Tino Sehgal: Kiss

About

Kiss is a sculptural and contemplative work in which two dancers move slowly and consistently through a prescribed choreography. Leisurely kissing and touching, the dancers eventually come to resemble embracing couples from historical paintings. Both real and constructed, representational and artificial, Kiss immediately draws viewers into a subtle engagement with their personal experience of intimacy.

Presented with Collection Highlights, Kiss articulates the role of the visitor by asking how one experiences, defines, and interacts with art in a museum and generates a connection with the viewer in the moment of engagement when art comes to life.

Rather than producing material objects, Sehgal creates a temporal experience or situation for the visitor. His works reflect on the cultural and political relevance of artistic modes of production while actively engaging the viewer. Although Sehgal has exhibited extensively in Europe, Kiss is his first work in an American museum.

This project is curated by Tricia Van Eck, Curatorial Coordinator and Curator of Artists’ Books.