Birnbaum creates interactive installations where he encourages visitors to personally take part. He awaits their reactions, whether they be harsh, or quite simply, curious. In Ride (W/) The Wind, the artist-performer guides the visitor, questionnaire in hand, through an "enjoyable, weird trip".
The installation in the "Aquarium", which is made up of nine pieces, is a labyrinth in which you can wander around as you like, to-ing and fro-ing according to your own whims. Each visitor is completely in charge of their own personal tour. This maze refers to the ups and downs of life, the highs and the lows which give it a certain rhythm. Each piece has its own theme, its own colour code as well as its own set of questions. From birth through to death, Brent Birnbaum has put together nine sets of questions, with the aim of sounding out his public, to find out about their feelings, desires, fears and shames. What makes you (un)happy? What is the best/worst thing you have done in your life? are but two examples.
Ride (W/) The Wind derives from the The Bureau of Apology project, that Brent Birnbaum presented three times in different forms in New York. The latest edition to date of the Bureau of Apology collected written apologies from anonymous people that the artist carefully collected and archived; absolutely anybody was able to unburden themselves of their regrets. In both cases, to bring his work to a successful conclusion, Birnbaum instigates an interaction between the artist and the public.
Ride (W/) the Wind
12 October – 1 December 2013
Curator: Leonor Comin
For his first monographic exhibition in Europe, American artist Brent Birnbaum (born in 1977 in Dallas, living and working in New York) presents Ride (W/) The Wind, an exhibition and performance space, in the "Aquarium" of Casino Luxembourg.
Straightaway, the works of Brent Birnbaum are surprising and really grab you: the spaces, which look like curiosity showcases, and the prestigious person that the artist himself is, are seductive. In his installations, he humorously collects and brings together kitsch objects, retro clothes, romance novels, film billboards, furniture, and more. For a few years, Birnbaum has integrated performance into his artistic work, which, as a whole, has asked questions about popular culture, mass consumption codes, and (American) society and its shortcomings. To break through the boundaries between works of art and the public, Birnbaum creates interactive installations where he encourages visitors to personally take part. He awaits their reactions, whether they be harsh, or quite simply, curious. In Ride (W/) The Wind, the artist-performer guides the visitor, questionnaire in hand, through an "enjoyable, weird trip".
The installation in the "Aquarium", which is made up of nine pieces, is a labyrinth in which you can wander around as you like, to-ing and fro-ing according to your own whims. Each visitor is completely in charge of their own personal tour. This maze refers to the ups and downs of life, the highs and the lows which give it a certain rhythm. Each piece has its own theme, its own colour code as well as its own set of questions. From birth through to death, Brent Birnbaum has put together nine sets of questions, with the aim of sounding out his public, to find out about their feelings, desires, fears and shames. What makes you (un)happy? What is the best/worst thing you have done in your life? are but two examples.
Ride (W/) The Wind derives from the The Bureau of Apology project, that Brent Birnbaum presented three times in different forms in New York. The latest edition to date of the Bureau of Apology collected written apologies from anonymous people that the artist carefully collected and archived; absolutely anybody was able to unburden themselves of their regrets. In both cases, to bring his work to a successful conclusion, Birnbaum instigates an interaction between the artist and the public.