Ghost and Spirit
March 23–September 8, 2024
Grabbeplatz 5 + Ständehausstr. 1
Düsseldorf 40213 + 40217
Germany
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The work of Mike Kelley (b. Detroit, Michigan 1954; c. 2012 in Los Angeles, California) is experimental, opulent, and disturbing—and is considered one of the most influential since the late 1970s. The Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen is presenting a comprehensive retrospective at K21, which was developed in collaboration with the Tate Modern in London, the Pinault Collection in Paris, and the Moderna Museet in Stockholm.
Whether spiritualist ideas, heavy metal, or Superman comics, Kelley draws on images and myths from pop and subculture to pose perennial questions about the place of humans in the world and society. Kelley addresses the influence of politics and educational systems, as well as class and gender affiliation. In the 1990s, for example, Mike Kelley attracted attention with sculptures made of stuffed toy animals and handicrafts associated with female domestic crafts. Behind their supposed harmlessness, however, something sinister, threatening, and twisted emerged. One of his last major bodies of work, Day Is Done (2005), draws on carnival, Halloween, and school theater productions. In such popular customs, Kelley sees ritualized violations of social conventions. Art itself can also be counted among the places where such rule-breaking can take place. In its midst, Kelley stages the artist as a highly fragile figure.
The exhibition was organized by the Tate Modern, London, in collaboration with K21, Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf, the Bourse de Commerce, Paris, and the Moderna Museet, Stockholm. Curated by Catherine Wood, Director of Programs, and Fiontán Moran, Curator, International Art, Tate Modern. The presentation at K21 is curated by Falk Wolf.
Catalogue
Mike Kelley. Ghost and Spirit
German edition edited by Catherine Wood, Fiontán Moran, Susanne Gaensheimer, and Falk Wolf. Contributions by M. Beasley, M. de Brugerolle, R. Cozzolino, H. Folkerts, J.-M. Gallais, J.ִ Halberstam, S. Lacy, M. Leckey, F. Moran, G. Ndiritu, L. López Panigua, G. Phillips, C. Smith, J. Welchman, and C. Wood.
Text: German, 304 pp., 150 color illustrations, 17 x 23.5 cm, hardcover, approx. EUR 48
