Info
- Dates: 20.09.23 – 19.02.24
- Curator: Catherine Wood, Fiontán Moran, Jean-Marie Gallais
- Where: Bourse de Commerce
- Price: 14 euros / 10 euros reduced
This extensive retrospective on Mike Kelley, featured as part of the exhibition “Mythologies américaines” perfectly reflects the overarching theme of the exhibit (which also includes, the works of Lee Lozano, Mira Schor, Ser Serpas). Mythologies américaines aims to illustrate how these American postwar artists, including Kelley, exmployed irony and unconventional media to criticize their society, delving into myths, stereotypes and deformations of representation.
Mike Kelley is presented through an incredible array of works across the magnificent surfaces of the Bourse de Commerce. The exhibition immediately captivates visitors with the immersive installation of Kandors beneath the dome of the Rotonde. Stepping into this space, visitors are surrounded by a sci-fi ambiance, with electronic and indistinguishable sounds, repetitive images projected on the walls, and various models of Kandors city glowing in the darkness as if in a sort of scientific lab. It feels like entering the set of a dystopian sci-fi movie depicting a future that never existed.
The second floor traces Kelley’s artistic journey from the early works, including those created for his diploma at the California Institute for the Arts, to his final pieces just before his death in 2012.
The visitor is confronted in each room and corridor with different mediums: videos, installations, paintings, drawings, performances testimonies, puppets, carpets, plastic models, … This eclectic mix well shows Kelley’s pluridisciplinary approach, evident since his early career, who has always been opened to all the disciplines.
The exhibition space is well organised, with comprehensive information and curatorial brochures for visitors. Each room immerses the viewer in a different atmosphere, with captivating sounds and objects. For instance, the group of works “Half Man”, made of tapestries, ironic billboards and puppets, almost amuse the viewer while challenging traditional gender roles within the domestic sphere, following Kelley’s intention.
The exhibition comprehends the other three artists previously mentioned, with dedicated spaces for each, offering a rich experience for the audience.
My personal highlights:
- Kandors Full Set (2005 – 2009 )
- Memory Ware Flat #17 (2001)
MUSEmemoirs 