Past Exhibition
- David Altmejd
David Altmejd
Greenwich November 1st to March 27th, 2012
DAVID ALTMEJD
The Brant Foundation is pleased to present a major exhibition of works by David Altmejd, opening on November 5, 2011. Altmejd will present a series of new sculptures with a selection of some of his most important works from throughout his oeuvre. While the work in the show spans the last ten years and there will certainly be inspiringly unexpected inclusions, it is also a fantastic opportunity to see how through multiple mediums Altmejd’s sculpture remains so coherent. Like a biological organism, David’s work is continuously evolving and transforming in complex new ways. Just when we think he has pushed form and material into its most poignant state, we see how that manifestation then becomes the fertile cocoon out of which the next work emerges.
While Altmejd considers it essential to experience each work as a discrete object to be perceived within the traditional realm of classical sculpture, the works have often both taken the form of architectural space and also dealt with the treatment of architectural space. One of his primary interests is how one navigates the work both visually and also through the body- needing to move around the work, look under the work, and through the work. As is often the case with David’s practice, he has carefully considered this particular space, and since the Brant Foundation is both specific and malleable, Altmejd’s attention to the location of works, the treatment of rooms and how the works are placed within those rooms is a complex reflection of both the objects and the building itself. From the smallest room where all of the architectural details have been obliterated by a floor to ceiling plaster installation, in which plaster hands -modeled after the artists own- literally seem to be both forming and destroying the space itself, to the largest double height room, where, without altering the physical architecture, Altmejd has addressed the space through the height of the objects- both in their actual size, and in the scale of the pedestals. Through David’s use of mirrored surfaces, there are areas where one can perceive both the downstairs and the upstairs at the same time, allowing both simultaneous yet varying experience of the same work from different perspectives. While the mirroring has this actual architectural function, it also relates directly to the material of the work itself. Altmejd has addressed both space and non-space, which is so deeply tied to the content of his work. At the core of Altmejd’s practice is the relationship between the inside and the outside, both bodily and architecturally.
Programs and Events:
David Altmejd Exhibition Opening
David Altmejd Exhibition Catalogue
David Altmejd Exhibition Announcement
David Altmejd | Art21 on YouTube
Artist Biography
David Altmejd
David Altmejd was born in 1974, in Montreal, Canada. Altmejd currently lives and works in New York, NY.
David Altmejd is a sculptor who lives and works in New York. He is fascinated with the extraordinary potential of the object, and convinced that the act of making can generate meaning. He was chosen to represent Canada in the 52nd Venice Biennale in 2007. He has exhibited internationally, including at Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris (2014); Musée d’art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean, Luxembourg (2015); Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal (2015); MOCA Cleveland (2012); Gallery Met at The Metropolitan Opera House, New York (2008); the Whitney Biennial at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (2004); and the Istanbul Biennial (2003). His work is held in public collections including The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa; The Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris; The Royal Museum of Belgium, Brussels; and the Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto
SOLO
| 2015 |
