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Christian Marclay

About

The work of New York-based artist Christian Marclay brings together a variety of disciplines—music, visual art, and performance—whether in the context of the gallery space or concert hall. While his work includes objects or installations relating to music, Marclay often makes music himself using the turntable as an instrument and expressive tool in which the focus is on the process of hearing and seeing music. This exhibition presents the US museum premiere of Guitar Drag(1999), the most recent video installation by Marclay as well as a set of altered instruments: a drum kit, an accordion, a tuba, and a horn. His multi-disciplinary work follows the trajectory of early proponents of avant-garde 20th-century art such as Marcel Duchamp, John Cage, and the Fluxus movement, works that are represented in the MCA Collection. Marclay, who is Swiss-born, has shown extensively at museums and biennales in the US, Europe, and Japan. To coincide with the exhibition's opening, Marclay performs in the MCA's theater, his first Chicago performance.

This exhibition is curated by MCA Curatorial Assistant Sylvia Chivaratanond.

Funding

This project is made possible by a grant from the Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Fund. Support for this exhibition has been provided in part by PRO HELEVETIA Arts Council of Switzerland.