Paul McCarthy at S.M.A.K.



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Amazing! Not to miss!!!

Paul McCarthy is considered one of the most important living artists. His direct and confrontational approach has given him an exceptional influence over a young generation of artists. He has worked in a wide range of media since the late 60s, but it is only since the nineties that his work has become known to a broader art public. Over the last few years he has created a number of large-scale works that have been shown extensively in Europe

Paul McCarthy sketches an unambiguous image of the ‘Western way of life’. This refers both to the global ‘West’ – the Western world – and to the more specific setting of the West Coast of America or, even more specifically, Hollywood. The following characterisation does not pull its punches: ‘Paul McCarthy is dirty and rotten, sexually hung-up and likes ketchup.’

Although McCarthy makes installations, sculptures, drawings and videos, he is essentially a performance artist. His breakthrough came at the time when he was recording his performances on several cameras and exhibiting them as videos. McCarthy is an artist who does not move boundaries, but goes far beyond them. Counter to the modernist pursuit of reduction and purity, he sets out a baroque stream of images which nevertheless always retain an astonishing consistency and quality.

There is an odd antithesis in his work: on the one hand intense and anarchistic form, on the other formal, intellectual content. In its well-aimed sledgehammer blows, McCarthy’s work summons up a mixture of anxiety, disgust and roars of laughter. His work is a highly-charged reflection on developments taking place in Western society, whose underbelly he mercilessly exposes.

The retrospective is presented together with the Moderna Museet in Stockholm and AroS in Aarhus. Especially for this exhibition in Ghent, McCarthy has made new works.

TIP: from 27 May to 28 October you can also visit the AIR BORN – AIR BORNE – AIR PRESSURE exhibition of impressive inflatable sculptures by Paul McCarthy at the Middelheim Museum in Antwerp. www.middelheimmuseum.be

ATTENTION! The museum will be closed from 3 September till 12 October 2007. During this period, new acquisitions will be presented at HISK Gent (Higher Institute for Fine Arts).

More Info:

Paul McCarthy
HEAD SHOP/SHOP HEAD. Works 1966-2006

VZW S.M.A.K.
Citadelpark
9000 Gent

http://www.smak.be

Openinghours
Museum:
Closed on Monday
Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Attention: the museum will be closed between 18 and 29 February 2008

Entrance fees
€6: individuals
€ 4: groups from 15 persons, under-25s, over-60s, students
€ 3: school groups
Free for under-twelves, disabled and persons accompanying groups.

Admission to the museum is free for citizens of the city of Ghent every Sunday morning from 10 am to 1 pm. There is also a free guided tour for individual visitors at 11 am. Please reserve in advance:
info & bookings:
S.M.A.K. Public Activities - Esther Ooms
Citadelpark – 9000 Gent
T +32 (0)9 240 76 64 (Tue-Fri 10am-noon & 2-5pm)
F +32 (0)9 221 71 09
E reservaties.smak@gent.be