Jonathan Monk presents new work at Kunsthaus Baselland
23 May 2016
From 27 May until 17 July 2016, Kunsthaus Baselland in Basel, Switzerland presents a solo exhibition by Jonathan Monk. Through a site-specific installation created especially for the exhibition, Monk investigates the question of what defines the success of an exhibition or an artist. Is there a model for success? What happens without the support of collectors, galleries and exhibition budgets? What should an artist expect when realising a solo show that coincides with an internationally renowned art fair?
The internationally acclaimed British artist, who lives and works in Berlin, often makes work about other work: an art of appropriation, adaptation, reworking and revisiting. While referencing conceptual, pop and minimalist art, Monk finds new ways to interpret and consider the paradigms of 20th century art history, countering while challenging them with wit and consideration.
Essentially an exhibition of his exhibitions, Monk's show at Kunsthaus Baselland covers the walls of the museum in photographs of his previous artworks and exhibitions. The show engages explicitly with the conditions of an exhibition through this new work, which should be read and understood in relation to the opening of leading international art fair Art Basel (16 - 19 June 2016).
Courtesy the artist. Photo: Ken Adlard.