Curated by the Palais de Tokyo’s Katell Jaffrès, the
group exhibition will present emerging artists from both the French and Chicago
art scenes, focusing on the dialogue between architecture and artistic process.
Utilizing the raw, historic space of the Roundhouse, a 17,000-sq. ft. building
built in 1881 by Burnham and Root, one
of Chicago's most famous architectural companies of the nineteenth century,
the exhibition will explore the experience of a space and its transformation into
an artistic gesture that conducts the viewer’s experience. The Chicago
iteration of the Palais de Tokyo’s Hors
Les Murs will emphasize the relationship between the space of the
Roundhouse, and the selected artists’ site-specific works (to be announced at a
later date). Working in
collaboration with Andrew Schachman,
a Chicago-based Guest Designer nominated by the Graham Foundation, Jaffrès
will invite artists with a connection to France and Chicago to conceive newly
commissioned installations—both as works of art and spaces able to welcome the
work by other artists.
“The singularity of the Roundhouse
makes it an ideal space to develop the exhibit outside of Paris,” said Jaffrès.
“The structures or ‘stations’ that the artists will create will each act as an
architectural intervention within the exhibition, inducting action into the
exhibition space, and creating an accommodation and correspondence between the
sculptures, installations or video works by the other artists in the show.”
“The simultaneity of EXPO CHICAGO and the Chicago Architecture Biennial provides
the opportunity to affirm the vital relationship between the two disciplines of
art and architecture,” said Palais de Tokyo President Jean de Loisy. “Just as El Lissitzky did with his Proun Rooms, or
Frederick Kiesler for Peggy Guggenheim’s Art of this Century Gallery in 1942,
we are devising an imbrication of the constructive activities of artists with
the possibility of external interferences on their structures coming from
other, complicit artists. Palais de Tokyo is thus bringing together artists
from the French and Chicago scenes to produce a show conceived to be something
utterly unusual.”
Choosing to
stage the event at the DuSable Museum’s Roundhouse will enable the Palais de
Tokyo to export its unique approach in a different space. Built in Paris in
1937, the Palais de Tokyo has gone through major iterations and renovations. When
transforming the building into an art center dedicated to supporting emerging
and mid-career artists, a conscious decision was made to retain the building’s
minimalist aesthetic. It became a veritable statement-piece for the architects,
Lacaton & Vassal, commissioned to renovate the building based on Palais de
Tokyo’s specific artistic focus and direction. In keeping with that same
artistic focus, Palais de Tokyo’s exhibition program pushes the envelope in terms of artistic challenges and scope,
providing artists with the opportunity to engage in a strong dialogue exploring
the notions of volume and space. Situating this reflection within the context
of the Chicago Architecture Biennial will offer an exceptional opportunity to
widen this focus, exploring the way the artists can incorporate some of
architecture’s own processes into their practice. The program uses art to
encourage a more introspective exploration of an individual’s relation to
architecture and space.
"The DuSable Museum
is honored to have been selected as the location for Hors les Murs, a groundbreaking
collaboration between EXPO CHICAGO, Palais De Tokyo and the Institut français,”
said President & CEO of the DuSable Museum Perri L. Irmer. “I am sure that this first U.S. exhibition for
the Palais de Tokyo will be one of many more exciting exhibits to
come to the DuSable Museum, and this exhibition will serve as another
example of what a world-class city Chicago is and will continue to be in the
future."
As previously announced, the project
will develop in two parts; the first through a residency partnership with Mana
Contemporary Chicago, allowing international and France-based artists to
produce new work in Chicago; and the second will be the large-scale public
exhibition to take place at the Roundhouse.
The satellite exhibition during EXPO
CHICAGO is the first iteration of a new international three year-program developed
by Palais de Tokyo and Institut français. The
program aims to build
special operations to shed light on a new generation of artists and to support
their first presence in new territories. Each operation will take place in the
context of major international art events, such as a biennial or
fair. This new programming
initiative is supported by the Institut français and the French Ministry of
Culture and Communication.
“Our collaboration with EXPO CHICAGO has grown enormously
since 2013. We have organized exchanges between the new generation of both
French and American curators. In a very short time, artists and art
professionals from France have come to Chicago, and now, galleries and
collectors have followed suit,” said Cultural Counselor of the French Embassy
in the United States Bénédicte de Montlaur. “In Chicago, French artists
and professionals are discovering a new scene, and finding a new gateway to the
United States. The Palais de Tokyo’s Hors
les Murs project in partnership with EXPO CHICAGO will take this
collaboration even further. Never have Chicago and Paris been so close.”
