A major exhibition of the works of French artist Sophie Calle — one of U.S. magazine Newsweek’s “ten most important contemporary artists” — opens in Medellin next week.
The moving exhibition will run March 21 to June 3 at the Museum of Modern Art of Medellin (MAMM) and at the Art Museum of Banco de la Republica in Bogota from June 21 to September 20.
The joint venture is a major coup for the two museums, Sophie Calle described by Newsweek as an artist “who could be, along with nine other selected artists, the next Rembrandt, Picasso or Leonardo.” British newspaper the Guardian called Calle “France’s foremost artist of the unexpected … [and] most eminent conceptual artist.”
Subject matter often examines identity, and human intimacy and vulnerability. A notable exhibition piece is the installation “The Blind,” created in 1986, for which she interviewed blind people and asked them to define beauty. Their response was interpreted photographically and placed next to a portrait. Other major works included are “See the Sea” and “No Sex Last Night.”
The French artist, who is not afraid to say the shocking, will also be present at the opening of the MAMM exhibition Tuesday, and will participate in a discussion on her work with the audience.
Accompanying the exhibition will be a series of academic and cultural programs, including workshops for the youth and children, courses on French literature, and conversations entitled “Passport to art” about art, philosophy and aesthetics regarding the problem of the body or the body as a problem.
The MAMM described the Sophie Calle exhibition as “a unique opportunity to enjoy and learn about the work of one of the most important artists in the current contemporary art scene.” Entrance is free.
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