Rirkrit Tiravanija

Since the early 1990s Rirkrit Tiravanija (b. Buenos Aires, 1961) has been the leading light of an art movement with its roots in reality and active viewer participation. For his first retrospective in Paris, this Thai artist who lives and works between Berlin, New York and Chang Mai, invites visitors on a tour of his oeuvre.

A confirmed nomad, Rirkrit Tiravanija creates his installations in the exhibition space itself, bringing new life to the performance genre via the everyday, as in Untitled, 1991 (Blind) and notably with his meal rituals: Untitled, 1989 (( )); Untitled, 1990 (Pad Thai); Untitled, 1992 (Free). His approach is marked by a close relationship to architecture – Untitled, 1997 (Playtime) – as a locus for thought, action and discussion: recreation of a supermarket at the Migros Museum in Zurich, and replicas including his New York apartment open to the public 24/7 in a gallery – Untitled, 1997 (Tomorrow is another day); architect Rudolf Schindler's Los Angeles house at Secession in Vienna – Untitled, 2002 (He promised); and a musicians' rehearsal studio at the Whitney – Untitled, 1996 (Rehearsal studio n.6)

Here Rirkrit Tiravanija has opted for an experimental concept: a return to his former works without presenting the objects themselves. He transposes a life-size version of the ARC space as it exists at the Musée d’Art moderne de la Ville de Paris (closed for renovations since January 2004) into the nave of the Couvent des Cordeliers. Tiravanija has invited American science fiction writer Bruce Sterling and French artist Philippe Parreno to work with him on different scenarios, the aim being the creation of a mental universe opening up a range of fields of possibility. In this context ghostly voices will describe his works and installations from 1989-2002 in a way that will play simultaneously on memory and imagination. Visitors will have the choice of three kinds of circuit: a guide leading them through Rirkrit Tiravanija's autobiography; an actor – chosen by French producer/director Charles De Meaux – reciting a text by Philippe Parreno; or a recorded text by Bruce Sterling, broadcast continuously in the exhibition space.

Created by M/M, the "exhibition programme" is intended as an integral part of the exhibition. Prepared in conjunction with the Boijmans Van Beuningen Museum in Amsterdam and the Serpentine Gallery in London, the exhibition takes a different form each time it is presented.

Pressetext

Rirkrit Tiravanija "A Retrospective (Tomorrow is Another Fine Day)"
Kuratoren: Laurence Bossé, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Anne Dressen
Musée d´Art moderne de la Ville de Paris / ARC at the Couvent des Cordeliers

Stationen:
04.12.04 - 06.02.05 Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam
10.02.05 - 20.03.05 Musée d´Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris