Yto Barrada
Riffs
Deutsche Bank’s Artist of the Year 2011
March 18–April 22, 2012
The Renaissance Society
5811 South Ellis Avenue
Chicago IL 60637
The Renaissance Society presents “Riffs” by Yto Barrada, Deutsche Bank’s Artist of the Year 2011.
For her Midwest museum debut, Tangier-based artist Yto Barrada will exhibit “Riffs”, an installation of photographs and films that inquire into the daily traces of historical changes taking place in North Africa, the artist’s home. Barrada, who is Deutsche Bank’s Artist of the Year 2011, has developed an artistic practice, which combines the strategies of documentary with a metaphoric approach to imagery, resulting in a body of work lauded for its emblematic power. The installation which was previously on view at the Deutsche Guggenheim in Berlin draws from past bodies of Barrada’s work, including “A Life Full of Holes: The Strait Project” (1998–2004) and “Iris Tingitana” (2007), reconfiguring them in new relationships together with the artist’s most recent work.
Barrada (b. 1971, Paris) grew up between Tangier and Paris, where she studied history and political science at the Sorbonne. She subsequently attended the International Center of Photography in New York. After sixteen years abroad, she returned home to Tangier where she continues to engage the complex realities around her, avoiding the rigidity of any ideological discourse, and without recourse to the spectacular or the melodramatic. In addition to her recent solo exhibit at the Deutsche Guggenheim, Berlin, a partnership between Deutsche Bank and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, she also exhibited at the 2011 Venice Biennale.
This exhibition is realized in cooperation with Deutsche Bank.
About The Renaissance Society
The Renaissance Society is one of the premier contemporary art institutions in the United States. Many of its exhibitions are national debuts, and many have included newly commissioned work. The museum offers educational programs that supplement the exhibition schedule, including concerts, lectures and readings.
The Renaissance Society is located on the campus of the University of Chicago, in Cobb Hall, on the fourth floor. It is open Tuesday to Friday 10 am to 5 pm, and Saturday and Sunday from noon to 5 pm. Admission is free. Visit www.renaissancesociety.org to learn more about the exhibitions and events.
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