b. 1964, Aylesbury, England
Liam Gillick is one of the most prominent and important figures to have emerged in international contemporary art since the mid-1990s. The diverse forms of his art, ranging across sculpture, installation, filmmaking, writing and varied collaborative projects, often allude to pivotal moments in the history of modern and postmodern art. In particular, the profound, dual influence of minimalism and conceptualism is evident both in his recurrent sculptural use of sleek modular forms, strictly colour-coded based on the RAL system, and in his commitment to ‘dematerialised’ modes of practice – his many texts and talks are understood as integral elements of his art.
Crucially, however, Gillick’s references are always situated in relation to other vital coordinates for understanding the place of art within contemporary culture. Questions of economy, labour and social organisation are ongoing preoccupations. His precisely calibrated use of Plexiglas and aluminium might recall minimalism’s ‘specific objects’, but these materials are also employed on the basis of other associations – for instance, as the main components of riot shields or corporate signage. Gillick’s work brings apparently contradictory meanings into renewed proximity, thus repeatedly testing and troubling the terms and expectations of art within contemporary capitalism.
Current/upcoming exhibitions include Standing on Top of a Building: Films 2008-2019 Madre Museum, Naples, Italy; (Solo show). Gelation & Liam Gillick, Stinking Dawn, Kunsthalle Wien Museumsquartier, Vienna; Fly Me To The Moon, Kunsthaus Zürich, Switzerland; BAU [SPEIL] HAUS, Neues museum, State Museum for Art and Design in Nuremberg; & Nürnberg, Germany; Condo 2019: Maureen Paley hosting Felix Gaudlitz, Vienna; Minimalism, Little and large editions, Helga Marias Klosterfelde edition, Berlin, Germany, ART=CLIMATE=CHANGE 2019 festival, Potter Museum, Melbourne (all 2019); Recent solo shows include, Liam Gillick: A Depicted Horse is not a Critique of a Horse, Kerlin Gallery, Dublin, Ireland; There Should Be Fresh Springs, Gallery Baton, Seoul, Korea (Both 2018). The Light Is No Brighter at the Centre, Contemporary Art Centre, Vilnius; Were People This Dumb Before TV? A Curated Selection from the Graphic Archive 1990–2017, Esther Schipper, Berlin, Germany; Extended Soundtrack for a Lost Production Line: Ton and Film, Galerie Eva Presenhuber, Zurich, Switzerland, (All 2017). Contemporary Art Centre, Vilnius (2017–18); Fundação de Serralves, Porto (2016-17); Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane (2016); Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam (2015); MAGASIN, Grenoble (2014); The Contemporary Austin, TX (2013-14); Bampton Lecture Series, Columbia University, New York (2013); Hessel Museum of Art, Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York (2012); Museum Stzuki, Lodz, Poland (2011); Kunst-und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Bonn, Germany (2010); German Pavilion, Venice Biennale, Venice (2009); Kunsthalle Zürich, Zürich (2008), travelling to Witte de With, Rotterdam (2008); Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2005). Selected biennales include Okayama Art Summit, Japan (2016); Yinchuan Biennale, China (2016); EVA International, Ireland (2016); 14th Istanbul Biennale (2015); 8th Shanghai Biennale, Shanghai, China (2010) and the German Pavilion, 53rd Venice Biennale (2009).
