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English art from Paris Ryan Gander’s work I is… (x)

Ryan Gander’s sculpture “I is… (x)” (200 x 125 x 130 cm), created in 2014, was displayed at the “Inside” exhibition in the Palais de Tokyo in Paris not long ago (November 2014 – January 2015). “I is…” is the title of a series of works that the artist created together with his four year-old daughter Olive. Like all other children, she too loves to build forts – a basic instinct that was of existential meaning in primitive times. Prepared in a similar way to playing tag (chasing), building a hideout is one of the five basic survival skills.

Several stages are involved in the artistic process: the artist takes a photo of the structure made by his child to then create an identical copy himself in his studio using the same utensils. In this case: a clothes horse, a folding chair and a bed sheet. A marble structure is then cast using this copy, transforming the draped, folded bed sheet into solid stone.

Gander (born in Chester, UK in 1976) is one of the British art scene’s prominent personalities and worldwide, is among the most celebrated conceptual artists of his generation. His works are characterized by a wide range of formal resources and media paired with visual simplicity and usually a great deal of irony and humour. His most recent individual exhibits were on display at locations such as FRAC Île-de-France/Le Plateau (2013); Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2012); Museo Tamayo, Mexico City (2012); Haus Konstruktiv, Zürich (2010) and the Solomon R Guggenheim Museum, New York (2010).

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