Kendell Geers (Lecture)
@ SAIC Columbus Auditorium
280 S. Columbus Drive, Chicago, IL
Opening Thursday, February 20th, from 6PM - 8PM
The work of South African artist Kendell Geers is often felt as an artistic response to horrid socio-political conditions, as it is deeply influenced by his identity as a white Afrikaner raised during apartheid in his native country. His practice is layered with ethical, spiritual, and aesthetic questions, exploring the boundaries of what is permissible and questioning the most basic concepts of identity, power, and language. The raw but poetic way in which Geers communicates both attracts and repulses, fascinates and awakens. He uses a wide variety of media, references, and strategies in a confrontational rather than dictatorial manner. Through this process the artist’s bright and dark sides are endlessly negotiated in an effort to find a balance between the beautiful and the dangerous.
Geers has shown in numerous international group exhibitions and extensively across Europe, including the African Pavilion at the 52nd Venice Biennale (2007) and Documenta 11 in Kassel, Germany (2002). Most recently, a retrospective of his work was exhibited at Haus der Kunst in Munich (2013).
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