Brian Jungen – Tomorrow, Repeated, MAY 5–AUGUST 7, 2011
Brian Jungen Tomorrow, Repeated May 5–August 7, 2011
Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Canada
When Brian Jungen came to the AGO to receive the Gershon Iskowitz Prize last spring, he responded immediately to the Henry Moore Sculpture Centre. Since then, his interest in the British sculptor has evolved into a unique exhibition in which Jungen's most recent body of work is being displayed alongside Moore’s sculptures, within the dramatic architecture of the Centre.
Jungen is internationally renowned for creating artwork that repurposes objects from contemporary culture to reflect aboriginal symbols and traditions. The works in Tomorrow, Repeated build upon the sculptural shape-shifting in which Jungen's previous work engaged: four works feature animal hides stretched and mounted over cut-up car parts and displayed on white chest freezers; other works include police barricades built from cedar and Douglas fir, and prints made from hide left over after the artist cut out circular shapes for drum skins.
Although Jungen and Moore are separated by time and geography (Moore died in 1986), there are significant points of intersection between their respective works: an interest in non-European sculptural traditions; an astute understanding of sculptural form; and an intimate relationship with their materials. Both have also been profoundly inspired by issues relating to family. This exhibition provides an unprecedented opportunity to explore the work of both artists in new and unexpected ways.
