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Simon Fujiwara shortlisted for the 2019 Preis der Nationalgalerie
Simon Fujiwara
Photo © Miro Kuzmanovic, Kunsthaus BregenzEsther Schipper congratulates Simon Fujiwara, shortlisted for the 2019 Preis der Nationalgalerie.
Established in 2000 by the Freunde der Nationalgalerie, the Preis is awarded biennially and promotes young, important positions in contemporary art that reflect the internationality and vitality of the art scene in Germany. The four shortlisted artists will present their work in a joint exhibition in fall 2019 at Hamburger Bahnhof – Museum für Gegenwart, Berlin.
Simon Fujiwara’s work takes multiple forms including theme park style rides, wax figures, robotic cameras, ‘make-up’ paintings and short films that address the complexity and contradictions of identity in a post-internet, hyper-capitalist world. Fujiwara often investigates themes of popular interest such as tourist attractions, famous icons, historic narratives and mass media imagery and has collaborated with the advertising and entertainment industries to produce his work in a process he describes as ‘hyper-engagement’ with dominant forms of cultural production. His work can be seen as a complex response to the human effects of image fetish, technology and social media on his generation.
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Is This Tomorrow? with Simon Fujiwara
Whitechapel Gallery, London February 14 – May 12, 2019 www.whitechapelgallery.org
Simon Fujiwara, Salvator Mundi Experience, 2019 (detail), mixed media installation. Simon Fujiwara in collaboration with David Kohn architects Photo © Simon Fujiwara
Opening on February 14, Is This Tomorrow? takes as its model Whitechapel Gallery’s landmark exhibition This Is Tomorrow (1956), which featured 37 British architects, painters and sculptors working collaboratively in small groups.
Whitechapel Gallery has invited ten groups of artists, architects and other cultural practitioners, including Simon Fujiwara, to explore the potential of collaboration and offer their visions of the future.
Read more about the exhibition here.
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Esther Schipper announces the representation of Simon Fujiwara
January 10, 2018
Simon Fujiwara
Photo © Miro Kuzmanov, Kunsthaus Bregenz
Esther Schipper is pleased to announce the representation of Simon Fujiwara. Over the past decade, Fujiwara (born 1982 in London, lives and works in Berlin) has become known for his staging of large, complex exhibitions that explore the deeply rooted mechanisms of identity construction for both individuals and societies. Addressing the inherent contradictions of image and narrative making – from social media and self-presentation to marketing and history formation – Fujiwara revels in the complexity and paradox of our simultaneous quest for fantasy and authenticity. Crossing multiple media, from sculpture and installation to video and painting and mining worlds as diverse as advertising and archaeology, Fujiwara's works are a constant reportage on the real world sources from which they draw inspiration. However, rather than simply presenting commentary, the artist creates a unique universe of his own – one that is populated with challenging and often absurd new narratives that are as intellectually rigorous as they are emotionally stimulating.
