Rirkrit Tiravanija: Chew the Fat

May 8 to July 27, 2009

Rirkrit Tiravanija interviews twelve international artists of his generation who rose to prominence in the 1990s in this installation featuring the film CHEW THE FAT (A documentary portrait by Rirkrit Tiravanija) (2008), originally produced for the Guggenheim's exhibition theanyspacewhatever (October 24, 2008 January 7, 2009). Tiravanija captures each artist in an intimate setting, and while the artists discuss their working lives, the conversations wander and evolve to include a wide range of topics and ideas resulting in a series of fascinating portraits. The interviews are displayed on multiple monitors installed throughout the gallery, which is transformed into a laid-back viewing lounge. The featured artists include Angela Bulloch, Maurizio Cattelan, Liam Gillick, Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster, Douglas Gordon, Carsten Höller, Pierre Huyghe, Jorge Pardo, Philippe Parreno, Elizabeth Peyton, Tobias Rehberger, and Andrea Zittel.

Rirkrit Tiravanija Bio

Rirkrit Tiravanija was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1961. Solo exhibitions of his work have been organized by institutions such as the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, France (2005); Chaing Mai University Art Museum, Chiang Mai, Thailand (2004); Secession, Vienna, Austria (2002); Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art, Oslo, Norway (2001); Kunstverein Wolfsburg, Germany (2001); Center for Contemporary Art, Kitakyushu, Japan (2000); The Modern Institute, Glasgow, Scotland (1999); Los Angeles County Museum of Art, CA (1999); Fundació "la Caixa," Barcelona, Spain (1999); Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst, Zürich, Switzerland (1998); Philadelphia Museum of Art, PA (1998); Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY (1997); Le Consortium, Dijon, France (1996) and Kunstverein in Hamburg, Germany (1996). He has also participated in the Sharjah Biennial, United Arab Emirates (2007); São Paulo Biennial, Brazil (2006); Guangzhou Triennial, China (2006); Whitney Biennial, New York, NY (2005 and 1995); Lyon Biennale, France (2005, 1995); Liverpool Biennial, England (2004 and 2002); Venice Biennale, Italy (2003, 1999, and 1993); Istanbul Biennial, Turkey (2001); Berlin Biennale, Germany (1998); Sydney Biennial, Australia (1998); Skulptur Projekte, Münster, Germany (1997); Manifesta 1, Rotterdam, Netherlands (1996) and Kwangju Biennale, Korea (1995). He has been awarded the Hugo Boss Prize (2004); Benesse Prize (2003); Lucelia Artist Award (2003); Central Kunst Prize (1996); Gordon Matta Clark Foundation Award; Louis Comfort Tiffany Award; and the National Endowment for the Arts Visual Artist Fellowship.

Tiravanija lives and currently divides his time between New York, Berlin, and Bangkok.

Exhibition Support

Support for this exhibition was provided by James M. Kemper, Jr., the David Woods Kemper Memorial Foundation, and members of the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum.

Jorge Pardo, Untitled (Guggenheim Prints) #10 Rirkrit Tiravanija , 2008. Silkscreen on paper, 39 3/8 x 31 5/16". Courtesy of neugerriemschneider.

from the ARTFORUM review:
"Part road trip, part diary of the pieces of their days, the film is improvisational and handheld, both in the camerawork and in the sense of an almost trembling tenderness on view as Tiravanija makes his rounds of their studios, kitchens, backyards, and habitual cafés." more >>

Still of Carsten Höller (left) and Rirkrit Tiravanija in CHEW THE FAT (A documentary portrait by Rirkrit Tiravanija), 2008. Courtesy Talk/Talk Documentaries and neugerriemschneider, Berlin.

Still of Elizabeth Peyton in CHEW THE FAT (A documentary portrait by Rirkrit Tiravanija), 2008. Courtesy Talk/Talk Documentaries and neugerriemschneider, Berlin.

Still of Philippe Parreno in CHEW THE FAT (A documentary portrait by Rirkrit Tiravanija), 2008. Courtesy Talk/Talk Documentaries and neugerriemschneider, Berlin.

Still of Andrea Zittel (foreground) in CHEW THE FAT (A documentary portrait by Rirkrit Tiravanija), 2008. Courtesy Talk/Talk Documentaries and neugerriemschneider, Berlin.