Louisiana Museum, Denmark, “The Flux and the Puddle,” November 12 – January 31, 2016 Galerie René Blouin, Montréal, Canada, June 20 – September 5, 2015Stuart Shave Modern Art, London, UK, “Faces,” January 23 – February 14, 2015 |
| 2014 |
Musée d'art moderne de la Ville de Paris, Paris, France, “Flux,” October 10 — February 1, 2015 (catalogue) - (Travels to:Musée d'art moderne Grand-Duc Jean, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg, March 7 – May 31, 2015 Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, Canada, June 20 – September 13, 2015)Andrea Rosen Gallery, New York, NY, “Juices,” February 1 – March 8 |
| 2013 |
Xavier Hufkens, Brussels, Belgium, February 14 – March 20, 2013 (catalogue) |
| 2012 |
Stuart Shave | Modern Art, London, UK, May 26 – June 23, 2012 |
| 2011 |
The Brant Foundation Art Study Center, Greenwich, CT, November 5 – May 5, 2012 (catalogue)Galerie de l’UQAM, Montréal, Canada, “Conte crépusculaire (Twilight Tale),” with composer-performer Pierre Lapointe, May 4 – 7, 2011Andrea Rosen Gallery, New York, NY, March 18 – April 23, 2011 |
| 2010 |
Xavier Hufkens, Brussels, Belgium, “Le guide,” April 23 – May 29, 2010 Vanhaerents Art Collection, Brussels, Belgium, “Colossi,” April 23, 2010 – March 10, 2012 |
| 2009 |
Magasin – Centre National d’Art Contemporain de Grenoble, France, January 2 – April 26, 2009 |
| 2008 |
Stuart Shave | Modern Art, London, UK, October 17 – November 15, 2008Gallery Met at the Metropolitan Opera House, New York, NY, “Doctor Atomic,” October 13, 2008- January 30, 2009Andrea Rosen Gallery, New York, NY, May 3 – June 14, 2008 |
| 2007 |
Fundació La Caixa Museum, Barcelona, Spain, “David Altmejd. Stages.” curated by Sílvia Sauquet, June 21 – September 9, 2007 (brochure)Canadian Pavilion, 52nd Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy, “David Altmejd: The Index,” June 10 –November 21, commissioned by Louise Déry (catalogue)Oakville Galleries, Gairloch Gardens, Ontario, Canada, “David Altmejd. Métamorphose Metamorphosis,” curated by Louise Déry, January 27 – March 25, 2007(Travels to: Galerie de l’UQAM, Montréal, Canada, May 11 – July 8, 2007 Illingworth Kerr Gallery, Alberta College of Art & Design, Calgary, Canada, September 6 – November 3, 2007) |
| 2006 |
Stuart Shave | Modern Art, London, UK, March 31 - April 30, 2006 |
| 2005 |
Xavier Hufkens, Brussels, Belgium, “The Builders,” March 24 - April 23, 2005 |
| 2004 |
Andrea Rosen Gallery, New York, NY, October 22 - November 27, 2004 |
| 2003 |
Galerie Optica, Montréal, Canada, October 31 - December 13, 2003Galerie SKOL, Montréal, Canada, “Sarah Altmejd,” February 22 - March 29, 2003 |
| 2002 |
Ten in One Gallery, New York, NY, “Clear Structures for a New Generation,” October – November 30, 2002 |
| 1999 |
Galerie B-312, Montréal, Canada, “Modèles d’esprit et jardins intérieurs (Models of the Spirit and InnerGardens)” (brochure) |
| 1998 |
Galerie Clark, Montréal, Canada, “Jennifer,” November 19 - December 20, 1998Galerie SKOL, Montréal, Canada, “Table n°2,” February 14 - March 15, 2008 (brochure) |
GROUP
| 2015 |
Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, Brussels, Belgium, “A Brief History of the Future,” September 9, 2015 – January 24, 2016 Honolulu, Zürich, Switzerland, “Possible Collection,” October 3 – November 7, 2015 Junior Projects, New York, NY, “Rock Hound Swap Meet,” organized by Randy Wray, July 9 – |
| 2014 |
Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, Montréal, Canada, “The Grace of a Gesture: Fifty Years of Gifts,” June 19 – September 7, 2014 Belvedere Museum, Vienna, Austria, "Love Story - Anne & Wolfgang Titze Collection," June 15 – Galerie Sophie Scheidecker, Paris, France, “Hybrides,” curated by Tatyana Franck, May 26 – June 28, 2014 The Walter Vanhaerents Art Collection, Brussels, Belgium, “Man in the Mirror,” May 3, 2014 Marlborough Chelsea, “Lone Tree,” April 4 – May 3, 2014 Galerie Division, Montréal, Canada, “Homecoming,” March 26 – April 26, 2014 The Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Canada, “Elevated: Contemporary Art in the AGO Tower,” Espace Culturel Louis Vuitton, Paris, France, “Astralis,” February 7 – May 11, 2014 (catalogue) Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art, Toronto, Canada, “Misled by Nature,” February 7 – April 6, 2014 Maison Particulière, Brussels, Belgium, “States of mind,” January 16 – March 30, 2014 Xavier Hufkens, Brussels, Belgium, “David Altmejd, Roni Horn, Didier Vermeiren, Dahn Vo,” January 16 – February 22, 2014 Oakland University Art Gallery, Rochester, MI, “The Body Metonymic,” January 11 – March 30, 2014 |
