Artist: Sam Durant
Title: Tell it, Like it is
Medium: Lightbox
Size: 21 1/4 × 23 1/2 in | 54 × 59.7 cm
Year: 2020
Notes: Edition of 25. Published by Case Studyo, Tokyo Lot is accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity from the publisher. Condition Report: No apparent condition issues. Comes in original wooden box.
Sam Durant, a North Atlantic artist, seamlessly navigates the realm of interdisciplinary art, delving into a diverse array of social, political, and cultural issues. His artistic approach is deeply rooted in research, yet it places a strong emphasis on fostering social engagement. Durant often collaborates with communities and groups, creating collaborative and performative projects that serve as poignant reflections of the subjects at hand.
Notably, Durant has embarked on significant public art initiatives, including 'Labyrinth' (2015) in Philadelphia, which tackled the issue of mass incarceration, and 'The Meeting House' (2016) in Concord, MA, a thought-provoking exploration of race in both colonial and contemporary New England. His most recent public installation, 'Untitled (drone),' graced the High Line Plinth in New York from 2020 to 2022, sparking dialogue about drone warfare and surveillance.
Growing up near Boston, Massachusetts during the 1970s, Durant was profoundly influenced by the era's anti-war and civil rights demonstrations, as well as the efforts to desegregate the Boston school system. His educational background emphasized democratic ideals, racial equality, and social justice, laying the foundation for his distinctive artistic perspective. Often breathing life into forgotten histories, Durant's works establish connections with present-day social and cultural concerns.
Durant's fascination with monuments and memorials took root with 'Proposal for Monument at Altamont Raceway' (1999) and continued with 'Proposal for White and Indian Dead Monument Transpositions' (2005), a project that reimagines memorials to victims of the conquest of North America. More recently, his work has delved into subjects as diverse as Italian anarchism, the cartographic history of capitalism, everyday acts of resistance, and iconoclasm.
In addition to his artistic pursuits, Durant is an accomplished writer, publisher, curator, and organizer. He edited the monograph 'Black Panther: The Revolutionary Art of Emory Douglas' (Rizzoli Intl.) and curated an exhibition of the same name at MOCA, Los Angeles, and the New Museum, New York. His interviews and writings have been featured in esteemed publications such as Mousse, Artforum, and Flash Art, and he has contributed essays to monographic catalogs for artists including Marcos Ramirez ERRE, Siah Armajani, and Hans Haacke. From 2005 to 2010, he was an integral member of the Transforma Projects collective, dedicated to grassroots cultural revitalization in New Orleans. In 2012/13, Durant held an artist residency at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles.
Durant's impressive artistic journey has led to solo exhibitions at esteemed institutions including Kunstverein Düsseldorf, The Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst in Ghent, MACRO in Rome, and Cultuurcentrum Strombeek in Brussels. His work has been featured in prominent international exhibitions such as Documenta 13, the Yokohama Triennial, and various editions of the Venice, Sydney, Busan, Liverpool, Panama, and Whitney Biennials. His art graces numerous public collections, including those of the Walker Art Center, FNAC in Paris, UCLA Hammer Museum, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, The Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, Project Row Houses in Houston, and Tate Modern in London.
Sam Durant's work is represented by esteemed galleries including Blum and Poe in Los Angeles, Paula Cooper Gallery in New York, Sadie Coles HQ in London, and Praz Delavellade in Paris. Currently based in Berlin, he also imparts his artistic wisdom as a teacher at the Staatliche Akademie der Bildenden Künste Stuttgart.