"Following a meeting with EXPO CHICAGO four years ago,
we opened a new cycle of collaborations with Chicago, all of which have
strengthened dialogue and boosted exchanges between the two scenes in the
visual arts and architecture,” said President of Institut français Bruno Foucher. “For EXPO CHICAGO 2017,
we chose to partner with the Palais de Tokyo in order to imagine a project
together around the French artists and the local scene. This unique partnership
aims to continue in 2018 and 2019, in two other cities in connection with major
international events. We are especially pleased and proud that the first step
of this collaboration can take place in the highly challenging context of EXPO
CHICAGO and of the Chicago Architecture Biennial because it will necessarily
bearer for the artists that we will support."
About EXPO CHICAGO
EXPO CHICAGO/2017, The International Exposition of
Contemporary and Modern Art, is presented by Art Expositions, LLC at Navy
Pier’s Festival Hall, hosting more than 145 leading International exhibitors
presented alongside one of the highest quality platforms for global
contemporary art and culture. Now in its sixth year as a leading international
art fair, EXPO CHICAGO (Sept. 13–17, 2017) offers diverse programming including
/Dialogues,
IN/SITU,
IN/SITU Outside,
EXPO VIDEO, the
Curatorial Forum, the
Art Critics Forum,
Special
Exhibitions,
EXPO Projects and
OVERRIDE | A
Billboard Project. In addition, EXPO CHICAGO continues to publish
THE SEEN, Chicago's International Journal of
Contemporary & Modern Art. Under the leadership of President and Director
Tony Karman, EXPO CHICAGO draws upon
the city’s rich history as a vibrant international cultural destination, while highlighting the
region’s contemporary arts community and inspiring its collector base. In 2017,
EXPO CHICAGO and the
Chicago Architecture Biennial
(September 16–December 31) will align, establishing the city as a preeminent
destination for global contemporary art and architecture. As part of the 2017
edition, the alignment will intersect across a wide variety of programs,
including panels, international residencies, exhibitions and citywide events.
Vernissage, the opening night
preview benefiting the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, takes place
Wednesday, Sept 13, 6–9 p.m. General Admission to the exposition is Thursday,
Sept. 14–Sunday, Sept. 17 (for hours please visit expochicago.com). Tickets to
the exposition are $20 for one day, $30 for three days. Northern Trust is the
Presenting Sponsor of EXPO CHICAGO. For more information about EXPO CHICAGO and
EXPO ART WEEK (Monday Sept. 11–Sunday Sept. 17), visit
expochicago.com.
About Palais de Tokyo
Established in 2002 and dedicated to contemporary art, Palais de Tokyo welcomes
today’s generation of artists and is the largest center for contemporary art in
Europe. Palais de Tokyo “Hors les Murs” program offers off-site exhibitions
held during major international art events. Previous projects include Zürich, in parallel to Manifesta 11
(June 2016), as
well as in Singapore
(January
2016), an exhibition co-produced with the ICA Singapore
and presented on the occasion of Art Stage Singapore. Palais de Tokyo
has also organized two participations at the Lyon Biennale (2013 and 2015) and the traveling exhibition “Inside China”
coproduced with
the K11 Foundation
during
Art Basel Hong Kong 2015
and in Shanghai. Projects have also been
developed with MoMA PS1
and
the Stedelijk Museum in 2014.
palaisdetokyo.comAbout The DuSable Museum of African American History
The DuSable Museum of African American History is one of the
oldest institutions of its kind in the country. Our mission is to promote
understanding and inspire appreciation of the achievements, contributions and
experiences of African Americans through exhibits, programs and activities that
illustrate African and African American history, culture and art. The DuSable
Museum is a Smithsonian Institution Affiliate. The DuSable Museum of African
American History gratefully acknowledges the Chicago Park District’s
partnership, and also thanks United Airlines, the official airline of the
DuSable Museum for its support.
dusablemuseum.org
About The Cultural Services of the French EmbassyThe Cultural Services of the French
Embassy provides a
platform for exchange and innovation between French and American artists,
intellectuals, educators, students, the tech community, and the general public.
Based in New York City, Washington D.C., and eight other cities across the US,
the Cultural Services develops the cultural economy by focusing on six
principal fields of action: visual and performing arts, literature, cinema, the
digital sphere, French language and higher education.
frenchculture.org About Institut français
Under
the patronage of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development
and of the Ministry of Culture and Communication, the Institut français, which serves the reputation of France abroad,
promotes artists, ideas and works, the French language, and the creative
cultural industries. It helps organize professional communities while
encouraging artistic exchanges and dialogues between cultures. The Institut français serves as an
implement for influence and cooperation, a source of expertise and advice. The Institut français maintains a
presence in 96 countries and is the primary partner in the French cultural
network abroad (the Institut français abroad,
the cultural services of the embassies, and the Alliances françaises).
institutfrancais.com/enAbout The Graham Foundation
Founded in 1956, the Graham
Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts makes project-based grants to
individuals and organizations and produces public programs to foster the
development and exchange of diverse and challenging ideas about architecture
and its role in the arts, culture, and society.
grahamfoundation.org