| 2013 |
Laurence Dreyfus Art Consulting, Paris, France, “Chambres à Part VIII: Voir est un fable (Seeing is a Fable),” October 21 – October 27, 2013 The Arsenal Montréal, Montréal, Canada, “Science of Dreams,” September 19 – December 20, 2013 Parisian Laundry, Montréal, Canada, “À mes amies les licornes (To My Unicorn Friends),” curated by Cynthia Girard, September 6 – October 12, 2013 Zach Feuer Gallery and Untitled, New York, NY, “Jew York,” June 20 – July 26, 2013 Middelheim Museum, Antwerp, Belgium, “My Little Paradise,” curated by Hans Op de Beeck and Sara Weyns, May 26 – September 15, 2013 (catalogue) Herzliya Museum of Contemporary Art, Herzliya, Israel, “Theatrical Gestures,” January 26 – April 20, 2013 |
| 2012 |
L’Institut Culturel Bernard Magrez, Bordeaux, France, “La Belle et la Bête,” October 13, 2012 – January 27, 2013 National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Canada, “Builders: Canadian Biennial 2012,” November 2, 2012 – February 18, 2013 (catalogue) MOCA Cleveland, Cleveland, OH, “Inside Out and from the Ground Up,” October 8 – December 30, 2012 The Art Gallery of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada, “Misled by Nature: Contemporary Art and the Baroque,” organized by the National Gallery of Canada, September 15, 2012 – January 6, 2013 Musée Goya de Castres, Tarn, France, “Hybrides & Chimères: La conquête d’un rêve êveillé (Hybrids & Chimeras – The Conquest of a Waking Dream),” June 28 – October 28, 2012 (catalogue) Salon 94 Bowery, New York, NY, “Pothole,” June 6 – July 6, 2012 Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, Montréal, Canada, “ZOO,” curated by Marie Fraser, May 24 – September 3, 2012 (catalogue) Centre for Contemporary Art Ujazdowski Castle, Warsaw, Poland, “Figures from the New World,” Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Nashville, TN, "Fairy Tales, Monsters, and the Genetic Imagination," curated by Mark Scala, February 24 - May 28, 2012 (catalogue) Glenbow Museum, Calgary, Canada, September 28, 2012 - January 2, 2013 |
| 2011 |
Mudam Luxembourg, "Mondes inventés - Mondes habités (Invented Worlds – Inhabited Worlds), curated by Marie-Noëlle Farcy and Clément Minighetti, October 8, 2011 - January 15, 2012 Museum London, London, Ontario, Canada, “Barroco Nova: Neo-Baroque Moves in Contemporary Art,” October 8, 2011 – January 1, 2012 Les Abattoirs, Toulouse, France, “HabiteR,” September 23, 2011 – January 22, 2012 Marianne Boesky Gallery, New York, NY, “Night Scented Stock,” curated by Todd Levin, September 14 – October 22, 2011 David Zwirner, New York, NY, “The House Without the Door,” July 7 – August 5, 2011 Saatchi Gallery, London, UK, “Shape of Things to Come: New Sculpture,” May 27 – October 16, 2011 (catalogue) Flaran Abbey, Gers, France, “Mystère, Mystères,” May 21, 2011 – April 30, 2012 Xavier Hufkens, Brussels, Belgium, “Everything You Can Imagine is Real…,” April 14 – May 28, 2011 Haus Der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin, Germany, "Der Traum vom Fliegen - The Art of Flying,” curated by Britta Heinrich, March 3 - May 8, 2011 |
| 2010 |
