Kienholz
07 Oct - 09 Nov 2005
Kienholz brings together a representative selection of key works by American artists Edward Kienholz (1927-1994) and Nancy Reddin Kienholz (born 1943). From the late 1950s Kienholz made installations before they became a feature of contemporary art, and conceptual works before the term became a movement. His sculptures transformed Pop Art, reassembling discarded consumer objects into surreal and discordant forms that were designed to shock and disgust the viewer, exposing them to the nightmare underbelly of the American dream. Kienholz has had a huge influence on future generations of artists, and his work can be read in relation to the theatricality and grubby hand-made seediness of the YBA installation artists who featured in Saatchi’s Sensation show. This is the first exhibition of work by Kienholz in London since 11 Kienholz Tableaux at the ICA in 1971, and the first showing in London of solo work by Nancy Reddin Kienholz.
Kienholz presents four groups of works. In his Concept Tableaux, made in the 1960s, Kienholz typed details of proposed works on a piece of paper, each accompanied by a brass plaque bearing the work’s title, that would be realised if a buyer came up with the cash. These works are some of the earliest examples of what came to be known as Conceptual art, the movement that dominates contemporary art. The War Room presents a group of works made by Ed and Nancy during the 1980s and early 1990s that question the way we commemorate war, including Soldier X. The Kienholz Women is a group of assemblage sculptures from the 1970s and
1980s, that explore the formation of the American male psyche. The Bronze Pinball Machine with Woman Affixed Also, juxtaposes a working Playboy Pinball machine from the 1970s, with the cast bronze spread legs of a young woman. Finally, the exhibition includes a group of twenty watercolours from the 1990s, including $495, that present a notional fixed cash value for the work, creating an alternative currency that is more valuable than that printed by the US Government.
Kienholz is accompanied by a fully illustrated exhibition catalogue with essays by art historians, Marco Livingstone and Craig Burnett. A retrospective of Kienholz work, including works from the Haunch of Venison exhibition, travels to the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney from the 16 December 2005 – 5 March 2006. Tate Modern is screening two 1960s documentaries about Ed Kienholz’s work, The Story of an Artist and Kienholz on Exhibit, introduced by Nancy Reddin Kienholz and Ed Allington on Friday 7 October. For further information visit www.tate.org.uk and ww.mca.com.au.
© Kienholz
Soldier X, 1990
Mixed media assemblage. Hov ref: 09213
167.6 x 30.5 x 26.1 cm
Kienholz presents four groups of works. In his Concept Tableaux, made in the 1960s, Kienholz typed details of proposed works on a piece of paper, each accompanied by a brass plaque bearing the work’s title, that would be realised if a buyer came up with the cash. These works are some of the earliest examples of what came to be known as Conceptual art, the movement that dominates contemporary art. The War Room presents a group of works made by Ed and Nancy during the 1980s and early 1990s that question the way we commemorate war, including Soldier X. The Kienholz Women is a group of assemblage sculptures from the 1970s and
1980s, that explore the formation of the American male psyche. The Bronze Pinball Machine with Woman Affixed Also, juxtaposes a working Playboy Pinball machine from the 1970s, with the cast bronze spread legs of a young woman. Finally, the exhibition includes a group of twenty watercolours from the 1990s, including $495, that present a notional fixed cash value for the work, creating an alternative currency that is more valuable than that printed by the US Government.
Kienholz is accompanied by a fully illustrated exhibition catalogue with essays by art historians, Marco Livingstone and Craig Burnett. A retrospective of Kienholz work, including works from the Haunch of Venison exhibition, travels to the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney from the 16 December 2005 – 5 March 2006. Tate Modern is screening two 1960s documentaries about Ed Kienholz’s work, The Story of an Artist and Kienholz on Exhibit, introduced by Nancy Reddin Kienholz and Ed Allington on Friday 7 October. For further information visit www.tate.org.uk and ww.mca.com.au.
© Kienholz
Soldier X, 1990
Mixed media assemblage. Hov ref: 09213
167.6 x 30.5 x 26.1 cm