January 21–April 16, 2017
Opening artist conversation: January 21, 2pm
Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art
Northwestern University
40 Arts Circle Drive
Evanston, IL 60201
Hours: Tuesday and Saturday–Sunday 10am–5pm,
Wednesday–Friday 10am–8pm
T 847 491 4000
www.blockmuseum.northwestern.edu
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Free and open to all
Internationally-acclaimed French-Algerian artist Kader Attia, known for provocative exhibitions exploring colonial legacies, will unveil a solo exhibition of new work commissioned by Northwestern University’s Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art.
Kader Attia: Reflecting Memory will run January 21 to April 16, 2017, at the Block Museum, 40 Arts Circle Drive, on the Evanston, Illinois campus.
Attia is internationally recognized for a rigorous, research-based practice that he translates through a variety of media including photography, sculpture, installation and video. His work frequently reflects on the wide-ranging effects of colonialism, the repercussions of Western power on non-Western cultures and the physical and psychological impact of trauma and its aftermath, which Attia examines as a kind of “repair.” Based in part on the artist’s research in the collections of Northwestern University’s Herskovits Library of African Studies and interviews with University faculty across disciplines, Attia’s Block installation features collage, sculpture and an extended film-essay that premiered at the Centre Pompidou in Paris in October 2016.
Featuring new work commissioned by the Block, Kader Attia: Reflecting Memory is Attia’s first solo presentation of work in Chicago or the Midwest. The artist’s 2017 schedule also includes exhibition stops at the Sarjah Biennial in Dakar, Lehmann Maupin in New York and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney.
“We have been honored to host Attia here at Northwestern University as he has created his new work. He has drawn extensively on the University’s ‘brain trust’—its faculty, its students, the Block team and the world-renowned Herskovits Library,” said Lisa Corrin, the Museum’s Ellen Philips Katz Director. “His research has uncovered unexpected connections, enabling us to consider traumas of the past that remain urgently relevant.”
Kader Attia grew up moving between Algeria and the suburbs of Paris and used this experience of living within two cultures to develop a dynamic practice that confronts identity and cultural difference. His debut solo exhibition was held in 1996 in the Republic of Congo. Since then, his artistic career has gained major international recognition with inclusion in exhibitions such as the 50th Venice Biennale (2003), dOCUMENTA13 (2012), the 8th Lyon Biennial (2015), the 5th Marrakech Biennial (2016) and Dak’Art (2016).
Attia’s work has been included in recent exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art, the Tate Modern and the Guggenheim Museum. In 2016, he was awarded the Marcel Duchamp Prize, one of France’s most prestigious arts awards. His solo exhibition, Sacrifice and Harmony, at the Museum für Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt, was named German exhibition of the year by the International Association of Art Critics (AICA).
Opening conversation
The Kader Attia: Reflecting Memory exhibition opening is 2pm, Saturday, January 21. Block Museum curators Kathleen Bickford Berzock and Janet Dees will give context to Attia’s work and unique research. This presentation will be followed by a conversation between Attia and Northwestern faculty Caroline Bledsoe (anthropology) and Peter Locke (global health studies), moderated by Antawan I. Byrd. The reception is free and open to the public.
Kader Attia: Reflecting Memory is organized by the Block Museum in partnership with the Melville J. Herskovits Library of African Studies. Support for the exhibition has been provided by the Myers Foundations, the Diane and Craig Solomon Contemporary Art Fund, the Alsdorf Gallery at the Block Museum Endowment Fund and the Kaplan Institute for the Humanities. RSVP
Read more about the exhibition
About the Block Museum
Northwestern University’s Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art is a dynamic, imaginative and innovative teaching and learning resource for the University and its surrounding communities, featuring a global exhibition program that crosses time periods and cultures and serves as a springboard for thought-provoking discussions relevant to our lives today. The museum also commissions new work to foster connections between artists and the public through the creative process. Each year, the Block mounts exhibitions; organizes and hosts lectures, symposia and workshops involving artists, scholars, curators and critics; and screens classic and contemporary films at its in-house cinema. Admission to the museum is always free and open to the public.