High Museum of Art, Wieland Pavilion Skyway Galleries, Atlanta, GA, “Surrealist Conspiracy,” curated by Michael Rooks, September 18 – January 9, 2011 National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Canada, "It is what it is. Recent Acquisitions of New Canadian Art,” June 11, 2010 – April 10, 2011 (catalogue) Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, Canada, “Visceral Bodies,” February 6 – May 16 (catalogue) Les Abattoirs, Toulouse, France, “10 ans, un musée, un Frac, une collection (Ten Year Permanent Collection),” April 2, 2010– August 22, 2010 New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York, NY, “Skin Fruit: Selections from the Dakis Joannou Collection,” curated by Jeff Koons, March 3 - June 6, 2010 (catalogue) Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY, “Contemplating the Void: Interventions in the Guggenheim Museum,” February 19 - May 31, 2010 DESTE Foundation for Contemporary Art, Athens, Greece, “Alpha Omega: Works from the Dakis Joannou Collection,” June 16 – December 29, 2010 (catalogue) |
| 2009 |
Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX, "Performance/Art,” October 8, 2009 - March 21, 2010 The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA, “Collection: MOCA's First 30 Years,” November 15, 2009 – July 12, 2010 P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center, New York, NY, “Between Spaces,” curated by Tim Goossens and Kate McNamara, October 25, 2009 - April 12, 2010 Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Halifax, Canada, Sobey Art Award 2009, September 5, 2009 – November 8, 2009 Nantes, France, "Saint-Nazaire Biennale,” curated by Adam Budak and Laurence Gateau, June 5, 2009 – August 16, 2009 Mas d’Azil Prehistoric Cave, Toulouse, France, “DreamTime – Temps du Rêve. Grottes, Art Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, Canada, "Emporte-moi/Sweep-me off my Feet,” curated by Nathalie de Blois and Frank Lamy, September 24, 2009 – December 13, 2009 |
| 2008 |
Museum 52, New York, NY, “Without Walls,” December 12, 2008 - January 17, 2009 Tate Liverpool, UK, Liverpool Biennial, curated by Laurence Sillars, September 20, 2008 – November 30, 2008 Deutsche Guggenheim, Berlin, Germany, “Freeway Balconies,” curated by Collier Schorr, July 5, 2008 – October 5, 2008 (catalogue) Fundament Foundation, Tilburg, The Netherlands, “Lustwarande ‘08-Wanderland,” June 28, 2008 – September 28, 2008 (catalogue) Château et dans les fabriques du Domaine Départemental de Chamarande, France, “Légende,” curated by Ulla von Brandenburg and Peter Coffin, May 25, 2008 – September 28, 2008 (catalogue) Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, Montréal, Canada “The Québec Triennial,” May 24, 2008 – September 7, 2008 (catalogue) Guggenheim Bilbao, Spain, “Installations: Selections from the Guggenheim Collections," April 29, 2008 – February 8, 2009 Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, Québec City, Canada, “Intrus/Intruders,” curated by Mélanie Boucher, April 24, 2008 – February 8, 2009 (catalogue) Hessel Museum of Art & CCS Galleries, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, “Second Thoughts,” March 16, 2008 – May 25, 2008 |
| 2007 |
Museum of Contemporary Art, Denver, CO, “Star Power: Museum as Body Electric,” curated by Spertus Museum, Chicago, IL, "The New Authentics: Artists of the Post-Jewish Generation,” curated by Staci Boris, November 27, 2007 – April 13, 2008 (catalogue) Birch Libralato, Toronto, Canada, "David Altmejd, Renate Anger, and Eric Cameron," curated by Micah Lexier, October 20, 2007 - November 17, 2007 Stuart Shave | Modern Art, London, UK, “Effigies,” September 7, 2007 -October 4, 2007 DESTE Foundation for Contemporary Art, Athens, Greece, “Fractured Figure - Works from the Dakis Joannou Collection,” September 6, 2007 – March 29, 2008 (catalogue) Rivington Arms, New York, NY, “To Build A Fire,” curated by Yuri Masnyj, April 13, 2007 - May 12, 2007 Walter Vanhaerents Collection, Brussels, Belgium, “Disorder in the House,” March 16, 2007 – June 27, 2010 |
| 2006 |
Kunstmuseum Bern, Switzerland, “Six Feet Under: Autopsy of Our Relationship to the Dead,” November 2, 2006 - January 21, 2007 (catalogue) Museum Ludwig, Cologne, Germany, “The Eighth Square: Gender, Life, and Desire in Art Since 1960,” August 19, 2006 - November 12, 2006 (catalogue) Kunsthalle Bonn, Bonn, Germany, “The Guggenheim Collection,” July 21, 2006 - January 7, 2007 (catalogue) Andrea Rosen Gallery, Amagansett, NY, “The Dining Room Show,” July 21, 2006 - July 23, 2006 James Cohan Gallery, New York, NY, “A Brighter Day,” June 9, 2006 - July 28, 2006 (catalogue) |
