- Gabriel Kuri named The Armory Show’s 2011 Commissioned Artist -
Mexican artist known for poetic conceptual art
NEW YORK, September 15, 2010 – The Armory Show has commissioned Mexican-born, Belgium-based artist Gabriel Kuri to create the visual identity for the 2011 fair. Kuri’s artwork, which often combines everyday detritus and commonplace materials in unexpectedly poetic juxtapositions, will set the aesthetic for the fair’s look, will be featured in all its advertising and marketing materials and will be showcased in the catalogue. This will be the tenth year The Armory Show has commissioned an artist to define the image of the fair. Gabriel Kuri is renowned for sculptures and collages made from the remains of everyday purchases and found objects. Kuri reconfigures meaning from tickets and receipts, retail supplies and slabs of marble, stones and other incongruous materials.
“We are very happy to have Gabriel Kuri contribute his unique sensibility to The Armory Show’s image," said Executive Director Katelijne De Backer. “We look forward to sharing his gift for allusion and his lyrical combinations with the thousands of collectors, curators and art enthusiasts that visit our fair."
Gabriel Kuri has exhibited widely throughout the world. He is represented by Sadie Coles HQ in London, Galería Kurimanzutto in Mexico City, Galleria Franco Noero in Turin and Esther Schipper in Berlin. His work has been seen in numerous international group shows, including the 5th Berlin Biennal (2008); Brave New Worlds at Walker Art Center, Minneapolis (2007) and at Colección Jumex, Ecatepec, Mexico (2008); and Unmonumental at New Museum, New York (2007). Recent and upcoming shows include Gabriel Kuri-Soft Information in Your Hard Facts at Museion, Bolzano; Join the Dots and Make a Point at Kunstverein Freiburg, Freiburg, traveling to Bielefelder Kunstverein, Bielefeld; and Gabriel Kuri: Nobody needs to know the price of your Saab at The Blaffer Art Museum at Houston University, Houston, traveling to the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston. Kuri lives and works in Mexico City and Brussels.
History of The Armory Show Artist Commission
The Armory Show introduced its annual commission in 2002 with artist Karen Kilimnik. It was followed by partnerships with Barnaby Furnas (2003), Lisa Ruyter (2004), Jockum Nordström (2005), John Wesley (2006), Pipilotti Rist (2007), Mary Heilmann and John Waters (2008), Ewan Gibbs (2009) and Susan Collis (2010). In 2006 The Armory Show began publishing an annual series of editions by its commissioned artists to benefit the Pat Hearn and Colin de Land Cancer Foundation and the Pat Hearn and Colin de Land Acquisition Fund at The Museum of Modern Art.
Show dates:
Professional Preview: Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Public Hours:
Thursday, March 3 through Sunday, March 6
Show location:
Piers 92 and 94, Twelfth Avenue at 55th Street, New York City
About The Armory Show:
The Armory Show is America's leading fine art fair devoted to the most important art of the 20th and 21st centuries. In its thirteen years, the fair has become an international institution. Every March, artists, galleries, collectors, critics and curators from all over the world make New York their destination during Armory Arts Week.
About the MMPI Art Group:
MMPI is committed to the continued development and enhancement of its participation in the art world by bringing together some of the top minds in art fairs under one partnership. The MMPI family of art fairs includes Art Chicago, Art Toronto, VOLTA, VOLTA NY and NEXT.