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| Adrian Ghenie, selfportrait, 2009, Adrian Ghenie, The Dada Room, 2010 © Courtesy of the artist & S.M.A.K. |
03.12.2010 27.03.2011
The Romanian artist Adrian Ghenie (Baia-Mare, 1977) is showing a selection of paintings from before 2009 and a body of new work, including some collage paintings. Also, he is for the first time constructing his imposing Dada Room, a benchmark work in which elements from previous work merge.
Ghenie’s dense and tactile paintings with their complex structure offer a contemporary vision of major political narratives and such fundamental, universal topics as the abuse of power, exploitation and oppression, and also of a personal, individual human struggle. His critique is never direct, however, but always takes a roundabout route. Ghenie obscures all his historical and political references by fusing them with personal memories, film references, clichés from the entertainment industry and elements from art history. This gives rise to a continuous metamorphosis between fact and construction, a grid of fragmented stories on collective and individual catastrophes. Ghenie depicts a journey through the darkest realms of human existence, where a glimmer of hope nevertheless persists.Contact:
S.M.A.K.
Citadelpark
9000 Ghent
Belgium
T: +32 (0)9 221 17 03
F: +32 (0)9 221 17 09
E: museum.smak@gent.be
http://www.smak.be