| 2005 |
Lewis Glucksman Gallery, University College, Cork, Ireland, “Blake & Sons. Alternative Lifestyles and Mysticism in Contemporary Art,” curated by René Zechlin, October 16, 2005 - January 29, 2006 (catalogue) Galerie Leonard & Bina Ellen Art Gallery, Montréal, Canada, “L’écho des limbes,” curated by Nathalie de Blois, October 14, 2005 - November 19, 2005 (catalogue) Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, CA, “The Zine Unbound: Kults, Werewolves and Stuart Shave | Modern Art, London, UK, “The The,” July 8, 2005 - August 7, 2005 Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt, Germany, “Ideal Worlds. New Romanticism in Contemporary Galerie Ghislaine Hussenot, Paris, France, “David Altmejd, Mathew Cerletty, Kirsten Everberg, Alisa |
| 2004 |
Fondation Dosne – Biblioteque Thiers, Paris, France, “Noctambule,” organized by D’Amelio Terras, NY, June 24, 2004 - July 10, 2004 Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY, “Whitney Biennial 2004,” curated by Chrissie Iles, Shamim M. Momin, Debra Singer, March 1, 2004 - May 30, 2004 (catalogue) Anton Kern Gallery, New York, NY, “Scream: 10 Artists X 10 Writers X 10 Scary Movies,” curated by Fernanda Arruda and Michael Clifton, January 15, 2004 - February 14, 2004 (catalogue) |
| 2003 |
LFL Gallery, New York, NY, “Material Eyes,” December 11, 2003 - January 17, 2004 Art Forum Berlin, Berlin, Germany, “Licht,” curated by François Dion, organized by Optica, Montréal, Canada, October 31, 2003 - December 13, 2003 8th Istanbul Biennial, Turkey, curated by Dan Cameron, September 20, 2003 – November 16, 2003 Maison de la Culture Côte-des-Neiges, Montréal, Canada, “Détournements” curated by Pascal Beaudet, April 3, 2003 - May 11, 2003 Apartment 5BE Gallery, New York, NY, “Life/Like,” April - May, 2003 |
| 2002 |
Artist Space, New York, NY, “Demonclownmonkey,” curated by Matthew Ritchie, March 21, 2002 - May 11, 2002 Deitch Projects, New York, NY, “Lucky Draw" |
| 2001 |
Sculpture Center, New York, NY, “Interval: New Art for New Space,” September 23, 2001 – October 28, 2001 Ten in One Gallery, New York, NY, “How I learned to stop worrying and love the recession,” June - July, 2001 Galerie de l’UQAM, Montréal, Canada, “Point de chute” (Somewhere to Stay), curated by Louise Déry, March 2, 2001 – March 31, 2001 (catalogue) |
| 1998 |
Maison de la culture frontenac, Montréal, Canada, “Stimuli,” curated by Caroline Cardin, July – August, 1998 (catalogue) Saidye Bronfman Art Center, Montréal, Canada, “Artifice ‘98,” June 18, 1998 - August 23, 1998 Galerie Clark, Montréal, Canada, “Les Bricolos,” curated by Nicolas Baier and Emmanuel Galland, |
What's most important to me is that whatever I do, it has to feel like it comes from my studio, from my own hands.
– David Altmejd
With the action of the hammer, energy is released with the sharp glass shards. Such a release gives a sharp edge to an object; it creates a tension between the viewer and the object, particularly when one considers that viewers can hurt themselves. Another way to express this same concept is: before a mirror is broken, a mirror is not a material; but when it is broken, it becomes physical and is all about the surface.
– David Altmejd (David Altmejd: Beyond the Apocalypse by Robert Hobbs)
I have always had a problem creating standing figures, because I don't want to just create representations of human figures frozen in time. Sculptures like that seem to be pretending, like they exist in another space that isn't reality. So I tried creating giants, which seemed acceptable because they were more like architecture than bodies. It's almost impossible for the viewer to physically identify with them. It's more possible to imagine inhabiting them.
– David Altmejd
